A ChatGPT Primer
Last time I explained how ChatGPT works and how it differs from other types of Artificial Intelligence. With that foundation already built, it's time that we explore some of the best practices and how you can use ChatGPT in your organization.
It's important to note that ChatGPT has two versions. There's the free version, ChatGPT 3.5, which is the one that most people use, and there's the newer ChatGPT 4, which is more advanced and has more recent data. That's an oversimplification, but this is all you need to know for this edition.
For the purposes of this newsletter, we will be focusing on version 3.5. Honestly, unless you're wanting to do research on current events, version 3.5 will work just fine for most of your personal and business needs. This will be a simple, easy to follow guide. We will get more in detail in the weeks to come, but this post alone will help you get started.
Prompts
ChatGPT works by the user supplying it with prompts. So, what are prompts, exactly? Basically, prompts are the messages you sent to ChatGPT with the expectation to receive the outcome you want. The best way to illustrate this is with an example.
Let's say that you own a bakery in Topeka, Kansas. You're looking for way to your products on social media, or you're looking to hire par time work. The first thing you would do is provide ChatGPT with the context. I think it's best if you open ChatGPT in a new window and try along with me. First, type the context:
I own a bakery in Topeka, Kansas, called Israel's Sweets. We're vegan friendly and that's our target demographic. My brand is friendly and funny.
(Note, that when you send it that context, odds are that it will offer some recommendations of its own. Ignore those for now.)
Once you send that prompt to ChatGPT, it knows how to proceed. Then, you can ask it to help you with what you really need. In this case, we want ChatGPT to write a couple of Facebook posts for us. Here's a simple prompt, below. You can and often should make it more specific. For example, maybe you're doing a 10 percent sale. For our purposes, I left it pretty simple:
Write me two Facebook posts about my upcoming Fourth of July sale.
Did you do it? Notice that because it already knows the context, I didn't have to specify what the posts were for. It already knew that when I wrote "my," I meant the bakery. Here's what ChatGPT wrote for me:
Post 1: ??? Get ready to ignite your taste buds this Fourth of July at Israel's Sweets! ?????? Our Vegan-friendly bakery is gearing up for a sweet celebration, and you're invited to indulge in the freedom of flavor! ??
?? From patriotic cupcakes to star-spangled cookies, we've got a red, white, and vegan menu that'll make your taste buds burst with joy! ???
?? Join us for our Fourth of July Sale and treat yourself to a taste of freedom! ?? Don't miss out on the yumminess - swing by Israel's Sweets and let the vegan festivities begin! ???? #VeganIndependence #SweetFreedom #FourthOfJulyTreats
Post 2: ???? Ready to make this Fourth of July a little sweeter? Look no further than Israel's Sweets! ?????? Our Vegan-friendly bakery is cooking up a storm for a celebration that's as delicious as it is festive! ??
???? Dive into a world of vegan indulgence with our special Fourth of July Sale! From decadent cakes to firework-inspired cookies, we've got treats that'll spark joy in every bite! ????
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?? Don't settle for ordinary this Independence Day – celebrate with extraordinary flavor at Israel's Sweets! ???? Swing by and grab your favorites before they're gone! ???? #VeganJuly4th #SweetCelebrate #IndulgeInFreedom
You could then write back and ask it to do the same, but to exclude emojis. Or you can ask it to include your special offer if you have one. This whole exercise took less than 15 seconds to perform. You can see how powerful ChatGPT is.
As you can see, you can use this to write press releases, blog posts, video scripts and the like.
By telling ChatGPT that my brand was funny and approachable, I was setting a tone. Here are some other possible tones you can ask it to write in:
Tones
Again, this example is just scratching the surface of what you can do. Another example is that you can ask ChatGPT to make a workout plan for you for the next 30 days if you want to lose weight or gain muscle mass. Or you can ask it to teach you Quantum Mechanics in a way that's easy to understand. When I say that the possibilities are endless, it's not hyperbole.
Once you get a result from ChatGPT, you can ask it delve deeper into a topic, or to give you new examples.
What are some ways that you can use this for your business?
In the next edition, I'll cover more advanced ChatGPT prompt engineering, as well as prompts for different types of businesses to get you started. Stay tuned, subscribe and share!
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