Prompting / Prompt Champs

Claude “write me a marketing email” — Do This Instead

07:18 runtimePublished July 1, 202620 key ideas

Someone opens a blank chat, types 'write me a marketing email,' and hits enter. Ten seconds later they're staring at four bland paragraphs that could belong to any company on earth, the kind of copy you delete and…

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The complete breakdown

Someone opens a blank chat, types 'write me a marketing email,' and hits enter. Ten seconds later they're staring at four bland paragraphs that could belong to any company on earth, the kind of copy you delete and rewrite yourself. They sigh, close the tab, and mutter that the AI just isn't that good. Here's the part they missed: the model didn't fail them, the prompt did. The people pulling expert answers out of the same tool aren't paying for a secret version, they're asking in a completely different way, and every one of those ways is learnable. Get it right and you get sharper answers, in your own voice, on the first try, without the endless rewrites. So stop blaming the tool and fix the ask. Here are twenty moves, counting down to the one that changes everything.

Use this page with the video

Watch the episode above for the visual explanation, then use the notes below to revisit each idea, example, and practical move.

01

State Goal, Reader, Format

You type 'write me a marketing email' and get bland filler you end up deleting. State the goal, the reader, and the format instead: 'A 120-word email to past customers, warm tone, one button.' The first draft finally fits.

Goal, reader, format every time

02

Name the Exact Change

You tell it 'make this better' and it hands back the same paragraph, barely moved. Name the exact change instead: 'Cut it to three sentences, drop the jargon, warm up the opening line.' Now the edit lands where you meant it.

Name the exact change you want

03

Show One Example

You describe the layout you want in detail and it still guesses wrong. Paste one finished example instead and say 'match this format.' It mirrors the structure, headings, and length of your sample, with none of the back-and-forth.

Paste an example, say match this

04

Paste the Real Thing

You summarize the angry customer email in your own words, then wonder why the reply misses the point. Paste the real message, the exact error text, or the raw numbers instead. It answers what happened, not your paraphrase of it.

Paste the real thing, not a recap

05

One Step at a Time

You ask for a full launch plan and get a shallow list that covers nothing well. Break it into steps and do one at a time: outline first, then the audience, then the emails. Each answer gets the focus the whole task never could.

Big task, one step at a time

06

Make It Grade Itself

You take the first draft as final and ship something flat. Tell it to critique its own answer, list the three weakest lines, then rewrite those. It catches the vague claims and filler you would have skimmed past on a quick read.

Make it critique its own draft

07

Give It a Real Persona

You write 'act as an expert' and get careful, on-the-fence advice. Give it a sharp persona instead: 'a skeptical tax auditor reviewing this receipt.' The specific role changes the questions it asks and the holes it hunts for.

A sharp persona beats an expert

08

Ask It to Choose

You ask 'should I do this, yes or no' and get a hedged non-answer. Ask it to weigh two or three options and recommend one with reasons: 'Compare these plans and pick one.' You walk away with a decision, not a shrug.

Ask it to choose and defend it

09

Make It Ask First

You give it half the details and it fills the gaps with wrong guesses. Tell it to ask you clarifying questions before it answers. It surfaces the four things it needs to know, and the reply comes back built on your real situation.

Let it ask before it answers

10

Put the Ask First

You open with three paragraphs of backstory and the real request sits buried at the bottom. Put the instruction first, context after: 'Rewrite this bio in 80 words,' then paste the draft. It acts on the ask instead of losing it.

Instruction first, context after

11

Start a Fresh Chat

You have argued with a chat for twenty messages and it keeps repeating the same wrong turn. Stop patching it. Open a fresh chat and paste one clean prompt. Without the tangled history, the next answer comes back straight.

Restart clean beats arguing

12

Add Tight Constraints

You ask it to 'be creative' and get safe, forgettable ideas. Hand it constraints instead: 'Give me six names, two words each, no invented words.' The limits force sharper choices than a wide-open field ever does.

Constraints sharpen the ideas

13

Ask Where It's From

You copy a confident stat into your report, then get corrected in the comments. Ask how sure it is and where the claim comes from, then check that source yourself. You keep the speed and drop the quiet mistakes it slips in.

Check the source before you trust

14

Save a Prompt Template

You retype the same weekly-update request from scratch every Friday. Save it once as a template with blanks: 'Summarize [these notes] into five bullets for [this team].' Next week you fill the blanks and send, no rebuilding.

Save the prompts you repeat

15

Ask for a Table

You get a dense wall of text and skim it, missing half. Ask for a shape you can use instead: a table comparing the options, numbered steps, or a one-line summary first. You read it in seconds instead of wading through it.

Ask for a table or steps

16

Feed It Your Specifics

You ask a broad question and it answers 'it depends,' which helps no one. Give it your specifics so it has to commit: your budget, your deadline, your team size. Pinned to real numbers, it hands back a real recommendation.

Your specifics kill it depends

17

Show Your Own Voice

You prompt cold and the writing sounds like everyone else's. Paste two or three samples of your own past work and say 'match this voice.' It picks up your rhythm and word choice, so the draft reads like you, not a machine.

Feed it samples of your voice

18

Have It Think First

You ask for an answer and it blurts the first thing, skipping the tricky middle. Tell it to reason step by step before it commits: 'Work through this out loud, then answer.' The visible thinking catches errors a snap reply hides.

Reason first, answer second

19

Treat It Like a Teammate

You treat it like a search box, type three words, and judge it by the first hit. Treat it like a teammate instead: hand off a clear task, let it work, then review what comes back. A brief plus a second pass beats a one-word query.

Delegate, then review the work

20

Brief It, Don't Prompt It

You fire off a quick prompt and hope. Brief it like a smart teammate instead: the goal, the context, an example, the format you want back. Everything in this series comes down to this: plan the ask, and the answer arrives ready.

Write a brief, not a prompt

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