AI Prompts for Marketing

Start with a clear task

Marketing is the category where generic AI output is most obvious and least useful. Ask for "a Facebook ad for my software" and you get something that could run for any product in any category — which means it sells nothing.

The reason is that marketing copy is downstream of information the model doesn't have: who the customer is, what they currently believe, what they're comparing you against, and what specifically happens when they buy. Prompts that don't supply that get filled in with averages.

Every prompt below is built to force that context in. They're longer than the prompts people usually write, and that's the point.

The structure: audience, belief, proof, constraint

Good marketing prompts specify four things the model can't infer. The audience (who, specifically). The belief you're changing (what they think now). The proof (why they should believe you instead). And a constraint (length, channel, or a rule like "no superlatives").

The constraint matters more than people expect — it's what stops the model reaching for the stock phrases that make AI copy recognizable.

• Weak prompt

  Write a Facebook ad for my project management software.

• Strong prompt

  Write 3 Facebook ad variations for a project management tool aimed at agency owners with 5-20 staff who currently run projects in spreadsheets and believe switching tools will cost them weeks of setup. Our proof: import from a spreadsheet in one click, most teams are live the same day. Max 40 words each. No superlatives, no exclamation marks, no rhetorical questions.

• Why it works

  The strong version names the reader, the objection blocking the sale, the specific evidence that overcomes it, and the format rules. The model no longer has to guess — and the banned-phrase constraint is what keeps it from writing "Supercharge your workflow!"

The prompts

• Positioning statement

  Write a positioning statement for [product] aimed at [specific audience]. Format: For [audience] who [problem], [product] is the [category] that [key benefit]. Unlike [main alternative], we [key differentiator]. Give me 3 versions with different differentiators.

• Ad variations

  Write 5 ad variations for [product] targeting [audience] on [platform]. They currently believe [objection]. Our proof against that is [specific evidence]. Max [N] words each. Avoid superlatives and exclamation marks.

• Landing page hero

  Write 5 headline + subhead pairs for a landing page selling [product] to [audience]. The headline should state the outcome, not the feature. The subhead should handle the biggest objection, which is [objection].

• Cold email

  Write a cold email to [role] at [company type]. I noticed [specific trigger/observation]. We help companies like theirs [outcome] — proof: [evidence]. Under 120 words, one clear ask, no 'hope this finds you well'.

• Email sequence

  Draft a 4-email nurture sequence for someone who downloaded [lead magnet] but hasn't bought [product]. Each email should do one job: (1) deliver value, (2) handle objection [X], (3) show proof, (4) make the offer. Keep each under 150 words.

• Objection handling

  List the 8 most likely objections to buying [product] at [price] for [audience]. For each, write a one-sentence response that concedes what's true before answering. No dismissive rebuttals.

• Customer language mining

  Here are customer reviews/support tickets: [paste]. Extract the exact phrases customers use to describe their problem and their desired outcome. Group them by theme and tell me which phrases we should use verbatim in our copy.

• Competitor angle

  We compete with [competitor]. Their main strength is [strength]. Write 3 marketing angles that concede that strength honestly while making the case for us on [our real advantage]. No disparagement.

• Value proposition test

  Here's our current value proposition: [paste]. Critique it as a skeptical [audience] would. What's vague? What's unproven? What would make them stop reading? Then rewrite it fixing those problems.

• Social proof rewrite

  Turn this raw customer feedback into a usable testimonial without inventing anything: [paste]. Keep their voice and the specific detail. If there's no specific outcome mentioned, tell me what to ask them for.

• Launch announcement

  Write a launch announcement for [feature] aimed at existing customers who [current behavior]. Lead with what changes for them, not what we built. Include one concrete before/after example. Under 200 words.

• SEO brief

  Create a content brief for an article targeting the keyword [keyword]. Include: search intent, what the top results currently cover, what they all miss, a recommended outline, and the one section that would make ours genuinely better.

• Ad angle brainstorm

  Give me 10 distinct marketing angles for [product] — not 10 rewrites of the same angle. Vary the emotional driver (fear of loss, status, ease, identity, savings) and name which driver each uses.

• Pricing page copy

  Write copy for a 3-tier pricing page for [product]. For each tier: who it's for in one line, the single reason to choose it, and the reason to upgrade. Don't hide the limitations — state them plainly.

• Campaign retro

  Here are the results from our last campaign: [paste metrics]. What do these numbers actually tell us, what do they NOT tell us, and what's the single highest-leverage change to test next? Flag anything where the sample is too small to conclude from.

Common mistakes

• Asking without naming the objection

  If you don't tell the model what's stopping the sale, it writes copy that assumes nothing is. That copy reads pleasant and converts poorly.

• Letting it invent proof

  AI will happily write "trusted by thousands of teams" for a product with nine customers. Never let a prompt fill a proof slot — supply real evidence or leave the slot out.

• Accepting the first draft

  The first output is a starting position. The value is in the second prompt: "make it more specific," "cut the adjectives," "rewrite for someone skeptical."

• No banned-phrase list

  Without explicit constraints you'll get "unlock," "supercharge," "seamless," and "game-changing" — the words that make copy read as machine-written.

Frequently asked questions