There are lots of AI writing tools on the market today that you can leverage to speed up your content writing processes and scale your content business.
The most popular tools include:
While these tools are great, getting them to generate the type of content that’s engaging and relevant is often hit-and-miss.
One way to ensure that these AI systems are generating high-quality content is through the use of thoughtfully crafted and effective AI prompts.
Table of Contents
What are AI prompts?
AI prompts are sets of instructions that you give the AI tool, directing it to generate a given type of content tailored to your specific needs.
These prompts provide structure and guidance to the AI system so that it can generate content that is accurate and consistent.
Thoughtful prompting, especially in a tool like ChatGPT, often leads to more personalized, engaging, and relevant generations.
By learning to craft effective AI prompts, you can get these tools to generate super high-quality and relevant content.
Writers who dismiss the power of AI content are often those who tried the tools without mastering the art of AI prompting.
The rise of AI generators gave birth to a new field, so much so that AI prompt engineering is becoming a niche in itself.
What is Prompt Engineering for AI content generation?
AI prompt engineering is the process of coming up with sets of instructions (input texts) for directing large language models like ChatGPT and GPT-3 to generate text in a given way.
These prompts are like instructions or starting points for the model to generate text based on previously learned patterns.
For instance, one prompt could be:
“Write a news article about the discovery of water on Mars,”
The AI would then generate text describing the discovery and its potential implications.
The goal of AI prompt engineering is to create prompts that help the model generate text that’s coherent, accurate, and useful.
Prompt engineering is thus a critical part of many AI applications, as it can help ensure that users can effectively use these tools to accomplish their tasks.
Understanding the basics of ChatGPT
ChatGPT is a powerful conversational AI that can be used to generate various types of content. It is based on the GPT-3 language model and is able to generate content, recall previous conversations within a thread, and even generate code.
ChatGPT is a versatile tool that can be used for a variety of purposes, including content generation, chatbots, and customer service.
The ChatGPT model takes in an AI prompt and uses it to condition the model. The AI prompt is then used to generate text based on the context provided by the prompt.
How to write AI prompts
To write effective AI prompts, you must understand the mechanics of the AI tool you’re using and the types of inputs that work best. In this article, we focus on ChatGPT for text generation, but prompts are more robust in AI art generators such as Stable Diffusion and Dall-E.
Creating effective AI prompts for text generation requires thoughtful consideration of four aspects:
- The desired output
- Content type, format, and style
- The intended use cases
- Target audience
It’s also important to consider the user’s intent and context when crafting an AI prompt.
Another tip that works well is to always craft AI prompts that are specific enough to provide guidance without being too restrictive.
Prompts can be in the form of questions, keywords, topics, or even just leading phrases.
For example, a prompt for a movie review might be “What did you think about the [movie title]?” or “Describe your experience with the [movie title]”.
Elements of effective AI Prompts
Let’s discuss the four aspects above in a more detailed manner:
a) Type of content
When prompting ChatGPT, Jasper AI, or any other content generator, you need to tell the AI what to generate. If you don’t, the tool would just discuss the topic in prose or just list down the items.
Examples:
- Write about [topic] — discusses the topic
- Give me ten blog post ideas on [topic]
- Write an engaging blog post about [topic]
- Write an AIDA copy for promoting [product]
- Generate a how-to-guide on [topic]
- Write a listicle blog post about [topic]
- Write a review blog post on [topic]
- Write an SEO article on [topic]
- Brainstorm [topic] ideas
- Write a recipe on [topic]
Sometimes, specifying just the content type and the topic is enough to get the AI to write what you want, but these are just basic prompts.
b) Directional instructions.
So, you want to write an article about topic A, but AI doesn’t understand your writing style. Do you prefer shorter sentences and paragraphs? Do you use Oxford commas? Should this article be written from what point of view?
You can get ChatGPT to generate content that matches your brand voice and style, by ensuring that your prompt includes:
- Point of view (1st person, 2nd person, 3rd person). Also stating whether you want to use singular or plural form can save you time that you would have to spend replacing ‘i’ with ‘we’…
- Given writing style — Hemmingway style
- The tone of voice — in the tone of voice of Tony Robbins,
- Paragraph length — Use shorter sentences and paragraphs to make content more engaging
These are just but a few directional phrases you can use to make ChatGPT to generate context that fits your taste and style
c) Tone of Voice
Examples:
- Professional and informative
- Friendly and conversational
- Sarcastic and humorous
- Formal and dignified
- Empathetic and understanding
- Confident and assertive
- Excited and enthusiastic
- Calm and reassuring
- Persuasive and convincing
- Thoughtful and insightful.
You can also use popular celebrities and influencers if you want your content to sound as if it was written by them.
