Many people use ChatGPT for writing but end up disappointed with the results: the texts seem too generic and lifeless or simply aren’t helpful. The cause isn’t always the AI itself, but rather how we interact with it.
In this article, I’ll show you how to use ChatGPT, Claude, and other AI tools more effectively for writing. You’ll learn what matters in prompts, which approaches have proven successful in my practice, and how to achieve better results with AI step by step.
My goal: You should have fun instead of frustration, gain more control over the output, and learn how to sensibly use AI’s strengths for your own work.
What ChatGPT really is
ChatGPT is not (purely) a writing tool. It’s an AI assistant with a chat interface.
If you want, this assistant can write for you. But it can also do thousands of other things. That’s why you need to explain exactly what you want from it. How else would ChatGPT know what you’re looking for? Without specific instructions, you’ll get something that corresponds to the average of all its training data. In other words: literal mediocrity.
Also true: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and others don’t yet deliver perfect results. Even the world’s best prompt won’t change that. They simply weren’t explicitly designed for creative writing.
This won’t always be the case: OpenAI, according to their own statements, is working on an AI model specifically for this use case. And in my experience, Anthropic’s Claude is already a significantly better writer than ChatGPT: it has a better style right out of the gate and follows instructions more precisely.
The good news is: You don’t need to wait for further improved AI models. You can already use the existing tools productively as a writer today. The most important “trick”: You need to understand their limitations and how to work with them.
Here are some practical tips:
Take a step-by-step approach
Many users start with an overly general prompt like: “Write an article about social media.” Or, at the other end of the spectrum, they overwhelm the AI with a flood of information and instructions.
Typical mistake:
A general prompt gives the AI too much freedom. It doesn’t know who it’s writing for, how the text should sound, or what goal you’re pursuing. The result is correspondingly meaningless and generic. Or it has to keep too many requirements in mind at once, which ultimately doesn’t work.
Better:
Start deliberately general, but expand the prompt in small steps. For example, first explain that it should be a journalistic text. Then add target audience, text length, tone, and structure. This way, you guide the AI step by step toward a better result. I’ll discuss some of these points in more detail below.
Example:
Imprecise prompt:
“Write an article about social media.”
Improved version:
“Write a journalistic article about current trends in social media. The target audience is marketing managers in medium-sized businesses. Use a factual but lively style. The text should be about 500 words long and begin with a practical example.”
Prompt template to try:
Write a [text type, e.g., journalistic article]
on the topic: [topic]
for the target audience: [e.g., marketers in SMEs]
Style: [e.g., clear, lively, factual]
Length: [e.g., approx. 500 words]
Special features: [e.g., with examples, structured layout]
Tip:
Add such details step by step if you’re not yet sure about style or goal. Your article doesn’t have to be created in one go! Observe how the output changes and use the AI’s feedback to further refine your prompt. Note which information positively influences the result. Then you’ll know better what to include in your instructions next time.
Formulate positively instead of negatively
Some try to control what the AI shouldn’t do with prohibitions: “Avoid passive voice. No big words. No boring style.”
Typical mistake:
Negative formulations are often too vague or ambiguous. The AI tries to consider them but doesn’t always know exactly what is meant. This leads to uncertain, fluctuating results. Sometimes it even achieves the opposite.
Better:
Formulate positively and describe what you want: “active, lively, illustrative.” The more concretely you name the target quality, the better the result.
Example:
Negative prompt:
“No long words and no passive voice.”
Positive prompt:
“Write in an active, clear style. Use strong verbs and lively language that directly addresses the reader.”
Prompt template to try:
Style: active, illustrative, direct
Goal: Readers should feel addressed and understand as clearly as possible what it’s about
Prefer simple sentences and explain technical terms
Make your prompts more detailed
Many users unnecessarily hold back on prompt length. They treat ChatGPT like a human who might be quickly overwhelmed when given too much information.
Typical mistake:
Prompts are too short and unstructured. Important information is missing or in the wrong context. The AI then fills in what it thinks you probably mean, producing an incorrect or inconsistent result.
Better:
Be detailed and give the AI as much context as necessary. Longer prompts are no problem as long as they are well-structured. Organize your prompt into clear sections, e.g., background, goal, format, style…
Example:
Unstructured prompt:
“Write an article about sustainability. Target audience is entrepreneurs. Not too technical. Should be interesting.”
Structured prompt:
“You are an experienced specialist author. Please write a professional article on sustainability in medium-sized businesses. The target audience is entrepreneurs without technical background knowledge. The goal of the article is to convey concrete action ideas. The style should be clear, motivating, and practical. Length approximately 600 words.”
Prompt template to try:
AI’s role: [e.g., specialist author, copywriter, editor]
Topic: [e.g., sustainability in medium-sized businesses]
Target audience: [e.g., entrepreneurs without technical background]
Goal: [e.g., inform, motivate, inspire]
Style: [e.g., clear, practical, lively]
Length: [e.g., approx. 600 words]
Additional notes: [e.g., with examples, outline desired]
Tip:
You can even formulate such prompts in paragraphs and ask the AI to work through them systematically. This facilitates orientation and leads to better results.
Work with examples
Examples are a particularly effective way to guide AI. With them, you can convey style, tone, or voice much more clearly than with an abstract description.
Typical mistake:
Users expect the AI to recognize a certain style “on its own” without showing an example. This leads to disappointment when the text is too dry, too promotional, or simply not appropriate.
