Back 2 Business · AI Course for Business Owners

THE PROMPT
BRIEF

You'd never hand a new hire a task by saying "write some posts." You'd tell them who they are, what the business does, exactly what you need, what it should look like, and what not to do.

AI is the same. A prompt is a job brief. Five parts, every time — whether you run a barbershop, a food truck, a cleaning company, or a consulting practice.

Sample briefLawn care · KC
Role
You are a marketing copywriter for local service businesses.
Context
I run a 2-truck lawn care company in Kansas City. Mostly residential, repeat customers on monthly contracts.
Task
Write a message opening fall cleanup bookings.
Format
3 options, under 45 words, one clear call to book.
Limits
Plain-spoken and direct. No emojis, no "transform your outdoor space."
5of 5
Complete brief — nothing left to guess
Exercise 01

Write your brief

Fill in the five parts. The meter tracks what you've written and the prompt assembles itself on the right.

1 · RoleWho should it be?
2 · ContextYour business, in specifics
3 · TaskOne clear action verb
4 · FormatShape and length
5 · LimitsTone, and what to avoid
Your brief0 of 5 parts
0of 5
Nothing written yet

Your prompt appears here as you fill in the parts…

Exercise 02

Same ask, different result

Four businesses, four real problems. Open each one — read the weak version, then the brief. Ask yourself what changed before you read the answer.

Exercise 03

Test your own prompt

Paste something you've actually typed into ChatGPT. This checks it against the five parts and tells you what's missing — before you waste another round.

Verdict

Paste a prompt and hit "Check my prompt" — the verdict lands here.

ResultNot checked yet
0of 5
Nothing written yet
RoleNo role set. Start with "You are a…" — it changes the vocabulary and the assumptions it makes.
ContextNo context about you. Add what you sell, where, and who buys it — this is the difference between your marketing and anybody's marketing.
TaskNo clear task. Lead with one verb: write, draft, list, plan, rewrite.
FormatNo format. Say how many, how long, what shape — otherwise you get three paragraphs when you wanted three posts.
LimitsNo limits. Name your tone and list what to avoid — this is what stops it sounding like a robot in a blazer.
Exercise 04

Six drills

Every business has these six jobs. Write your brief first, run it, then open the model answer and compare. Yours doesn't need to match — it needs all five parts.

Drill 01

The win-back

A message to customers who haven't bought or booked in months. No guilt trip, no mass-blast energy.

Drill 02

The price increase

Raise your prices and keep your customers. The message most owners avoid writing for months.

Drill 03

The description rewrite

Your menu, service list, or product page says the bare minimum. Make it sell without sounding like a brochure.

Drill 04

The 30-second video

A short-form script for the thing you want to sell more of.

Drill 05

The email nobody deletes

A monthly email to your list that isn't just a promo.

Drill 06

Your repeatable one

The task you do every single week. Write the brief once so you never write it again.

Take it home

Prompt library

Ready to run in any business. Swap the bracketed parts for your own details — filling the brackets is the whole job.

Two weeks of posts from one shoot

You are a social media manager for small businesses.

My business: [what you sell, where, who buys it].

I have this footage or these photos: [describe them]. Turn them into two weeks of content.

Format: a table with date, platform, hook, caption, and which asset to use.

Limits: [how many posts a week you'll realistically do]. Tone: [yours]. Avoid: [your no-go list].

One idea, five platforms

You are a content strategist.

My business: [details]. My message this week: [the one thing you want to say].

Adapt it for an Instagram caption, a TikTok script, an email subject and body, a Google Business post, and a text to my customer list.

Format: label each, keep each to its native length.

Limits: same message, genuinely different phrasing. Don't paste the same sentence five times.

Explain what you do in one line

You are a brand strategist.

My business: [long, messy description — write everything].

Write the one line I use when someone asks what I do.

Format: 10 options under 15 words each. Sort from most plain to most memorable.

Limits: no jargon, no "solutions," no "passionate about." A stranger should understand it instantly.