How to Write Effective ChatGPT Prompts for Marketing
If you’re a small business owner, freelancer, or solopreneur, chances are you’re wearing all the hats - marketer, copywriter, content creator, strategist. Tools like ChatGPT can save you time, boost creativity, and help you stay consistent with your marketing. But there’s a catch: you need to know how to write effective ChatGPT prompts to get the most out of ChatGPT.
In this post, you’ll learn how to craft powerful prompts for ChatGPT that generate high-quality, tailored content, especially for marketing tasks like blog writing, social media, email campaigns, and course creation.
TL;DR: Tips for Writing Better ChatGPT Prompts
Be specific and clear: Say what you want, for who, in what tone, and in what format.
Break it down: Tackle big tasks in smaller, more manageable steps.
Ask follow-up questions: Think of ChatGPT as a conversation, not a one-time question.
Add context: The more info you include, the more personalised the answer.
Define the output: Be clear about the format, length, and tone of the response you want.
Save your best prompts to reuse or tweak later.
Experiment and refine.
What Is a ChatGPT Prompt? (And Why It Matters for Small Business Marketing)
A ChatGPT prompt is the instruction you give to ChatGPT to produce a response. Think of it like giving direction to an assistant: the clearer and more specific your prompt, the more helpful the output. This is called prompt engineering.
Why Prompts Matter:
A vague prompt will likely return a generic response, which probably won’t be much help.
A specific prompt is more likely to deliver personalised, actionable content.
Example:
❌ “Write a draft course description.”
✅ “Write a course description for a Skillshare class called ‘Create an Instagram Marketing Strategy in 5 Steps,’ aimed at beginner small business owners.”
The second example provides context, which is super important for any ChatGPT prompt. Otherwise, if you used the first example in this case, you’d get a generic course description that wouldn’t be relevant. It would be an even better prompt if you included the tone, the length of the course description, and any key information to include.
How to Write Better ChatGPT Prompts for Marketing
Try using this 3-step approach to instantly improve your prompts:
1. Add Context
Tell ChatGPT who you are, what you're working on, and your target audience.
Example:
"I’m a UK-based freelance marketer helping small businesses with email and Instagram. Suggest 3 ideas for a lead magnet that would appeal to overwhelmed solopreneurs."
2. Define the Output Format
Be clear about the format, length, and tone of the response you want. You can also provide ChatGPT with an example here.
Example:
“Write 5 Instagram captions to promote [XYZ] under 150 characters each, using a friendly and empowering tone.”
Sometimes I will also provide ChatGPT with an example of a post that I’ve previously written and ask it to match the style and format. You can also share any ad guidelines or best practices with ChatGPT, for example, with LinkedIn ads there is a specific format that must be followed. So for LinkedIn you need a headline, intro text, and a description and each part has a character limit. Sharing these details with ChatGPT means you will more likely to get exactly what you want (or close to it) first time. This is essentially like sharing a brief with a member of your marketing team, the better it is, the better the results!
3. Refine and Follow Up
If the first answer isn’t perfect, don’t start over, just guide it.
Example:
“Make the captions more benefit-focused and include a call-to-action.”
I often forget to include things in my prompts, or I may not like what ChatGPT comes back with first time, in these instances you can keep refining until you are happy with the output. For example - use less emojis! 🙂
✨ Download my free downloadable checklist: "How to Write ChatGPT Prompts for Marketing That Actually Work." It includes a simple 4-step prompt writing checklist and real examples you can copy and tweak for your business.
Best ChatGPT Prompt Techniques for Small Business Marketing
1. Be Specific and Clear
One of the BIGGEST mistakes is using broad or vague prompts. The more specific your prompt, the better the results will be.
So instead of:
“Write about social media.”
Try:
“Write a promotional Instagram post about our new eco-friendly workout gear, targeting female fitness enthusiasts aged 25–40.”
This works because specific prompts help ChatGPT to focus on relevant language, tone, and audience needs.
Here’s another comparison:
❌ “Help me with my social media strategy.”
✅ “Help me to develop a social media strategy for a B2B tech startup, targeting IT decision-makers on LinkedIn, focused on increasing brand awareness over 3 months.”
2. Break Down Complex Tasks into Smaller Prompts
ChatGPT can get overwhelmed with big tasks so you may get better results by breaking it into smaller parts. So for example, instead of me asking ChatGPT to “Create a full marketing strategy for my course launch” it would be better to break the prompts down like this:
“Generate 3 blog post ideas to promote a Skillshare course on Canva tips.”
