What I Was Trying to Accomplish
I write marketing copy.
Landing pages. Product descriptions. Email campaigns. Social posts. The usual.
I started using AI to help with first drafts. It was fast. It was useful. But there was a problem.
Every draft sounded the same. "Unlock your potential." "Game-changing solutions." "Seamlessly integrate." "Revolutionize your workflow." "Take your business to the next level."
Generic. Buzzwordy. Empty. The kind of copy that could be for any product. The kind of copy that says nothing.
I wanted AI to help me write. Not to write like a marketing robot. So I built a prompt to fix it. Here's what worked.
What I Used
Tool: A general-purpose AI assistant (free tier)
Task: Generate marketing copy for a landing page and email campaign
Input: A product description, a target audience, and a list of features
Goal: Copy that sounds human, not like a template
The Problem
Here's what the AI gave me when I asked for a landing page draft.
AI draft:
"Unlock your potential with our game-changing platform. Seamlessly integrate your workflows and revolutionize the way you work. Take your business to the next level with our cutting-edge solutions."
It was awful. Every phrase was a cliché. It said nothing specific. It could have been for any product.
I tried again with a different prompt.
"Write a landing page for our project management tool. Target audience: small business owners. Key features: task tracking, team collaboration, deadline reminders."
AI draft:
"Unlock your team's full potential with our innovative project management solution. Seamlessly collaborate and track tasks with our cutting-edge platform. Never miss a deadline again. Take your business to the next level."
Same problem. Different words. Same emptiness.
The Fix
I stopped asking the AI to "write marketing copy." I started giving it specific constraints.
Here's my revised prompt:
"Write a landing page for our project management tool. Audience: small business owners with 5-20 employees. They're not technical. They're overwhelmed by too many tools. They want something simple.
Rules:
No buzzwords. No 'unlock,' 'seamless,' 'revolutionize,' 'cutting-edge,' 'game-changing,' 'next level.'
Use plain language. Write like a human talking to a friend.
Be specific. Use concrete examples. Instead of 'track tasks,' say 'see what everyone is working on in one place.'
Keep sentences short. No sentence over 20 words.
Write like you're explaining it to someone who's skeptical.
Write the first draft."
Here's what the AI gave me.
AI draft (with constraints):
"Your team is probably using too many tools. One for tasks. One for chat. One for deadlines. It's a mess.
Our project management tool puts everything in one place. See what everyone is working on. Assign tasks. Set deadlines. No more switching between apps.
It's simple. It's built for small teams. It doesn't try to do everything. It just helps you get work done.
Try it free for 14 days. No credit card required."
It wasn't perfect. But it was better. It was specific. It was human. It didn't sound like a marketing robot.
Before and After
Let me show you a few more examples.
Before:
"Seamlessly integrate your workflows and unlock new levels of productivity."
After:
"Connect your tools and get more done in less time."
Before:
"Revolutionize your customer support with our cutting-edge AI platform."
After:
"Answer customer questions faster with AI that learns from your past replies."
Before:
"Take your content strategy to the next level with our game-changing solutions."
After:
"Plan a month of content in an afternoon."
Before:
"Unlock your team's full potential with our innovative collaboration tools."
After:
"See what everyone is working on, without another meeting."
What the Prompt Does Well
It removes buzzwords. I listed the specific words I didn't want. The AI stopped using them.
It adds specificity. I asked for concrete examples. The AI provided them.
It changes the tone. I asked for "like a human talking to a friend." The AI adjusted.
It shortens sentences. I set a word limit. The AI followed it.
It's repeatable. I use the same prompt for every landing page. It works every time.
What Still Needs My Attention
It can sound too casual. Sometimes the output is too informal for a professional audience. I have to adjust.
It can miss the brand voice. The AI doesn't know our brand. It doesn't know our tone. I have to add that back.
It can miss the product. The AI doesn't know the product deeply. It doesn't know the features. I have to provide those.
It can still be generic. Sometimes the AI falls back into old patterns. I have to remind it. I have to edit.
The Math
Without the prompt: Writing a landing page draft took about 45 minutes.
With the prompt: Writing a landing page draft took about 20 minutes.
Time saved: About 25 minutes. Plus the mental energy of not rewriting clichés.
What I'd Change
I'm still refining the prompt. Here's what I'm considering.
Adding a brand voice line. Something like "Write in our brand voice: friendly, direct, no fluff." That might help.
Adding a competitor line. Something like "Don't sound like our competitors. They use words like X, Y, Z." That might help.
Adding a format line. Something like "Use short paragraphs. One idea per paragraph." That might help.
My Question for You
What would you add to this prompt?
Do you have a different approach? Do you use a different structure? Do you skip AI and write by hand?
I'm curious what works for other people. I've been using this prompt for a few months. It's not perfect, but it's better than sounding like every other marketing page.