What should you give ChatGPT before asking for copy?

Start with a short brief containing information you could confidently show a customer. A prompt is the instruction or question you give ChatGPT. OpenAI recommends stating the task, providing relevant context and describing the output you want. See its prompting guide.

For an advertising brief, I recommend filling in these fields before opening a new conversation. Use plain language. Leave unknown details marked as questions.

• Offer: the exact product or service being advertised.
• Buyer: the person and situation you want to address.
• Useful difference: a feature or service detail you can verify.
• Terms: approved pricing, availability and delivery information.
• Destination: what the customer will see after clicking.
• Action: one next step, such as viewing sizes or requesting a quote.
• Voice: a short example of how your business actually speaks.

Hypothetical example: a small florist wants enquiries about desk arrangements. Supply the available arrangement types, ordering process and delivery area. If delivery timing is undecided, leave it out of the advertisement.

Google recommends useful, natural messaging and specific calls to action. A call to action is the instruction telling the reader what to do next. Use its ad copy guidance as a review checklist.

If you need to clarify the offer first, work through the relevant planning questions in this florist marketing guide. Choose one offer for this exercise.

Which seven prompts should you try first?

Replace the bracketed text with your own information. Use the first template to prepare your brief, then choose the channel you need. The suggested drafting quantities are working choices, except where a Google format limit is explicitly identified.

1. Find the missing information

I need an advertisement for [offer], aimed at [customer] on [channel]. The intended action is [action]. Here are the facts I can confirm: [facts]. Before drafting, ask up to five questions about information that would materially change the copy. Explain briefly what each answer would help you write. Do not invent pricing, deadlines, reviews or performance claims.

Answer the questions that affect the offer. Avoid spending the session inventing a elaborate brand personality. Keep your approved brief in the conversation for subsequent drafts.

2. Draft Google Ads headlines and descriptions

A responsive search ad combines supplied headlines and descriptions into different arrangements. Google permits up to 15 headlines and four descriptions, with limits of 30 and 90 characters respectively. These are documented in its responsive search ad guide.

Using this approved brief [brief], draft 15 distinct Google Ads headlines and four descriptions. Keep headlines within 30 characters and descriptions within 90. The relevant search phrase is [phrase]. Cover the product, a verified benefit and the next step. Return a table with copy, character count and message purpose. Each item must make sense independently. Do not add unsupported facts.

Check the counts in the advertising interface before saving. Read several combinations aloud and remove repetition. Treat the maximum number of fields as available space, not a reason to keep weak wording.

3. Write social ads around a visible detail

Write three Instagram ad drafts for [product] using these approved facts: [facts]. The image or video shows [visible detail]. Start one draft with a use situation, one with a product detail and one with a practical question. Limit each draft to three short sentences. End with [action]. Do not introduce urgency, endorsements or promises absent from the brief.

Hypothetical example: a bag shop shows the inside pockets in a video. Ask for copy about organising everyday items, then check that the advertised pockets match the actual product. For unpaid posts, use the separate Instagram prompt templates.

4. Address one buying question in Facebook copy

Draft two Facebook ads for [service]. Customers ask [question], and our verified answer is [answer]. In one draft, lead with the question. In the other, explain the service process. Keep the offer and final action identical. Use straightforward language. If an answer needs information we have not supplied, flag it outside the ad rather than filling the gap.

Hypothetical example: a cleaning business wants to explain what a booking includes. Give ChatGPT the approved task list. Remove any phrase that implies additional work is included.

5. Explore tagline directions

Suggest nine short taglines for [business]. Use three directions: the customer situation, our verified difference and the experience we want to offer. Base factual statements only on [facts]. Explain the intended meaning below each option. Avoid superiority claims and guaranteed results. Flag options that could describe almost any business so we can make them more specific.

A tagline is a short phrase expressing the business's central idea. Read the shortlist next to your product name. Use the business naming guide if the wider identity also needs work.

6. Rewrite a vague draft

Review this draft [copy] against these approved facts [facts]. Identify vague praise, unclear actions and unsupported statements. Show the original phrase, the problem and a proposed replacement in a table. If a concrete replacement requires missing information, ask for it. Finish with one revised ad that preserves the offer and uses no new factual claims.

Give a precise follow-up when necessary: “Name the service in the opening sentence” is a useful editing instruction. Keep the original draft so the team can see what changed.

7. Prepare a comparison without inventing a winner

Help me compare these two ad messages: [A] and [B]. Our goal is [goal], our channel is [channel], and our constraints are [constraints]. Identify the main difference being tested, what should stay unchanged and which results we should record. List missing information before recommending a decision. Do not predict results or declare a winner without evidence.

Keep this plan with the drafts. If the advertisement invites a sales conversation, prepare the response separately using these sales prompt templates.

How do you turn a generic draft into usable copy?

Replace vague praise with a detail the customer can understand and you can verify. Use this hypothetical editing table as a pattern. The suggested lines are examples, not claims about an actual business.

Check every price, deadline and service promise against the brief. Then open the destination page. Google recommends making the final URL relevant to the individual advertisement, so a specific offer should have a relevant destination. See its destination guidance.

• Does the opening identify the offer?
• Can someone understand the main benefit without industry jargon?
• Does the requested action match the destination?
• Are conditions visible rather than hidden in vague wording?
• Would a member of your team say this naturally?

For a small team, assign one person to check facts and another to read for clarity. Ask each reviewer to name the exact problem before rewriting. Save the approved copy beside the brief.

How many variations should you test at once?

My starting recommendation for a small business is two clearly different messages. This is a practical scope choice, not a universal platform requirement. Compare a meaningful idea, such as convenience versus product detail, while keeping the offer unchanged.

Keep Google headline drafting separate from that decision. Google assembles responsive ads and tests combinations, so individual headlines inside one ad are not a clean, evenly split comparison. The mechanism is explained in the responsive ad documentation.

1. Choose the business result before launching: orders, bookings or relevant enquiries.
2. Write down the message difference you intend to compare.
3. Keep the audience, visual and offer consistent where the test setup allows.
4. Record spend and the outcomes you can connect to each version.
5. Leave the decision open when the evidence is too thin.

Do not let a pleasing headline become the success measure after launch. If you chose bookings, review bookings. Record unanswered questions too, especially when a message attracts enquiries about something you do not sell.

For this week's work, prepare the brief first, draft next and review before spending. Keep the exercise within one offer. Add the approved task and review owner to your schedule using these content planning prompts.