Creating and sharing helpful content online is a key marketing strategy for attracting an audience and converting them into customers. According to a survey conducted by the Content Marketing Institute (CMI), strong majorities of respondents say it helps them create brand awareness (87%) and generate leads (74%). However, only 35% of those in the CMI survey said they have a scalable content marketing strategy.
That’s where generative AI can help. It gives small business owners—who often juggle content creation with day-to-day business operations—the opportunity to create more content, more easily.
“AI really opens the door for anyone with any technical background to bring an idea to fruition,” says Alex Pilon, Shopify senior developer and AI advocate.
While generative AI can be a valuable tool for writing, the quality of its output is only as strong as the prompt a human provides. From brainstorming fresh ideas to optimizing your content for SEO marketing, this guide explores ways to craft effective AI prompts for writing blog posts, social media posts, and other ecommerce copy.
Table of contents
What are AI writing prompts?
AI writing prompts are written instructions or questions you provide to generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, CoPilot, or Google Gemini. They guide the AI tool’s output and help the AI model understand precisely what you need. A well-crafted prompt allows AI to generate responses that are relevant to your content goals. Vague requests yield generic responses. Detailed, nuanced prompts produce more targeted writing.
Unlike broad commands, effective prompts include context, specify your desired output format, and provide clear parameters. Instead of asking ChatGPT to “write about marketing,” a strong ChatGPT prompt would be, “generate five blog post ideas about email marketing for small ecommerce businesses, and focus on strategies that require minimal budget but can increase customer retention.”
Ways to use AI writing prompts for your writing process
When it comes to supporting your writing process, generative AI tools can help you tackle writing tasks that consume significant time and mental energy. As you get a sense of how AI responds to you, work on honing your prompt techniques.
Alex compares AI prompt writing to writing Google searches.
“You’ll start to learn what it is good at or how to phrase things to get the kind of answer you’re looking for,” says Alex.
“Over time, you kind of build up this instinctive reflex of how to write search queries when you’re looking for information. You build up the same kind of thing with AI.”
Here are common ways to use writing prompts to streamline content creation:
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Ideation. If you’re paralyzed by the brainstorming process, AI can assist with generating content pillars, fresh ideas for social media posts, and interesting angles for blog posts by analyzing factors like industry trends, customer pain points, or seasonal opportunities.
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Outlining. AI’s ability to structure information logically can help you efficiently organize your key points, break you out of writer’s block with bullet points on how to tackle your topic, and suggest an ideal flow for long-form content.
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Finding sources and gathering information. AI can identify credible sources, suggest research directions, and compile relevant statistics (but note, AI is still known to generate imaginary sources when none are available).
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Writing headlines. AI can generate multiple headline variations (challenging even for a seasoned writer), helping find compelling options that strike the tone you’re striving for.
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Optimizing for SEO. AI can identify relevant keywords, suggest meta descriptions, and recommend content structures search engines favor.
How to write effective AI prompts
- Provide your point of view
- Define your brand voice
- Specify your target audience
- Include industry-specific context and terminology
- Set clear content goals and desired actions
- Specify format
- Provide product or service context
- Request multiple variations
- Include SEO requirements and keywords
- Provide competitive positioning
- Address common customer concerns
- Request actionable, practical content
The first rule of writing effective AI prompts for content creation is to understand what generative AI is—and what it isn’t. AI isn’t a replacement for human creativity. Instead, it’s a creative writing partner. As with any creative partner, it may take some time for you to learn how to work with it.
“Starting with AI for the first time, try interacting with it as a ‘thought partner’—ask it questions,” Alex suggests. “Take things with a grain of salt as you build your intuition for how it works and what its capabilities are. Then, get it to give you advice. Keep asking questions and try to use it to expand on the boundaries of your own expertise.”
Once you’ve mastered the basics, the difference between mediocre and exceptional AI-generated content lies in how well you craft your request. For ecommerce businesses, this means understanding how to communicate your specific needs, brand requirements, and customer context to get useful results.
Provide your point of view
AI often performs best when it’s given a point of view (POV) from which to write. For example, you might specify, “I’m the owner of a small clothing company that designs pieces inspired by nature with organic, non-toxic materials—write from my POV.”
Another tactic is to tell the AI tool to take on a persona: “You’re the SEO content manager of my natural clothing company—craft a social media campaign for our summer sale.”
Define your brand voice
When crafting prompts, include details about your desired brand tone and personality. For example, if you run a sustainable fashion brand, you might specify “write in an eco-conscious, optimistic tone that emphasizes positive environmental impact without being preachy.”
Include examples of your existing content to model brand voice or specify whether you want formal, conversational, playful, or authoritative language.
Specify your target audience
Include details about your target audience. Rather than asking for “product descriptions,” request “product descriptions for busy working parents aged 30 to 45 who value convenience and quality over low prices.”
This specificity enables the AI to generate content directly addressing your customers’ pain points, needs, and purchasing motivations.
