12 marketing prompts for a small business

For the rest of this chat, you are writing marketing for my business. Here is the brief. Refer back to it for every task and do not ask me to repeat it.

Business: [name, what it sells, where, since when]
Customer: [who buys, in one or two sentences: what they want, what they worry about, what they have tried before]
The one thing we do better than the alternatives: [be specific]
Price range: [range]
Voice: [three adjectives, e.g. dry, warm, specific] We talk like [a neighbor / a knowledgeable friend / a calm expert].
Never use these words: [list, e.g. elevate, premium, journey, unleash, game-changer, seamless]
Never do these things: no exclamation marks, no rhetorical questions as openers, no claims we cannot prove, no emoji unless I ask.
Proof we can use: [real numbers, real reviews, awards, years in business]

Confirm you have it in one sentence, then wait for my first task.

Use it for the top of a new chat, and again whenever the model drifts back to generic copy. Edit before sending: the "proof we can use" line. Only list things that are true and checkable; the model will reuse every item in it.

Write a product description for [product], sold to [who] who want [what they want]. Price: [price]. The one thing that matters most to this buyer is [the single benefit].

Structure: a one-line hook that names the benefit, not the product. Then 60 to 90 words that cover what it is, what it is made of or how it is made, and who it is for. Then three short bullet points of specifications: [spec 1], [spec 2], [spec 3]. Plain language. No adjectives that cannot be checked. Do not use premium, elevate, crafted, or perfect. End with one sentence that tells the reader what to do next.

Use it for product pages, menu items, service packages. Tested: the hook and structure came back clean and usable. Edit before sending: the "how it is made" sentence. In our test the model invented a mechanism ("slow acid development preserves the moisture") to explain the benefit. Replace anything you did not tell it with something true.

Give me 12 tagline options for [business], using the brief. Sort them into four groups of three: 1) the plain promise (what we do, stated flatly), 2) the customer's outcome, 3) the contrast with the usual alternative, 4) the odd one, a phrase a customer might actually repeat. Each under 7 words. No puns on our name unless it is genuinely good. After the list, tell me which one you would put on the door and why, in two sentences.

Use it for the sign, the website header, the bio line. The four groups stop the model producing twelve versions of the same idea. Edit before sending: say aloud the three you like to a real customer before you commit; taglines that read well often sound wrong.

Write an FAQ page for [business]. Here are the questions customers really ask, from our inbox and messages: [paste 6 to 10 real questions, verbatim]. Add up to four more questions people ask before buying [this kind of product or service] but rarely say out loud (price justification, what happens if it goes wrong, how long it takes, whether it works for [edge case]).

For each: keep the question in the customer's own words, answer in two to four sentences, answer the real worry behind the question, and give a fact or number where we have one. Do not answer with "it depends" without saying what it depends on. Group under three or four headings. Finish with a line on how to reach us: [contact details].

Use it for the FAQ page, the booking form, the auto-reply. Edit before sending: every number. The model will fill a gap with a plausible turnaround time or return window; if it is not your policy, delete it.

Write a Google Business Profile update post for [business] about [the news, offer or event]. Rules: the point in the first 150 characters, because that is all most people see before "read more". Total under 1,000 characters. One concrete detail a searcher can act on (a date, a time, a price, a location). End by telling me which call-to-action button to pick from this list: Learn more, Sign up, Reserve, Buy, Order online, Call, and what link to attach. No hashtags, no emoji. Suggest a photo to attach in one line.

Use it for the weekly post most profiles never make. Google allows up to 1,500 characters, but update posts show for about a week and the first 150 to 300 characters do the work, so this prompt caps the length deliberately. Edit before sending: the offer terms. Google removes posts that read like clickbait or make claims it cannot see on your site.

Turn this one idea into three social posts: [the idea, in one or two sentences, with the specific details].

1. Instagram caption: 40 to 80 words, first line must work on its own, one emoji maximum, three hashtags at the end.
2. LinkedIn post: 80 to 120 words, written in first person, about the decision behind it rather than the offer itself, no hashtags.
3. Short text post for X or Threads: under 200 characters, no hashtags.

Each post should have a different angle on the same idea. Do not start any post with a question. Use the voice from the brief.

Use it for every piece of news, so one idea fills three channels. Tested: all three came back with genuinely different angles, and the LinkedIn version explained the decision rather than repeating the offer, which is the hard part. Edit before sending: invented props. Our test added an espresso machine the bakery does not have. Read for anything you did not say.

