Prompt Sequence

A single prompt like "write me a content strategy" produces generic output, because it is answering a generic question. This sequence gets more specific with every step, as you, the "human in the loop" with expertise, shape and correct every step.

Part I: Before you run it

Part II: The five prompts, ready to paste

Audit

Get an honest read on what already exists before adding anything new.

I run [your business], a [one line: what you do and who you serve]. Here's what I've actually built and posted: [real channels, with real numbers, real follower counts, real page counts]. Here's what's working without paid spend: [real traction, real signups, real word of mouth]. Look at this like an auditor, not a cheerleader. For each channel: what I'm actually doing, an honest read, and whether it's high, medium or low priority to fix. Don't tell me to post more. Tell me what's broken.

Easy wins

A short list you can act on this week builds trust in the process before the bigger pillar work starts.

Based on that audit, give me 5 things I can fix this week that cost nothing and take under an hour each. No new content, no new channels. Just better use of what already exists.

Pillars

Everything else in this sequence hangs off these. Get them right before you build a single story on top of them.

Based off the context documents for [business] in this project, give me 3 to 5 content pillars for [business]. Our goal is to [insert primary goal]. With each pillar, write up a description of the theme, its role and why it will win with our audience.

Be ready for AI to make mistakes

A pillar can be well written and still break one of your own rules. Catch it by checking the output against your own source material, not by trusting how confident it sounds.

Example: Reread the brand charter. There, you'll see we have a rule against marketing through fear. Your second pillar is breaking that rule. Give me another.

Story ideas

Pillars are themes, not content. This is where each one turns into a real slate of pieces, spread across the formats that actually get made.

Now give me [number] story ideas for each pillar, including a range of formats. Give me a range of different stories under each given pillar that include a [platform] social post, part of our newsletter, a Reel, blog article, white paper, etc. Write the first sentence of each piece.

Don't stop questioning the results

A story that any competitor could publish isn't finished yet. Push on it until it could only have come from this business.

Example: How is [this or that story] uniquely our own? It seems any company like ours could do the same. Re-reach the context documents and give it an angle that is distinctly ours.

Channel mix

Stories need a home and a rhythm. A table makes the plan usable, and matching each channel's own preferences keeps effort from going to waste.

For these stories, give me the channel mix in table format. Tell me where each should be published and how often. Optimize for what each channel prefers. For each channel, tell me the asset's purpose (to build awareness, generate goodwill, convert visitors and so forth).

Metrics

Reach tells you who saw it, not whether it worked. This is where each story gets measured against the purpose it was actually built for.

For these stories, tell me what to measure for each, moving beyond reach to gauge whether it has achieved true engagement and whether it has met its purpose. Name a few vanity metrics I should ignore and why.

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A full prompt sequence