“Write 5 Instagram captions to build excitement before launch.”
“Create an email sequence (3 emails) to engage subscribers before and after the course goes live.”
Think of ChatGPT as a collaborator, tackle one step at a time for better results.
3. Add Rich Background Information
As we’ve touched upon already, the more context ChatGPT has, the more tailored and useful the answer will be. Make sure you share your objectives, audience, brand voice, and any key information, benefits or selling points you need including too.
Example:
“I teach a Skillshare course called Create an Instagram Marketing Strategy in 5 Steps. My audience is overwhelmed small business owners. The course covers content planning, hashtags, and using AI tools. Write a course description that is engaging and beginner-friendly.”
You can even upload documents like examples of your own writing, brand guidelines, company tone of voice, or style guides to guide ChatGPT’s response. Alternatively, you can easily create a custom Chat GPT with all the rich background information you need so that it’s answers are always tailored, and you don’t have to keep repeating yourself. This is what I have done and - it makes a massive difference and saves so much time.
4. Use Role-Based Prompts
One optional technique you can use is to assign ChatGPT a specific ‘role’ or perspective.
Example Prompts:
“Act as a digital marketing expert. Suggest 5 lead magnet ideas for a personal branding coach.”
“You are a product copywriter. Write a benefit-led description for a downloadable Notion template.”
This technique improves relevance and mimics how a real expert would answer.
5. Try “Imagine” Prompts for Empathy
Another option is to use ‘imagination-based’ prompts to make content more human and relatable.
Example:
“Imagine you’re a student taking this online course for the first time. What would you expect to learn in the first module?”
Or:
“Imagine you're a solopreneur struggling to grow on Instagram. Write an encouraging caption about staying consistent.”
This can be great for: UX writing, course creation, onboarding copy, and audience engagement posts.
6. Ask for Numbered or Step-by-Step Lists
Structured prompts improve readability, especially for blogs, tutorials, or guides.
Example:
“List 5 steps for setting up a Mailchimp email automation as a beginner.”
Or:
“Explain how to repurpose one blog post into 4 different Instagram posts in a numbered list.”
7. Include Desired Tone and Style
Specify your tone to match your brand personality or the platform or audience you're writing for.
Examples:
“Write in a friendly and approachable tone.”
“Make it sound confident and professional.”
“Use a fun and cheeky voice for Gen Z entrepreneurs.”
Prompt:
“Write a welcome email for a time management course in a casual, encouraging tone.”
8. Use Open-Ended Prompts for Brainstorming
Great for getting ideas, angles, or hooks.
Prompt Examples:
“What are 10 creative ways to launch a digital product on Instagram?”
“Give me 5 content ideas for a blog targeting female freelancers.”
Once you have ideas, follow up with:
“Expand on idea #3 and make it suitable for a LinkedIn post.”
9. Refine with Follow-Up Prompts
Use ChatGPT iteratively - tweak tone, shorten content, add keywords, ask follow up questions, or change format. You can also test different prompt techniques to see what gives you the best responses.
Prompt Examples:
“Make this shorter for Instagram Stories.”
“Turn this list into a carousel post.”
“Add SEO keywords like ‘AI tools for small business’ and ‘how to use ChatGPT for marketing.”
Remember to always edit and fact-check responses generated by ChatGPT, as it can make mistakes, and even makes things up sometimes. Plus, you’ll want to tweak it and add your own voice, experiences and points too. You ideally want your copy to feel like YOU and your brand, and not generic!
Ready to Master Writing ChatGPT Prompts?
Learning how to write effective ChatGPT prompts can save you hours of time, spark fresh content ideas, and seriously level up your marketing - whether you're creating blog posts, email sequences, or social media campaigns.
✨ Download my free downloadable checklist: "How to Write ChatGPT Prompts for Marketing That Actually Work." It includes a simple 4-step prompt writing checklist and real examples you can copy and tweak for your business.
Learn More About Using ChatGPT for Marketing
🎥 Check out my Skillshare courses to dive deeper into using ChatGPT to create marketing strategies, write content faster, and grow your audience with ease.
Happy Learning!
– Louise
P.S. Don’t forget to:
💌 Sign up for my newsletter for regular marketing tips
📸 Follow me on Instagram for updates + inspo