Write a public reply to this positive review of [business]. Reviewer's name: [name]. Under 60 words. Thank them for the specific thing they mentioned, not for "the kind words". Add one detail that makes the reply obviously written by a person who was there (use: [a true detail, e.g. which staff member served them, what was baking that day]). Invite them back for something specific. No "we are thrilled", no "valued customer", no exclamation marks.

Review:
[paste]

Use it for every four- and five-star review, because future customers read the replies. Edit before sending: the true detail. If you cannot remember one, cut the line rather than let the model invent one.

Write a public reply to this negative review of [business]. Reviewer's name: [name]. The facts: [what actually happened, and whether the reviewer is right]. What we will do: [the fix or the offer].

Rules: under 90 words. Thank them without gushing. Acknowledge the specific problem in their words, do not argue, do not make excuses. Say what we are doing about it. Offer one concrete next step and take it offline: [email or phone]. No "we are sorry you feel that way". No corporate phrases like "valued customer" or "we take this seriously".

Review:
[paste]

Use it for the review you have been avoiding. Tested: the reply came back at 70 words, owned the problem in the reviewer's own phrase ("raw dough in the middle"), and named the fix. Edit before sending: the "facts" line is the whole prompt. If the reviewer is wrong, say so there and the model will be polite but firm; if you leave it blank, the model apologizes for everything.

Write a launch email to our list announcing [the product, service or change] on [date]. Reader: [who is on the list and how they know us]. The one reason they should care: [benefit]. Proof: [a number, a test, a customer quote].

Structure: subject line under 45 characters and a preview line under 80. Open with the news in the first sentence, no warm-up. One paragraph on why it exists. One paragraph on what it costs and how to get it, with the link [URL]. One line on what happens if they do nothing (nothing bad; no fake urgency). Sign-off from [name]. Under 180 words. Plain text, no headings, no bullet points.

Use it for new products, price changes, new hours, reopenings. Edit before sending: the subject line. Ask for five more and pick the flattest; the model's first choice usually tries too hard. For follow-ups and the rest of the inbox, see our email prompts pack.

Here is the home page and pricing page copy of a competitor: [paste the text, or the URLs if your assistant can browse]. Using our brief, do a teardown in five parts:

1. Who they are talking to, in one sentence, judged only from their words.
2. The promise they make and the proof they offer for it.
3. Three things they say that we cannot say (be honest).
4. Three things we can say that they do not.
5. The one message we should lead with because it sits in the gap between us. One paragraph, then a draft headline and subhead for our home page built on it.

Quote their actual phrases where it matters. Do not invent claims about them that are not in the text.

Use it for positioning, before you rewrite the website. Pasting the text beats giving a URL; not every free tier browses, and pasted text cannot be misread. Edit before sending: part 4. The model flatters you; strike anything you cannot prove.

Build a one-month content calendar for [business], using the brief. Channels: [e.g. Instagram three times a week, one email newsletter every two weeks, one Google Business Profile post a week]. Month: [month]. Business events this month: [launches, holidays, seasonal changes, with dates].

Output a table with columns: date, channel, topic, format (photo, carousel, short video, text), the goal (reach, trust, or sales), and a one-line hook. Rules: no more than one direct sales post per week per channel; at least a third of posts should teach something or show behind the scenes; tie posts to the business events in the week before and the week of. Keep every hook under 15 words and do not phrase hooks as questions.

Use it for the first of the month, then edit rather than regenerate. Tested: the table came back complete, balanced between teaching and selling, and tied to the events on the right dates. Edit before sending: the facts inside the hooks. Our test changed a 7am opening to 6am and invented a "36-hour fermentation". Check every time, number and product name against reality before it goes to a scheduler.

Write a headline set for a [Google Search / Meta] ad for [product or offer], aimed at [who], using the brief. Give me: 10 headlines under 30 characters each (count them), 4 descriptions under 90 characters each, and 3 opening lines for a Meta primary text under 125 characters. Mix these angles across the set: the price, the outcome, the objection answered, the local angle, the proof. Every headline must be true of the offer as described. No "best", no "#1", no claims about competitors. Mark the three headlines you would test first.

Use it for your first ad account, where the platform will ask you for exactly these counts. Edit before sending: the character counts. Models miscount; paste the headlines into the ad builder and let it tell you which are over.