The Small Business Guide to Crafting Better AI Prompts

Jan 23

AI has emerged as a huge time saver for small business owners. Whether you realize it or not, most of your competitors are already leveraging AI in some capacity to streamline their operations, boost efficiency, and scale their efforts.

Now, if you're still getting used to your AI chat tool, you might find yourself frustrated with the robotic and, quite frankly, corny responses it's spitting out. You’re probably thinking, "How is this supposed to be saving me time when I have to go back and edit everything it produces?"

Well, friend, the issue might not be the AI—it might be the way you're prompting it.

Why Your Prompts Matter

Think of AI like an intern. If you give vague or unclear instructions, you’ll likely get subpar results. But, if you provide clear, specific, and structured guidance, you’ll get output that’s much closer to what you actually need.

Crafting great AI prompts isn’t rocket science. It’s all about using a simple framework to guide your AI and set it up for success.

The Framework for Better AI Prompts

If you want your AI tool to generate content that actually sounds like you and meets your needs, follow this prompt-building framework:

Define Your Tone & Style
- Think about how you naturally communicate with your audience. Are you conversational and friendly? Professional and authoritative? Spell it out in your prompt.
- Example: "Write this in a conversational tone with a touch of humor, as if I'm talking to a friend who's struggling with marketing."
Be Specific About the Goal
- What do you want the AI to achieve? Whether it’s drafting a blog post, writing an email, or creating a social media caption, clarify your desired outcome.
- Example: "Write a 500-word blog post on how small businesses can use AI to save time, including practical tips and examples."
Provide Context and Structure
- Give your AI the background it needs to understand the topic. Outline key points or sections you want included.
- Example: If I want it to write something on AI for small businesses I would include an introduction on the rise of AI, a section on common AI tools, and a conclusion with actionable takeaways.
Offer Examples and References
- Show AI what you like by including examples of past work or content styles you admire.
- Example: "Write this in a style similar to my previous LinkedIn post on time management tips. (copy and paste the post content)"
Iterate and Refine
- Don't expect perfection on the first try. Provide feedback and fine-tune your prompts based on the AI's output.
- Example: "Make this more concise and use simpler language so that someone on a 5th grade reading level can understand."

Pro Tips for Even Better AI Results

Use clear and direct language. Ambiguity can lead to unexpected results.
Break down complex tasks. Instead of one big ask, break it into smaller, more manageable prompts.
Give examples of do’s and don’ts. This helps AI better understand your preferences.
Always review your output. AI is still developing and is not 100% accurate all the time. Ensure you’re also doing your own research to ensure the output it gives you is actually correct.

By tweaking how you prompt your AI tools, you'll get much better results with far less frustration. Once you master the art of prompting, you'll truly unlock the time-saving power AI promises.

Start experimenting today and watch how much easier content creation, email writing, and task management become!