Key principles

1. Clarity is Key: Use clear, specific, and concise language. Avoid vagueness.

2. Role-playing: Instruct the AI to adopt a specific persona (e.g., "You are an experienced data analyst..."). This can dramatically influence the output style.

3. Tone of Voice / Audience Alignment: Specify the desired tone (e.g., formal, informal, humorous, persuasive). Alternatively, mention who is the content for (for a work colleague, a friend, a CMO)

4. Context Improves Accuracy: More context leads to better, more relevant outputs (e.g you can attach Brand Guidelines, previous content samples, data or reports, campaign briefs, images or product photos that you need written content for).

5. Descriptive Column Names and well formatted data: When uploading data for analysis, use clear and descriptive column names to ensure accurate interpretation and analysis.

6. Iterate and Refine: Test and tweak your prompts to improve results.

Step-by-Step Guide to Crafting Effective Prompts

1. Start with a Role or Persona (Optional)

Assign a role to the AI to set its perspective.

• Example: "You are an experienced digital marketing strategist."

• Example: "Act as a very experience Marketing Analytics expert."

2. Define the Task Clearly

What action do you want the AI to take? Be direct and specific.

• Poor: "Analyze this data."

• Improved: "Identify the top 5 customer segments showing increased interest in Product X based on the provided sales data."

3. Add Relevant Context

Provide background information that ensures the AI has what it needs.

• Example: "The data contains sales from Q1-Q4, segmented by region and customer demographics."

4. Specify the Desired Output Format

Structure improves clarity and usability.

• Example: "Output the results as a bulleted list with one sentence per segment."

5. Set the Tone

Align the style of response to your audience.

• Examples:

  • Professional and concise (for executives)

  • Insightful and data-driven (for analysts)

  • Conversational and engaging (for social media audiences)

Prompt Examples for Different Use Cases

For Marketers: Generating Social Media Captions

Prompt: "You are a content writer creating social media captions for a health and wellness brand. Write 3 engaging Instagram captions promoting a new plant-based protein shake. Keep it under 150 characters and include one emoji per caption."

For Data Analysts: Summarizing Data Insights

Prompt: "You are a data analyst reviewing monthly website performance data. Summarize the top 3 insights from the data and include actionable recommendations. Format as:

1. Insight: [Key finding]

   • Recommendation: [Next step]"

For CMOs: Creating Executive Summaries

Prompt: "You are a strategic advisor writing an executive summary of Q2 campaign performance for the CMO. Highlight key metrics, successes, and areas for improvement. Use a professional tone and limit the summary to 3 short paragraphs."

For Entrepreneurs: Pitch Deck Outline

Prompt: "You are a pitch deck consultant helping entrepreneurs structure their investor presentations. Create a 7-slide outline for a tech startup pitching a productivity app. Include the title of each slide and a brief description of its content."

Example Attachments for providing Context in prompt writing

When creating prompts for content writing, including attachments can provide valuable context to the AI. Examples of attachments include:

1. Brand Guidelines: Documents outlining tone, voice, style preferences, and core messaging.

2. Previous Content Samples: Examples of past successful blog posts, social media captions, or newsletters.

3. Audience Personas: Profiles detailing target audience demographics, interests, and behaviors.

4. Data or Reports: Performance analytics, keyword research, or SEO insights relevant to the task.

5. Visual Assets: Images, product photos, or design elements that need accompanying written content.

6. Campaign Briefs: Project-specific documents highlighting objectives, timelines, and key messages.

Including these attachments ensures the AI-generated content aligns with brand identity, audience needs, and campaign goals.

Explore More

Looking for advanced prompts for data analysis? Explore our library of ready-to-use, optimised prompts at this link. These prompts can help you unlock deeper insights and streamline your workflows.