Examples:
I) Write a social media post on why you need to get on TikTok right now, in the tone of voice of Gary Vaynerchuk
II) Write me an article about ‘how to wake up early’ in the tone of voice of Tony Robbins
d) Leading phrases
Another creative way to write effective AI prompts is to use leading phrases. A simple phrase like, ‘AI copywriters will replace your job because…’ is enough to make the tool know what direction to take when generating the next lines of text.
The response you would get if you had used ‘Will AI copywriters take your job?’ would have been totally different. It’s these little nuances that can help you build up a really powerful article.
More examples:
- Start with [sentence or phrase] — Start with ‘Are you tired of working 9-5’
- The future of AI is…
- AI writers won’t replace your job because
- We are so close to dangerously capable AI
- ChatGPT will one day replace Google search
- My favorite color is pink
e) Target audience
When creating AI prompts, it is important to think about your target audience.
- What are their needs?
- What are their interests?
- What keywords will they be searching for?
- Who are they
By keeping your target audience in mind, you can create AI prompts that are more likely to generate the content they’re looking for.
Additional tips for creating effective AI Prompts
Here are some tips to help you create effective AI prompts:
- Keep the AI prompt concise and to the point.
- Make sure the AI prompt is relevant to the conversation.
- Make sure the AI prompt is written in a natural language.
- Test the AI prompt to ensure it is effective in conditioning the machine learning model.
- Use real-world examples to make the AI prompt more relatable.
Examples of ChatGPT AI Prompts in action
Here are some examples of ChatGPT AI prompts in action:
a) Examples of AI prompts for writing blog posts
One of the best ways to use AI content-generation tools is to come up with ideas for blog posts. The tool can help you by providing a list of potential topics to write about, as well as giving you an outline of what the blog post should cover. This can be a great way to get started on a blog post, especially if you’re not sure what to write about.
c) Examples of AI prompts for writing sales copy
Sales copy is a key component of effective marketing, and AI can help you write it.
Tips for creating prompts for sales copy generation:
- Focusing on the benefits of the product or service:
- Focusing on the customer’s needs and desires
- Focusing on the customer’s pain points: What problem does your product or service solve for your customer?
- Highlighting your customer’s pain points will help them see the value in what you’re offering.
Here are some examples of AI prompts that can be used to write sales copy:
- Write a headline for a [product] that solves [problem].
- Write a product description for a [solution] that automates [task].
- Write a persuasive paragraph explaining why a business needs [product]
- Write a tagline for a software solution that does [task]
- Write a bullet-point list of the benefits for using [product] in [industry].
- Write a case study about a company that successfully implemented [ida]
- Write a FAQ section for a [product] to address common questions and concerns.
- Write a call-to-action for a website promoting [product] to increase sales.
c) Examples of AI prompts for writing social media content
As social media usage continues to grow, so does the need for businesses to generate high-quality content. AI prompts can be a great way to produce engaging and human-like social media posts.
When writing a prompt for social media content generation, it helps to specify the platform, specific type of content, the topic, and the call to action.
You can use these modifiers to direct the AI on what type of content you want: Fun, engaging, interactive, promotional, authoritative, educational, company-related, festive, inspirational, etc.
Examples of effective prompts for social media content:
- Turn the following into a series of 15 Twitter threads [Your content here]
- Develop a social media post that targets [the specific audience] and explains how [product name] can help them.
- Give me 10 social media ideas on mentioning [product-name]
- Write a social media announcement about [product/update/launch]
- Write a promotional social media post about [product/service], addressing these pain points [pain point 1], [pain point 2], [pain point 3]
- Create 5 poll options for a quiz on [topic]
- Persuade my audience to purchase [product/service] and include the CTA: [your CTA]
- Give me 5 highly-converting Calls to Action to promote [product name]
- Give me 5 viral content ideas for social media about [topic]
- Generate 9 viral TikTok video ideas around [topic]
- Rewrite the content above as a tweet
- Write a caption for a Facebook post about [holiday] decorations
Avoiding poor AI content generation
Poor AI content generation can lead to a number of issues, including inaccurate results, irrelevant content, and inconsistency in the generated content.
To avoid these issues, it is important to ensure that the AI prompts used are optimized to generate the desired content.
One way to ensure that the AI prompts are optimized to generate the desired content is to use AI prompt generation tools.
AI prompt generators can help you fine-tune your prompts so as to get these tools to do exactly what you want. There aren’t many such generators geared toward the generation of natural text, but I will discuss a few later in this post.
Best AI prompt tools
There are a number of AI prompt tools available to help make it easier for ChatGPT or other AI content generation systems to produce high-quality, human-like content.
