ALG Dynamics · Stimulating Growth
Growth Marketing & Consumer Psychology · algdynamics.com
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AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and friends) can genuinely give a small business the output of a part-time marketing assistant. But most people use them like a search engine — one vague line in, generic mush out — and then conclude “AI writing sounds robotic.”
It sounds robotic because the prompt gave it nothing human to work with. AI mirrors the quality of what you feed it.
This guide gives you a repeatable prompt structure plus ready-to-use prompts for the marketing jobs SMB owners actually face. Copy them, fill in the brackets, adjust to taste.
The 5-part prompt structure (works everywhere)
Every strong marketing prompt contains these five parts:
- Role — who the AI should act as. (“You are an experienced email copywriter for local service businesses.”)
- Context — your business, your customer, the situation. This is the part everyone skips and it matters most.
- Task — exactly what you want produced, including format and length.
- Constraints — tone, what to avoid, rules. (“No hype. No exclamation marks. Eighth-grade reading level.”)
- Example — paste a sample of your own writing or a piece you admire. One good example beats three paragraphs of description.
The golden rule: never let AI guess your customer. Tell it who they are, what they’re worried about, and what words they use. AI knows language patterns; it does not know your people. You do. That combination is the whole trick.
Prompt 1 — Build your reusable “business context block”
Do this once, save the output, and paste it at the top of every future prompt. It upgrades everything else in this guide.
I run [business type] in [location] called [name]. My best customers are [describe them — situation, age range if relevant, what they’re struggling with when they find me]. They usually say things like “[a real phrase a customer has used].” What I sell: . What makes me different: [your honest differentiator]. My tone is [e.g., warm, plain-spoken, no hype]. Summarize all of this into a compact “business context block” I can paste into future prompts, and ask me up to 5 questions to fill any gaps before you write it.
Why it works: the “ask me questions first” instruction stops the AI from papering over gaps with generic filler — the number-one source of robotic output.
Prompt 2 — Write an email to your list
[Paste your business context block.]
Write a short email to my list about [topic — e.g., our new seasonal offer]. Goal:
. Structure: subject line under 45 characters, a first line that names a specific frustration my customer has, 120–170 words total, one clear call to action, PS line optional. Tone: like a knowledgeable friend, not a brand. Avoid: “unlock,” “elevate,” “game-changer,” and all hype words. Give me 3 versions with different opening angles: one leading with a pain point, one with a question, one with a short story.
Psychology note: opening with the reader’s frustration works because we pay attention to things that name our current problem — relevance is the gatekeeper of attention. The three-versions instruction matters too: your judgment picking the best of three is where the quality comes from.
Prompt 3 — A month of social content ideas (in your voice)
[Paste your business context block.]
Here are 2 examples of posts I’ve written that felt like me: “[paste post 1]” “[paste post 2]”
Generate 20 post ideas for the next month organized in four buckets: (a) answers to questions customers actually ask me, (b) behind-the-scenes of how I work, (c) opinions I hold about my industry that customers would find useful, (d) simple educational tips. For each idea give me: a hook line (first sentence), 2–3 bullet points of what to cover, and a suggested format (text, photo, short video). Do NOT write finished posts — I’ll write them myself from your outlines.
Why outlines, not finished posts: your voice is your trust asset. AI drafts the skeleton; you add the stories, specifics, and opinions only you have. Readers can feel the difference.
Prompt 4 — Turn one piece of content into five
Here is a piece of content I made: [paste blog post, video transcript, or long email].
Repurpose it into: (1) a short email to my list, (2) a LinkedIn/Facebook post, (3) three short social captions each focusing on ONE idea from the piece, (4) a 30-second video script in spoken, casual language, (5) five headline/title alternatives for the original. Keep my wording and phrases wherever possible — reuse my sentences rather than rewriting them.
Why it works: repetition across channels doesn’t bore your audience — most people missed it the first time, and familiarity builds trust. This is the highest-leverage prompt in the guide for busy owners.
Prompt 5 — Improve a page or ad that isn’t converting
[Paste your business context block.]
Here is the current text of my [landing page / ad / flyer]: [paste it].
Act as a conversion-focused reviewer. Go through it and tell me: (1) What is unclear or requires the reader to think too hard? (2) Where do I talk about myself when I should talk about the customer? (3) What objection or worry is going unanswered? (4) Is the call to action specific and low-friction? Then rewrite it once, keeping my tone. Show your changes as a before/after list with a one-line reason for each change.
Psychology note: most weak pages fail on clarity and unaddressed anxiety, not persuasion. Asking for reasons with each change teaches you to spot these issues yourself.
Prompt 6 — Prepare to understand your customers better
My customers are [description]. I want to understand why they choose (or don’t choose) a business like mine. Draft 8 interview questions I could ask 3–5 of my recent customers in a 15-minute chat. Rules: open-ended questions only, no leading questions, focus on the moment they realized they needed help, what almost stopped them from buying, and what words they’d use to describe the result. Then tell me what patterns to listen for in their answers.
Why this one matters most: everything else in marketing gets easier when you know the actual words and worries of your customers. AI can draft the questions — only real conversations produce the answers. Do this before spending another dollar on ads.
Prompt 7 — Respond to a review (good or bad)
Here is a review a customer left: “[paste review]”. Write a response that: thanks them specifically (reference a detail from their review, not generic praise), takes responsibility without being defensive if the review is negative, states plainly what we’ll do differently if something went wrong, and stays under 100 words. Tone: human, calm, no corporate phrases like “we apologize for any inconvenience.” Give me 2 versions.
The 6 habits that separate good AI users from frustrated ones
- Context in, quality out. The business context block (Prompt 1) is 80% of the game.
- Ask for options, then choose. Request 2–3 versions. Your taste is the quality filter.
- Iterate in the same chat. “Shorter.” “Less formal.” “The second paragraph is generic — replace it with something specific about [detail].” Treat it like a junior assistant, not a vending machine.
- Never publish facts unchecked. AI confidently invents statistics, names, and details. If it states a number or fact you didn’t give it, verify it or cut it.
- Keep your fingerprints on everything. Add the story, the specific customer moment, the opinion. That’s what people connect with — and what AI cannot supply.
- Save what works. Keep a document of your best prompts. Your prompt library becomes a real business asset within a month.
When prompts aren’t enough
Prompts make you faster. But the businesses pulling ahead are wiring AI into systems — content pipelines, lead follow-up, customer nurture — that run whether or not the owner had a good week. That’s the work we do at ALG Dynamics: psychology-informed marketing systems, built around how your customers actually decide.
Curious what that would look like for your business? algdynamics.com/start-scaling
ALG Dynamics — Stimulating Growth
ALG Dynamics — Growth Marketing & Consumer Psychology. Want this working in your business? Start with a short conversation →