Include industry-specific context and terminology
A beauty brand needs to use a different kind of language than a B2B software company. Include relevant industry context in your post prompts for social media and blog posts. For example, you might ask it to “write for customers familiar with clean skin care ingredients but not necessarily experts.” Or request it “explain complex ingredients and their impact in terms that customers without a science background can understand.”
Set clear content goals and desired actions
Define what you want your content to achieve in your prompts. Specify whether you’re trying to educate customers, drive sales, build brand awareness, or address common objections. Include desired calls to action, such as “end with a soft encouragement to browse our product collection” or “include a call to action directing readers to sign up for our email newsletter.”
Specify format
If you’re creating a social media post, specify which platform you’re using, how many slides or what size image you’re creating, and how long the caption should be. For blog posts, you can get help structuring your article by asking for outlines with a specific number of subsections.
For example, you could ask it to “write me an outline for an eight-paragraph blog post about the main benefits of aloe vera in skin care. I need six headers, formatted in bold, including an introduction and a conclusion.”
Provide product or service context
Give the AI tool relevant information about what you’re selling and why your target audience and customers choose your products. Instead of asking for generic content, include context like “our handmade jewelry appeals to customers who value unique, artisan-crafted pieces over mass-produced accessories.” Or you could say “our high-quality camping gear serves nature-lovers looking for affordable prices.”
Request multiple variations
Ask for multiple versions of headlines, product descriptions, or email subject lines. For example, “generate five different email subject lines for our winter sale announcement, including options that emphasize urgency, savings amount, and seasonal appeal.”
This gives you options to A/B test and find what resonates best with your target audience.
Include SEO requirements and keywords
Include relevant keywords and SEO requirements in your prompts, such as “incorporate the keywords ‘organic skin care routine’ and ‘natural face moisturizer’ naturally throughout the content.”
You could also ask it to “write meta descriptions that include our target keyword ‘sustainable home decor.’” Or try requesting it to “include the hashtag #SummerSale at the end of each caption in this campaign.”
Provide competitive positioning
Help the AI understand how you want to position your business relative to competitors. Include context like “emphasize our faster shipping times compared to larger retailers” or “highlight our personalized customer services as an alternative to big box stores.” This helps generate content that reinforces your unique value proposition.
Address common customer concerns
Ecommerce customers often have predictable concerns about price, quality, shipping, or returns. Include these considerations in your prompts: “Address common concerns about ordering custom furniture online, including quality assurance and return policies,” or “acknowledge that our prices are higher than competitors but explain the value customers receive.”
Request actionable, practical content
Ask for specific, actionable advice rather than generic information. For instance, you could ask it to “include specific steps customers can take to choose the right size” or “provide three practical tips that readers can implement immediately.”
Types of content you can create with AI support
You can use AI content to help you brainstorm, outline, fact-check, and revise many types of short- and long-form content, including the following:
Informational content
Informational articles provide facts, data, and explanations about topics relevant to your industry and build topical authority. Instead of “write me informational content about [a topic],” try these AI prompts:
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“Create an outline for an article explaining the difference between sunscreen and sunblock.”
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“Generate a list of current statistics about coffee drinking trends relevant for an article on third-wave coffee.”
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“Suggest five subtopics for an article about sustainable packaging options for a skin care ecommerce business.”
Educational content
Educational articles teach readers specific skills, concepts, or processes they can apply in their own lives and work. Instead of asking AI to “create educational social media post ideas,” try these prompts:
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“Generate a list of talking points I can cover in a three-minute video script about best practices for creating skincare formulations.”
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“For a Facebook post, list the key components I should cover in a post teaching customers of my ecommerce jewelry business how to clean vintage pieces safely. The post includes four pictures of newly cleaned thrifted silver necklaces.”
How-to content
How-to articles provide step-by-step instructions for completing specific tasks, often attracting readers seeking solutions. Instead of prompting AI with “write me a how-to blog post,” small business owners can use prompts such as:
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“For a Facebook post, outline a step-by-step guide for using our cream foundation to create a day-to-night makeup look.”
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“Create a detailed outline for a tutorial on assembling our bestselling blackout shades.”
Buying guides
Buying guides help customers make informed purchasing decisions by comparing options, explaining features, and addressing common concerns. Instead of directing AI to “create a buying guide,” try these prompts:
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“Outline a comprehensive buying guide for small business owners choosing between different ecommerce platforms, including factors to consider and questions to ask.”
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“For a social media post made up of three slides and a caption, generate comparison criteria for an article helping customers choose between different types of olive oils for healthy cooking.”
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“List the key features and considerations I should address in an Instagram buying guide for clean skin care.”
AI prompts for writing articles FAQ
How do I create an AI prompt?
Start with your content goal, brand point of view, and context on your industry and product or service. Next, specify your target audience and desired tone, and include any formatting or content requirements.
What is an example of an AI writing prompt?
An example AI writing prompt for a clean skin care ecommerce business is “Create a detailed outline for a six-paragraph blog post about choosing the right exfoliating products for sensitive skin.”
How can I use AI to write content?
You can use AI to generate ideas and key points, create outlines, and draft sections, then refine and personalize your blog posts and social media posts to align with your brand’s voice, expertise, and target audience.