Better:
Show one or more text examples that come close to the desired result. You can copy these into the prompt or refer to a text excerpt. The AI can analyze and imitate the style. This often works surprisingly well!
Example:
Prompt with example:
“Here is a sample text whose style I find very appropriate: [insert text excerpt]. Please write a new text on [topic description] in a comparable tone and structure.”
Prompt template to try:
Please analyze the following text excerpt for style, language, and structure.
Write a new text on the topic [new topic] that follows these characteristics.
Sample text: [insert text excerpt or style template here]
Tip:
You can also give the AI multiple examples and ask it to derive the common line from them. Or you can request an analysis beforehand: “What characterizes this style?” This creates even more clarity for the following steps, and you can remember it for next time.
Clearly state goal and target audience
The quality of an AI-generated text depends a lot on whether the model understands what goal the text is intended for and whom it should reach. If you omit this, you’ll get a generic middle ground.
Typical mistake:
A prompt like “Write a post about content marketing” contains no indication of the objective or readership. The result remains vague and superficial.
Better:
Tell the AI what you want to achieve with the text: inform, convince, inspire? Indicate on which platform the text will appear, and describe your target audience as concretely as possible.
Example:
“Write a blog post about content marketing. Goal: Convey basics for beginners. Target audience: Self-employed people in creative fields, little prior knowledge, interest in practical tips. The post will appear on a professional website.”
Prompt template to try:
Topic: [e.g., content marketing for beginners]
Goal: [e.g., inform, provide orientation, show first steps]
Target audience: [e.g., solo self-employed in creative fields, little prior knowledge]
Platform: [e.g., blog, newsletter, social post]
Please write a text that reaches this target audience and fulfills the stated purpose.
Tip:
The better you know your readership, the more specifically you can tell the AI how to write. You can also try several target variants to see which works best.
Improve the result iteratively
Many expect a perfect result on the first attempt. But especially when writing with AI, it makes sense to gradually approach the goal.
Typical mistake:
You enter a prompt, get a mediocre text, and give up in frustration. But the first result is often just the starting point.
Better:
Use the first draft as a basis for discussion. Ask the AI for improvement suggestions or provide feedback yourself: “Add a concrete example for the introduction,” “Shorten the middle section,” “What subheading is still missing?” The AI can learn from this dialogue, and so can you.
Example:
Initial prompt:
“Write a blog article about sustainable packaging.”
AI response is too general.
Subsequent feedback:
“Please add a concrete example from a company. The style should be fact-oriented and informative.”
Result improves with each iteration.
Prompt template to try:
Initial prompt: [First simple task]
Feedback: [What do you like, what don’t you like?]
New instruction: [How should the AI improve based on this?]
Repeat the process until you’re satisfied with the result
Tip:
When you’re finally satisfied, ask the AI: “How should the original prompt be formulated to get this result right away?” This optimizes your prompt for the next task. It doesn’t work perfectly, but it can be very helpful.
Provide a base framework
Some expect the AI to take over the entire writing process. But it works best as an amplifier for your own ideas.
Typical mistake:
You start with a completely open prompt: without direction, outline, or content basis. The AI fills the gaps with average knowledge that rarely matches your actual goals, corresponds to your style, or resembles your voice.
Better:
Provide the AI with an initial content framework. This can be a brief idea text, an outline, or a voice memo. The more clearly you sketch your project, the more specifically the AI can help you develop it further.
Example:
Your own framework:
“I want to write a post explaining how to better formulate prompts for ChatGPT. The target audience is writers and marketers. I’ve collected the following points: prompt precision, example usage, iterative improvement.”
Prompt to the AI:
“Please help me turn this into a structured article. Start with an appropriate introduction. After that, each point should have its own section.”
Prompt template to try:
I have the following idea or structure for an article: [bullet points, thoughts, outline]
Target audience: [e.g., marketing managers]
Purpose of the text: [e.g., provide practical assistance]
Please help me turn this into a well-structured post and add transitions, introduction, and conclusion as needed.
Tip:
Even an incomplete draft is helpful. You can give it to the AI and ask for criticism, additions, or restructuring. This way, you remain the content leader but use the AI as a sparring partner for your creativity. By the way, I’ll have more to say about this in an upcoming post.
P.S.: This is how this article was created. I had written a short first draft of about 500 words. With ChatGPT as my sidekick, I developed ideas to expand and improve it. I had a lot of fun with this process and feel that the final result fits my style.
Overview: typical mistakes and how to do better
| Typical mistake | How to do better |
|---|---|
| Meaningless or chaotic prompt | Start simple and build step by step, learn for next time |
| Prohibition instead of recommendation (e.g., “no passive voice”) | Formulate positively (“write actively and vividly”) |
| Unstructured prompt | Clear structure with sections |
| Missing examples or style templates | Show example texts or have them analyzed |
| Frustration after first mediocre output | Improve through dialogue with the AI (work iteratively) |
| Vague topic specification (“an article about XYZ”) | Clearly state text type, style, scope, and purpose |
| Using AI as sole author | First provide draft or outline, then expand together |
Now it’s your turn!
If you’ve been dissatisfied with the results from ChatGPT & Co. so far, try again now, but with a better prompt. Take one of the tips from this article and implement it directly: structure your next prompt better, provide an example, or give the AI a clear goal. Last but not least: see the AI as an assistant and partner. It can help you achieve better results this way.
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