{"id":2782462,"date":"2023-07-24T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-24T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-1016567-4521551.cloudwaysapps.com\/plato-data\/why-your-chatgpt-prompts-arent-working-and-how-to-fix-them-according-to-hubspots-seo-team\/"},"modified":"2023-07-24T07:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-07-24T11:00:00","slug":"why-your-chatgpt-prompts-arent-working-and-how-to-fix-them-according-to-hubspots-seo-team","status":"publish","type":"station","link":"https:\/\/platodata.io\/plato-data\/why-your-chatgpt-prompts-arent-working-and-how-to-fix-them-according-to-hubspots-seo-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Your ChatGPT Prompts Aren\u2019t Working (And How to Fix Them), According to HubSpot\u2019s SEO Team"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s a lot of hype around ChatGPT<\/a> and AI models like it. It can take a single prompt and transform it into an entirely new piece of content. It can research virtually any topic, and deliver its findings in the form of poetry, code, lyrics, and more.<\/p>\n

\"writing<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

And yet, when you fire up ChatGPT and feed it a prompt, it responds with something\u2026 far from perfect. It’s too broad, too long, too bland, or misses the mark entirely.<\/p>\n

This often happens when we don’t know how to ask, in AI-terms, what we want. In other words, the output is only as good as the input. So, if you want to master AI, knowing how to write a good prompt is key.<\/p>\n

Here, I spoke to HubSpot’s SEO team to understand the key elements of a good prompt, along with some helpful prompt writing tips and techniques.<\/p>\n

\"Free<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Table of Contents<\/strong><\/h4>\n

How to Write the Perfect AI Prompt<\/a><\/p>\n

Prompt Writing Techniques<\/a><\/p>\n

How to Write the Perfect AI Prompt<\/h2>\n

\"AI<\/p>\n

1. Envision your ideal response.<\/h3>\n

It’s tempting to load up ChatGPT and jump right into the prompt. However, Josh Blyskal<\/a>, Associate SEO Strategist at HubSpot, recommends a more introspective approach.<\/p>\n

“The first thing you should do is figure out what you want. Before I type anything, I always take a moment to envision what the final output will look like,” he told me.<\/p>\n

He gives an example of a marketer who wants to generate a marketing plan. Instead of typing “Write me a marketing plan” into ChatGPT, she should take the time to envision what the plan looks like \u2014 how many sections it has, how many bullet points are under each section, and what information it contains.<\/p>\n

Now that she has a better grasp of the task at hand, it becomes much easier to compose a prompt that checks all the boxes.<\/p>\n

2. Write a specific, action-oriented task.<\/h3>\n

AI models thrive on specificity. If you feed it with vague instructions, you give it room to interpret what it thinks<\/em> you want.<\/p>\n

For example, suppose you prompt ChatGPT to “Rewrite this [article\/email\/Tweet],” expecting it to write something new and original. Instead, it regurgitates your original message using the same words and phrases.<\/p>\n

The solution is to get specific and intentional with your words.<\/p>\n

Instead of “Rewrite,” for instance, you might say reimagine<\/em>, expand<\/em>, simplify<\/em>, or modernize<\/em>. Even a small change in the way you phrase a prompt can significantly change the response.<\/p>\n

As Blyskal points out, “A lot of people treat AI like a rigid system that can be hacked with the right words or phrases, but that’s not the case. There are no secret keywords that can guarantee the best results. It’s like playing a game of words, and you have to think intentionally about the ones you use.”<\/p>\n

3. Set the stage with context.<\/h3>\n

You could get away with stopping at the previous step \u2014 especially if your request is fairly straightforward (e.g., “Write five knock-knock jokes for kids”).<\/p>\n

However, you can supercharge your prompts by padding them with context. This gives the AI model more ingredients to cook up a great response.<\/p>\n

Bianca D’Agostino<\/a>, SEO Specialist at HubSpot, puts it this way: “Suppose your friend asks you to go to the store and pick up a few things. You definitely need more context \u2013 which store, what things, what’s the budget, and so on. The more context you get from your friend, the easier it is to do the task. The same goes for AI!”<\/p>\n

Let’s look at an example:<\/p>\n

\"Prompt<\/p>\n

Both of these prompts might yield good results, but the second prompt will give you a more detailed and compelling description. This is because the AI model has more context to work with, including the product’s name (‘Squeaky Queen’), its form (a scrub), and its key features (vegan, gluten-free, recyclable packaging).<\/p>\n

4. Add clear instructions.<\/h3>\n

Although Al models are powerful, they still need you to take the lead. Without clear instructions, they’re essentially a chef without a recipe or a new employee without a handbook.<\/p>\n

Here’s an example: Imagine you need to write an article about Instagram marketing. Along with the main task (“Write an article about Instagram marketing<\/em>“), you also instruct ChatGPT to:<\/p>\n