How to Prompt a Good Email Using AI

When using AI to write emails, one of the biggest challenges is the limitless possibilities it offers. While it can generate countless emails, the challenge is to ensure the emails align with your brand and resonate with your customers.

Here are five common mistakes marketers make when using AI for email generation and solutions to improve both the quality and performance of these emails:

1. Texts Become Too Long

2. Wrong Tone of Voice

3. Too Fancy Language

4. Too Generic Texts

5. Lacks Knowledge on High-Performing Emails

Best Practices for Prompting AI to Write Effective Emails

1. Keep Prompts Short and Specific

   • Include Key Information: Specify the text length, core message, and any particular emojis to use.

   • Be Concise: Ensure every sentence in the prompt is necessary and specific. When working with new customers, we often find that simplifying and shortening the prompt enhances the quality of the email.

   • Highlight Essential Details: Focus on the main points that need to be communicated, such as the purpose of the email and the desired call to action.

   • Avoid Ambiguity: Clearly state what you want to avoid misunderstandings that can lead to irrelevant or off-brand content.

2. Avoid Giving the AI Rules

   • Rules Can Confuse AI: Similar to how a child fixates on ice cream when told not to eat it, AI can become preoccupied with rules, which can negatively impact the output.

   • Focus on Positive Guidance: Instead of setting rules, guide the AI with positive examples.

   • Use Positive Reinforcement: Highlight what the AI does well and encourage it to do more of that rather than focusing on what it shouldn't do.

   • Simplify Instructions: Provide clear, straightforward guidance without overcomplicating the prompt with too many restrictions.

3. Provide Examples

   • Use High-Performing Samples: Successful customers often include five high-performing subject lines from existing emails as examples. This helps the AI understand what works well.

   • Include Different Scenarios: Offer a variety of examples that cover different contexts and tones to give the AI a broader understanding.

   • Explain Why Examples Work: Add brief notes on why each example is effective, helping the AI to grasp the underlying principles of good email content.

   • Update Examples Regularly: Keep your examples current by periodically updating them with the latest high-performing emails.

4. Be Iterative

   • Start Simple: Begin with a basic prompt and let the AI generate an email.

   • Evaluate and Adjust: Review the output to identify what works and what doesn’t. Highlight the positive aspects and think of ways to avoid the negatives without setting strict rules.

   • Incremental Improvements: Make small, gradual changes to the prompt and observe how the AI's output evolves.

   • Test Different Approaches: Experiment with various prompt structures and strategies to find the most effective method for your specific needs.

Conclusion

By following these best practices, you can leverage AI to generate high-quality, effective emails. Keep your prompts clear and concise, avoid setting confusing rules, provide positive examples, and iterate based on feedback to continuously improve the AI’s performance.