Here is a good “formula” for building an effective prompt for AI assistants such as ChatGPT.
I am a ______ (doctor, lawyer, pet owner, etc)
You are a _______ (seo copywriter and marketing expert, or pet therapist, or whatever.
I need your help with _______ (my blog, my dog’s behavior problem)
The specific task is _______
The format is _______ (a blog, a brochure, a 4-email sequence, etc)
The audience is _______ (avatar, demographics, reading level)
The tone should be _______ (professional but friendly, etc)
Tips on style _______ (use humorous stories where it makes sense, quite science facts, etc)
Optional: cite famous people who have a style you admire (ie: in the style of how Carl Sagan would explain it)
Then ask: What else do you need to know from me to do a great job at this?
and: What have I left out that should be added into this task to improve it?
Finish with: before I give you the [source material you need to work from] please respond and confirm your understanding of this task, and any questions for me.
Also it’s worth noting that GPT does poorly when you give one prompt and expect mind-reading perfection.
So the better strategy is: provide the big picture first, then step through the details with follow-on prompts.
For example, create the outline first. Re-prompt as needed to get a great outline. Then prompt for content on each node of the outline, one at a time.
Then when it’s all done, go back and ask for a better intro based on all it’s just written. Then maybe ask for a better conclusion and/or call-to-action based on all it’s written.