Collaborate, Don't Command for Killer AI Copy

Ever prompted ChatGPT and ended up with uninspired lines like "We miss you"? The problem isn't your prompts, it's how you're framing them. Let's flip a mental switch right now and start collaborating with AI as your new marketing partner. The difference is instant.

LLM ≠ Copy Robot

Many marketers treat ChatGPT as a robotic typist, asking it to "Write a win-back email" with no other context, information, or guidance. That approach guarantees generic, lifeless copy. You can do better.

Instead, think of ChatGPT as a new teammate eager to help but needing clear guidance. 

The more context you give on what you're working on, for whom, your desired result, and why it matters, the better the output. AI can't read your mind (yet?). You have to tell it what you want!  

That's a big difference!

Use Structured Prompts For Instant Improvement

Great prompts follow a clear, structured approach and ensure that you're giving AI all the context it needs every time. And they can be reused across your responsibilities with only slight tweaks! 

Here's a framework we use to craft effective prompts at Raleon:

Define The Role (# Role)

Clearly state who ChatGPT is acting as, to set a professional, relevant tone. Here's a few examples:

• “You are an experienced marketing copywriter.”

• “You are a world class CRO expert in ecommerce.”

• “You are a DTC Strategist focused on acquisition and paid media”

Even simple declarations like this will go a long way. It primes the AI for the task at hand.

State the Goal (# Objective)

Explicitly outline both your task objective and desired outcome. You need to tell the AI what you are working on and why. Remember, this is a collaboration at its core. 

For example, don't just say “I need to increase my click rate on emails.” That's a great outcome, but that's not what you're actually working on. It's a result without a task. 

Instead, say, “I'm updating the subject lines in our automated win-back flows because our open rate is below average. I need your help crafting new subject lines to achieve this goal.”

Add Brand Flavor (# Brand)

You wouldn't ask a human copywriter to do a job without giving them a brief. You wouldn't ask a designer to create a hero without sharing your brand guidelines. 

As your collaborator, you need to share these key brand details with your AI too! Include specific tone, voice, and style that aligns with your brand. Tell the AI what differentiates you from your competitors, what your brand represents, and why your customers love you.

Set Constraints (# Constraints)

Specify format details, length limits, or style guidelines. This can also overlap a bit with your style guide or other brand context, but its still worth it to explicitly tell the AI what you don't want.

Don't limit yourself to just style questions either. You can limit the AI to specific products, promotions, strategies, or anything else. Just like with your employees, training is about both what you want AND what you don't want. 

Request Iterations (# Iterations)

Always ask for multiple versions. AI can give incredible results in just a single ask, but asking for iterations will always level up the output.  

Think about your best copywriters. They are probably already writing 5, 10, or even 20 different subject line options in their drafts. You may only see their best 2 or 3 options in the A/B test, but that doesn't mean there hasn't already been serious iterations across a range of possibilities. 

AI is no different. Let it iterate on a few options and then select the best one. You can choose, of course, of you can let the AI make its case for the winner and provide justification. It's a collaborator!

And, just like your human collaborator, you can ask the AI follow up questions or request revisions too. Iterating doesn't stop after your first prompt. Use the chatbot to chat, and your results will only improve further. 

Hands-On Example: Crafting a Winning Prompt

One quick note on structure before we dive into the specific prompt.

Use tags like # Role, # Goal, # Brand, # Constraints, and # Iterations directly in your prompt for clarity. The use of tags (we find that markdown formatting with #'s is both simple and effective) helps the AI parse your request effectively, understanding the clear distinctions between each piece of information you're providing.

This prompt may, at first, seem like a lot of work just to generate some subject line copy. Frankly, it is. 

Remember though, that all of these sections can be reused. Keep your prompts and context saved in a text file, and copy/paste them when needed.

More advanced users can setup Custom GPTs or Projects in the ChatGPT app that will save the context for you. We'll cover custom GPTs and Projects in future posts, but be aware that their context will not update automatically. You will need to manually update your custom GPTs and Projects if the context changes. 

Raleon is designed to handle all of this context building for you, automatically. Raleon removes the copy-and-paste grind by gathering every shred of context for you and keeping it constantly up-to-date. Purpose-built for DTC ecommerce, the platform pulls in brand guidelines, campaign history, product details, customer insights, and order data, then pipes that intelligence straight into each chat. The result is consistently world-class output while Raleon does all the heavy lifting behind the scenes.

Here's a prompt you can use right now (the brand is fictional, but included to give a sense of how this prompt structure can be used. Update this with your brand details and use case and see the results for yourself!): 

Resulting subject lines:

1. Sustainable styles miss you

2. Eco-friendly fashion awaits

3. Your green gear is ready

AI's Pick: "Eco-friendly fashion awaits" is the strongest option because it clearly conveys sustainability, suggests excitement, and directly addresses re-engagement by implying something new and desirable is waiting for the customer.

Next level tip:

For testable use cases like subject lines, ask the AI to generate 10 or 20 options then select the top 3 that should be included in the A/B test. This tactic will give you the best of both the AI's intuition and best practices with the data driven surety of an A/B test. 

Collaborate for Instant Results

You've now got a clear, structured method to turn every interaction with AI into a productive collaboration. No more bland prompts or uninspired copy. By clearly defining roles, objectives, brand flavor, constraints, and iterations, you're set up for consistent marketing success.

Remember, think collaboration, not commands.

Raleon automatically applies this structured approach within every automated flow, so your team can bypass tedious setup and immediately focus on strategic, high-impact marketing. If you'd like to see what an AI purpose built for DTC ecommerce can do for you, schedule a demo now.