AI MARKETING - HOW TO WRITE PROMPTS CORRECTLY?

"Write a good post for my business." If you give this task to artificial intelligence, you will definitely get a response, though it is interesting to see what kind. The text might be grammatically correct, have a headline, a few emojis, and end with a call to action. However, most likely, it will be so generic that it could easily fit your competitor or the business next door.

Often we blame AI for such outcomes it didn't get it, it wrote something cliché, it couldn't capture the brand voice, or it isn't advanced enough. But if we haven't told it what kind of business we are talking about, who our customer is, what our goal is, how we talk to our audience, and what it shouldn't write, it won't figure this out on its own.

A good result doesn't depend solely on a powerful AI model. The key is how correctly we explained the task. That is precisely what is called a prompt an instruction, question, or context given to artificial intelligence to get a response.

AI Doesn't Read Minds (Yet) ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude can do a lot write, summarize, analyze, suggest ideas, convert text into different formats, and help flesh out visual concepts. But none of them automatically know:

• What your business actually does;
• Who your target audience is;
• What your brand personality is;
• What you have already tried and what didn't work;
• What the goal of this specific task is;
• What constraints or limitations you have;
• What kind of final output you need.

Without this information, AI will fill in the blanks with its own assumptions. That is where superficial ideas, repetitive copy, and those familiar phrases you feel like you've read everywhere come from. The problem isn't always the AI. Often, the problem is an incomplete brief.

The Formula for a Good Prompt Not every task requires long instructions. However, results improve significantly when you combine six core elements in your prompt:

Task – What should it do?

Start with a direct action:

• Write
• Analyze
• Suggest
• Compare
• Rewrite
• Evaluate
• Structure

"Help me with social media" is vague. "Suggest five Instagram Reels ideas" is reasonably specific.

Context - What does it need to know about you?

Explain the business, product, or project you are working on. Provide only the information that directly changes the approach to the task. For example: "We are a small Georgian ceramics brand. We handcraft minimalist tableware and primarily serve 25–40-year-old customers who appreciate local production and unique design." This context gives the AI a far better starting point than simply saying "ceramics business."

Goal - What outcome do you want to achieve? Copy written for the exact same product will differ depending on whether the goal is to:

• Increase brand awareness;
• Drive sales;
• Introduce a new product;
• Encourage comments;
• Drive website traffic;
• Explain complex information simply.

If you don't specify the goal, the AI will decide for itself what the response should serve.

Audience - Who are you talking to?

Don't settle for just age and gender. Describe what this person cares about, their pain points, what they already know, and what might hesitate them from making a decision.

"Women, 25–45" is just demographic data. "Working individuals who want to prepare a delicious dinner at home but have little time after the workday" already sounds like an insight.

Constraints – What should it consider or avoid?

If you want to avoid cliché phrases, excessive emojis, an overly salesy tone, or jargon, state it directly. For example: "Do not use phrases like: quality you deserve, the best choice, or unprecedented. The copy should not sound overly promotional." Often, knowing "what we don't want" is just as useful as "what we want."

Format – How should the response look?

• Specify:
• Text length;
• Number of variations;
• Language;
• Tone of voice;
• Structure;
• Platform;
• Required elements. For example: "Give me three different versions. Each maximum 500 characters. Start with a hook, explain the benefit, and end with a soft CTA. Write in a simple, friendly tone."

The First Answer Isn't the Final Answer A good prompt won't always yield the ideal result on the first try. Working with AI is more like a conversation than a one-time order. If you don't like the response, don't restart by simply saying "this is bad, write another one." Explain what isn't working:

• The hook is too generic;
• The tone sounds too formal;
• The ideas are too similar to each other;
• The product benefit isn't clear;
• The sentences are too long;
• The brand voice got lost;
• The CTA feels too direct.

The more precise your feedback, the better it understands what to adjust.

Useful follow-up prompts: "Keep the main idea from option two, but make the opening more insight-driven." "The copy sounds too salesy. Rewrite it so the product's value comes through a real-life scenario rather than direct claims." "All three ideas follow the same direction. Give me three more versions: one with humor, one rooted in a customer pain point, and one using an analogy."

Give Examples if You Know What You Like If your brand has an established tone of voice, give the AI two or three examples of good copy or visual concepts and explain specifically what to look for.

Don't just tell it: "Write like this." Point out:

• I like short sentences;
• The humor is subtle, not arrogant;
• The text opens with an everyday observation;
• It introduces the product later in the post;
• The CTA is soft and natural.

An example helps the AI spot structural and stylistic patterns. However, you shouldn't ask it to copy someone else's text line for line. Use examples to set direction, not to plagiarize.

Break Complex Tasks into Steps If you ask for a market analysis, strategy, campaign concept, one-month content plan, and full post copy all in one prompt, you will likely get a broad but superficial response. It is better to split the process into stages:

• Analyze the provided information;
• Ask clarifying questions;
• Define the audience and key pain point;
• Offer several strategic directions;
• Turn the selected direction into a content plan;
• Write the specific creative materials.

You can directly tell it: "Do not write the final response yet. Review the information and ask me up to five questions that will significantly improve the final result."

A Good Prompt Doesn't Have to Be Long A quality prompt doesn't mean writing several pages. Sometimes a single precise sentence is enough. The key is giving the AI the essential context it needs to make the right choices.

• If the response is too generic, add context;
• If the direction is off, clarify the goal;
• If the format isn't useful, specify the structure;
• If the copy sounds like every other brand, explain your brand personality and provide good examples.

AI is a great executor when it knows exactly what you're asking for. But framing the task, evaluating the output, and making the final call always belongs to the human.

At Burtula as well, we use AI when we need to speed up processes, structure ideas, or simplify technical tasks. However, strategy, creative concepts, and brand personality are things we never hand over to an auto-responder. Because good marketing doesn't start with a prompt. It starts with the right question and rests on human insights.