Writing Good Prompts
How to choose and write prompts that reveal real customer behavior.
- Good prompts mirror real customer questions
- Cover the full customer journey (awareness → decision)
- Include competitor comparisons - they're high-value
- Balance branded prompts with discovery prompts
The prompts you track should answer one question: "When potential customers ask AI for help, does my brand come up?"
Not all prompts are equal. Some reveal genuine customer behavior. Others are vanity metrics. Let's focus on what matters.
Start with real questions
The best prompts come from actual customer behavior. Where to find them:
| Source | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Support tickets | Questions people ask before buying |
| Sales calls | Questions that come up during demos |
| Your FAQ page | What you already answer |
| Search console | Queries that bring people to your site |
| Competitor reviews | What their customers complain about |
Cover the customer journey
Different prompts reveal different stages.
Awareness
"I have a problem, what should I do?"
How do I manage projects across multiple teams?
What's the best way to organize company documentation?
Consideration
"I know the options, which is best for me?"
Compare Notion vs Confluence for enterprise documentation
What project management tool is best for agencies?
Decision
"I'm almost ready, convince me"
Is Notion worth it for small teams?
What do users think about Notion pricing?
Aim for a mix: 30% awareness, 50% consideration, 20% decision.
Don't forget competitor comparisons
Some of your highest-value prompts will include competitor names.
Nike vs Adidas for marathon training
Alternatives to Salesforce for small business
Is Notion better than Confluence?
Why these matter:
- They show direct head-to-head positioning
- They reveal competitive perception
- They're high-intent (close to purchase decision)
Track comparisons with your top 3-5 competitors at minimum.
The specificity sweet spot
There's a balance between too broad and too narrow:
| Too Broad | Just Right | Too Narrow |
|---|---|---|
| "best software" | "best project management software for remote teams" | "best project management for 7-person Austin agencies" |
- Too broad - you compete with everyone, hard to win
- Just right - relevant audience, achievable visibility
- Too narrow - low search volume, not enough signal
Mix branded and unbranded prompts
Branded prompts (include your name):
Is Nike good for marathon running?
What do runners think about Nike Vaporfly?
Nike pros and cons for serious athletes
These show what AI says when asked directly about you.
Unbranded prompts (discovery):
Best running shoes for marathon training
What running shoes do experts recommend for long distance?
These show whether you appear organically when people are exploring options.
Both matter. Track both.
Common mistakes
Mistake 1: Vanity prompts only
What is Nike?
Tell me about Nike
These will always mention you. They don't reveal competitive position.
Mistake 2: Questions nobody asks
What is the paradigm of holistic synergy in athletic footwear?
If real people don't ask it, tracking it doesn't help.
Mistake 3: Near-duplicates
Best running shoes
What are the best running shoes?
Which running shoes are best?
These are too similar. Pick one version and move on.
Mistake 4: Ignoring competitors
Only tracking prompts about your own brand misses half the picture. You need to know when AI recommends competitors over you.
Quick wins
Do these three things today:
1. Add your top 3 competitor comparisons
"[Your Brand] vs [Competitor 1] for [use case]"
2. Add a "best for" discovery prompt
"Best [category] for [your target customer]"
3. Add a reputation prompt
"Is [Your Brand] worth it for [use case]?"
Monthly prompt audit
Review your prompts once a month:
- Do I have prompts for each journey stage?
- Am I tracking competitor comparisons?
- Are these questions real customers ask?
- Do I have a mix of branded and unbranded?
- Have I removed duplicates?
- Are prompts organized with tags?
What's next
- Tags & Analytics - Organize prompts and analyze tag performance
- Research - Discover new prompts to track with AI-powered analysis
Was this helpful?