These tools are divided into two:
- AI prompt generators
- AI prompt databases
a) Prompt Base
PromptBase is an online marketplace that allows users to sell strings of words that net predictable results with particular systems.
The platform currently hosts only prompts tested on DALL-E 2 and GPT-3, but the plan is to expand it to additional systems in the future.
Prompt-base is a node.js library for creating command line prompts. [2] It can be used to create simple input prompts, or as a “base” for creating custom prompts.
b) AIRPM Chrome Extension
The AI Prompts Chrome extension for ChatGPT is a powerful tool that allows users to generate complex AI prompts quickly and easily.
The extension utilizes ChatGPT, which is an open-source machine-learning framework for natural language processing (NLP).
With the extension, users can create AI prompts for various applications such as chatbots, natural language understanding, summarization, and more.
The Tone of Voice AI Prompts
| Tone of Voice | Example AI prompt |
|---|---|
| Bold | Introduce a groundbreaking solution for climate change with a bold headline |
| Casual | Introduce a new app feature in a casual tone on social media |
| Commanding | Command attention to the urgency of reducing carbon emissions with a commanding speech |
| Confident | Share a success story of reducing waste with a confident testimonial |
| Conversational | Help customers learn more about sustainable living through a chatbot script |
| Cynical | Write a blog post in a cynical tone to challenge popular opinions about the political system. |
| Dreamy | Create a series of illustrations in a dreamy tone to showcase the possibilities of space travel. |
| Educational | Educate followers about the impact of deforestation through an educational video series |
| Eloquent | Persuade followers to support environmental causes with an eloquent op-ed |
| Empathetic | Address common concerns about plastic waste through an empathetic social media post |
| Encouraging | Encourage followers to adopt a greener lifestyle with inspiring social media posts |
| Engaging | Engage followers in a discussion about renewable energy sources through a social media poll |
| Enthusiastic | Write a product review in an enthusiastic tone to share the excitement about a new workout plan. |
| Excited | Announce a new eco-friendly product with an exciting press release |
| Hopeful | Write a social media post in a hopeful tone to share a vision for the future of renewable energy. |
| Humorous | Teach followers about the importance of reducing carbon emissions with humorous memes |
| Informal | Introduce a new green initiative in an informal tone with a blog post |
| Informative | Educate followers about the basics of plant-based diets through infographics |
| Inspiring | Highlight the potential of space exploration with an inspiring LinkedIn post |
| Intriguing | Introduce a new green product with intriguing posters |
| Motivational | Motivate followers to take action for the environment with motivational speeches |
| Mysterious | Generate buzz for a new clean energy product with mysterious teaser posters |
| Nostalgic | Reflect on the history of environmental activism with a nostalgic social media post |
| Offbeat | Stand out and showcase the benefits of zero-waste living with offbeat illustrations |
| Optimistic | Write a blog post in an optimistic tone to share the potential of electric cars to make a positive impact. |
| Passionate | Write a speech in a passionate tone to inspire others to join the cause for animal rights. |
| Persistent | Write an email in a persistent tone to follow up with a potential customer about a new home improvement project. |
| Persuasive | Convince a potential customer to switch to electric cars with a persuasive sales pitch |
| Playful | Create a series of Instagram posts in a playful tone to showcase the fun side of cooking. |
| Poetic | Showcase the artistic potential of technology with a poem |
| Professional | Present research findings on the benefits of sustainable agriculture with a professional report |
| Quirky | Stand out and showcase the benefits of composting with a quirky product description |
| Reassuring | Reassure followers about the security of eco-friendly products with a reassuring FAQ page |
| Reflective | Consider the impact of technology on the environment through a reflective essay |
| Romantic | Demonstrate the emotional potential of technology with romantic letters |
| Sarcastic | Comment on a popular misconception about renewable energy with a sarcastic tweet |
| Scientific | Provide a scientific explanation of the benefits of renewable energy with a white paper |
| Sincere | Show gratitude for the support of environmental causes with a sincere thank-you note |
| Technical | Explain how to use a smart home device with a technical manual |
| Thought-provoking | Reflect on the ethics of gene editing through a thought-provoking blog post |
| Urgent | Call attention to a time-limited offer for eco-friendly products with an urgent email |
| Vibrant | Promote eco-friendly products with vibrant product photography |
| Witty | Write a product review in a witty tone to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of a new board game. |
Conclusion
In conclusion, prompt engineering is a crucial aspect of creating better AI-generated content with tools like ChatGPT.
By understanding the basics of the tool, crafting effective prompts, and optimizing its use, you can create high-quality, engaging content at a faster pace.
Keep in mind that prompt engineering is an art and you will need to practice and improve over time. So, don’t be afraid to experiment and test different settings and prompts to find what works best for you. Happy AI creating!
