Resources
Creative Services
- Website Design
- Website Development
- Graphic Design
- Branding Services
Online Services
- SEM Management
- Search Engine Optimization
- Social Media Marketing
- Email Marketing
How to Write a Good ChatGPT Prompt
Want to get better results from ChatGPT? Talk to the app like it’s a human, be clear with your instructions, and ask follow-up questions when you’re unhappy with the response.
Whether you love AI or hate it with a hot, fiery, slightly-tin-hatted passion, one thing is clear: the technology is here to stay. ChatGPT 3 had its first birthday last November, which means we’ve all had time to get familiar with the app and find ways to make it work for us.
Right?
Well, maybe not all of us. But ChatGPT remains popular with quite a few people. Like, 100 million people. That’s right, according to OpenAI itself, the app has about 100 million weekly active users. Not too shabby.
But if you have yet to jump onto the AI train, don’t panic. The conversation around artificial intelligence continues to shift as the world grapples with the ethics of this groundbreaking technology. Accusations of disinformation, discrimination, and intellectual property issues have plagued the app over the last 12 months.
Right now, the consensus seems to be this:
Use ChatGPT as a tool, not a crutch.
In other words, don’t use ChatGPT as your end-all-be-all content writer. Instead, think of it as an assistant that helps you brainstorm ideas, research new topics, and create rough drafts. Above all, never trust ChatGPT to be totally accurate, fair, or appropriate with its responses.
With all of that being said, we still believe that ChatGPT is a worthwhile tool when used responsibly. And if you’ve tried the app before without luck, we have the solution:
Better. Prompts.
The more instructive you are with the app, the more valuable its output will be. So here it is, our guide to writing a quality ChatGPT prompt.
Remind Me, Why Are People Using ChatGPT?
We’ve answered the question, “What Is ChatGPT?” before. So if you need a quick refresher, take a moment to go and read our first article on the subject. In simple terms, the app is a highly trained and developed chatbot. The user gives the app a set of instructions (or prompt) and ChatGPT provides a humanlike response.
Business owners all over the world are using ChatGPT to save time and make money. Here are a few tasks being shared with the app:
- Writing emails
- Responding to customer inquiries
- Performing market research
- Creating outlines for blog posts
- Summarizing meeting notes
- Generating SEO keywords
- Brainstorming new content ideas
- Making difficult concepts easier to understand
- Writing captions for social media posts
…the list goes on. Essentially, there are a ton of tasks you could be making easier with AI. But if you’ve tried and failed to get quality responses from ChatGPT, you aren’t alone.
What Is a ChatGPT Prompt and Why Does It Matter?
Are you giving ChatGPT seemingly clear instructions and getting a flaming trash heap disguised as content for a response? Don’t despair; we’ve been there.
Turns out, the instructions you give to the app are super, super important. So important, in fact, that there are now courses and certifications for what the industry is calling “prompt engineering.” Basically, writing ChatGPT prompts (or instructions) is now its own discipline.
Welcome to the future.
Thankfully, you don’t need to be a certified Prompt Engineer to use ChatGPT effectively. With a few tips and tricks, a little trial and error, and some encouragement from Myriad, you can get the job done. No schoolwork or degrees required.
Use ChatGPT as a tool, not a crutch.
How to Write a Good ChatGPT Prompt
Okay engineer, so you want to write a good prompt? Well, here’s a little secret: it’s not that hard. Truly, anyone can do it. Follow these guidelines, keep practicing, and you’ll get there.
#1: Think of ChatGPT As an Employee
You wouldn’t hire a new employee, drop them in the center of your office space, and leave them to it. You would provide training, instruction, and feedback to make sure the job is done right. Take the same approach with AI.
To do this, you need to know what role you want ChatGPT to play in your daily routine. You could make it a copywriter, a time management consultant, or even a plumber if you want! Be clear about who and what you expect the technology to be for you . . . and talk to it like it’s a human.
Not-Quite-There Example:
“Write a brief product description about a steel hammer.”
Getting-There Example:
“As an experienced craftsman from Chicago, write a brief product description about a steel hammer.”
#2: Be Clear and Give Context
Don’t overthink your prompts. The more clear and concise your instructions are, the better.
That said, it’s important to give the app context when you’re looking for something specific. It doesn’t need your life story, but a few details about where you’re coming from and what you’re looking for can make a big difference.
Not-Quite-There Example:
“As an experienced craftsman from Chicago, write a brief product description about a steel hammer.”
Getting-There Example:
“I am the owner of a hardware store in Chicago. I would like to advertise a new hammer with a steel handle and a curved claw. You are an experienced craftsman who is also from Chicago and has a talent for clear and concise writing. Please write a product description for this hammer.”
#3: Create Rules and Constraints
With the last two tips in your tool belt, you should be getting better results from ChatGPT already. But if you really want to dial in on a finished and polished response from the app, give it a few rules and constraints. In other words, tell it what you do and do not want it to do.
Not-Quite-There Example:
“I am the owner of a hardware store in Chicago. I would like to advertise a new hammer with a steel handle and a curved claw. You are an experienced craftsman who is also from Chicago and has a talent for clear and concise writing. Please write a product description for this hammer.”
Getting-There Example:
“I am the owner of a hardware store in Chicago. I would like to advertise a new hammer with a steel handle and a curved claw. You are an experienced craftsman who is also from Chicago and has a talent for clear and concise writing. Please write a product description for this hammer. Keep the description to fewer than 150 words and make it easy to scan.”
#4: Give Follow-up Instructions
At this point, you should hopefully be a lot closer to your end goal. If there is still something missing, go back to the app and give follow-up instructions. For example, you could say, “Try the last prompt again but this time mention that the tool is lightweight.” Or, “Repeat the last prompt but this time use the word ‘bamboozled.’”
The more you use ChatGPT, the more familiar you will become with the language of the experience. Just as a hiring manager continually improves their training techniques, you can become more adept at teaching AI to do the job you have in mind.
Don’t Forget: Put Your Own Spin On It
Before we go, we want to remind you that it’s not a good idea to take content from an AI app and use it verbatim. (Re: the discrimination/disinformation/intellectual property issues mentioned earlier.) Once you’ve mastered your prompt and produced a quality output from ChatGPT, we recommend you put your own spin on it.
This will ensure that you’re not plagiarizing any existing online content. And it has the added benefit of sounding as if it is actually coming from you: the passionate, bonafide human being who owns the business. You and your voice are the reason for your business’s success. Your customers haven’t forgotten and neither should you.
Share this article
Did you find this article useful? Share it up!
