How To Write a Winning Prompt: Tips and Best Practices

Content creators can use AI platforms for a wide range of tasks, from creating social media strategies to generating videos. However, the quality of the tool’s output depends on how well you communicate with AI. To get the best results, you need to learn how to write prompts that are descriptive, clear, and contextualized.

Keep reading to learn the best practices for working with AI and how using Captions’ text-to-prompt features helps content creators streamline production for high-quality results. 

What’s an AI Writing Prompt?

An AI writing prompt is a question or set of instructions you enter into an AI tool like Captions to generate a response. For instance, you might ask the platform how to complete a task or have it create an image based on your descriptions.

Key Questions To Answer Before Writing a Prompt

By considering factors like your goal, audience, and format, you can craft prompts that lead to your ideal responses. Here are a few considerations to optimize Captions’ many integrations with text prompt tools.

What’s My Goal With This Prompt?

Draft with your ideal outcome in mind so you know how much context to provide in your prompt. For instance, if you’re looking for a few TikTok title ideas, you can keep your input simple: “List title ideas for a TikTok about visiting Paris for the first time.” However, if you’re trying to generate something more substantial, like a complete podcast script, you might need to provide a full outline to get the results you’re looking for.

Who’s the Audience?

The best way to create content your viewers will enjoy is by understanding your audience. There are several ways to accomplish this — for instance, if you’re active on social media, you can learn more about your existing follower base by checking your analytics pages across channels. You can then include details about your audience’s average age, location, and interests in your prompts so AI can tailor its responses to this viewer base.

What’s the Context?

Decide what your content’s purpose is, as sharing that context with your AI tool can help it adjust messaging to fit your intent. For instance, tell the tool whether you want to sell a product, encourage new subscriptions, or start a conversation with existing followers. 

What Format and Style Should the Response Follow?

AI can customize its responses to your ideal format, so tell it specifically what you're trying to create. Maybe you want to write a YouTube description, or perhaps you need to outline a blog post. No matter what you’re creating, including this structure in your prompt will give you the best results. 

4 Types of Prompts To Use With AI Tools

Below are four good writing prompt styles for generating AI content.

1. Question Prompt

Most AI tools use natural language processing to understand your requests and respond accordingly. This means you can simply ask them questions about the type of content you’re creating, and they’ll discuss it together as if you’re chatting with a friend. 

Using this prompt style, you can learn how new social media tools work, brainstorm ideas for new posts, and have AI write text for your channels.

‍Example: “What’s the best Instagram caption for an influencer announcing a new fitness course?”

2. Situational Prompt

AI can analyze a situation or scenario, which is particularly helpful if you make video essays, such as movie reviews or pop culture commentary posts. With Captions' Script Writer tool, you can organize your thoughts, refine your messaging, and generate compelling scripts effortlessly. Share your notes and opinions with AI tools, and see if they can come up with new ideas or perspectives for you to include in your content.

Example: “Break down the main themes from the last three Marvel movies and explain how they’re connected.”

3. Image Prompt

Along with writing text, AI can make images in a wide range of styles, from watercolor to realistic photography. Using these tools, you can create the perfect visuals for marketing campaigns, thumbnails, and sponsored posts.

With Captions, generating an image is simple — just enter a detailed prompt, and the AI will bring your vision to life. When writing prompts for AI image generators, be as specific as possible. For instance, describe your ideal art style, photo contents, and color schemes to get results that match your creative needs.

Example: “Design a thumbnail for a YouTube video about New York City's best new restaurants. In the background, include a realistic photo of the city’s skyline and use muted colors. The foreground should feature a plate of spaghetti with a meatball on top.”

4. Content Strategy Prompt 

While digital companion tools can’t review your social media feeds directly, they can still help you generate a new content strategy. Describe what your last few posts were about, or share your general uploading philosophy. Include details about your niche, preferred platforms, and target audience. Then, ask the platform to highlight which areas you need to focus on next.

Example: “I post gardening content on social media, and my last few posts covered planting seasons, soil health, and indoor gardening tips. These uploads were all Instagram Reels. What topics, platforms, or content types should I make next to grow my following?”

How To Create a Writing Prompt: 4 Tips

1. Be Clear and Specific

When putting together an AI prompt, be as clear and specific as possible so the AI can understand your needs and generate the response you’re looking for. Captions’ AI Magic Write tools is a great way to refine your prompts for the best results, generating original suggestions to help your creative process. Here’s some information you should be sure to include in your text: 

• Audience details
• Social media niche
• Platform and post format
• Purpose of the post

Example: “Draft a script for an informational 60-second YouTube Short. The video explains the top five winter hikes in Oregon. Target expert hikers in their 20s who live within a four-hour drive of each hike.”

2. Organize the Task in Steps

When asking AI tools to complete complex tasks, breaking them down into smaller steps can lead to more accurate results. By focusing on one thing at a time, the AI can deliver more precise responses that don’t overlook part of your message. Plus, if the platform doesn’t give you exactly what you’re looking for, it’s easier to tweak a single step rather than rewrite the entire prompt.

So, split long requests into multiple parts, and send the instructions one at a time for the best results. Later, you can combine the responses into a single, cohesive piece of content. This approach is especially helpful if the requested output exceeds the AI tool’s limits.

Example: “I need a YouTube video script for a 30-minute tutorial that teaches total beginners how to use oil paints. Write the introduction and include details about the origins of oil paint. Then, describe which art supplies people need to get started. Finally, walk through the steps of sketching and painting a landscape scene of a mountain in the forest.”

3. Give Context

To get AI to generate outputs in your voice, share some of your past content so AI can get a better feel for what you typically post. This allows the tools to pick up on any catchphrases and go-to stylistic choices your followers would recognize.

Try to include these details in each prompt so the AI’s outputs have a consistent tone — this gives you a clear brand identity and helps viewers recognize your content. 

Example: “I’m a travel vlogger, and I’ve been to 54 countries. I usually post short-form videos on Instagram Reels and TikTok. Here are a few scripts from my previous uploads so you know how I typically narrate posts.”

4. Try Different Prompts

Finding the prompts that give you the best results will take a bit of practice, so don’t be afraid to experiment. Try writing the same request in different styles to see which response best matches your ideas and content style. Once you find the best prompt for your content, turn it into a reusable template.

Examples: 

• “List ideas for a TikTok about quick dinner recipes.”
• “Write a two-minute video script for a TikTok about five quick dinner recipes: Chickpea curry, Caprese salad, beef stir fry, spaghetti, and one-pan chicken.”
• “What are some quick dinner recipes that I can share on TikTok to go viral?”
• “Create a thumbnail for a TikTok about quick dinner recipes.”

Experiment With Prompt Ideas On Captions

As you get comfortable crafting specific prompts for AI tools, you’ll be able to make content for all your social media channels seamlessly. With Captions, you can access multiple generative AI tools to craft elements like custom images, royalty-free music, and video scripts in minutes.

Discover a new way to create posts with Captions. 

FAQs

What’s a Writing Prompt Example?

Here are a few types of prompts you can use when talking to AI platforms: 

• Question prompt
• Situational prompt
• Image prompt
• Content strategy prompt

How Do I Start a Prompt?

AI tools can understand a variety of prompt styles, so there’s no single way you should start your text. To get the best results, though, include as much detail as possible about your style and expected output.