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Build a channel-by-month revenue table with totals

  • For Marketing and content
  • You practice Asking for a format you can use
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Intermediate

About this exercise

Your marketing lead wants a cross-tab of Q1 revenue by channel and month. Make one markdown table with a row for each channel, columns Jan, Feb, Mar and Total, and a final Total row, using dollars with commas, $0 where there were no sales. Leave out refunded rows, plain text apart from the table, under 80 words, and nothing before or after the table.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Counting the refunded row. The AI includes the $400 refunded Email order in March. Try: Add: "Skip rows with status refunded."
  • Dropping empty cells. The AI leaves Social February blank or inserts a dash. Try: Add: "Write $0 where there were no sales."
  • Wrapping the table in chatter. The AI adds an intro and commentary about trends. Try: Add: "Output only the table, with a final Total row."
  • Leaving the format to chance. The AI picks its own length and layout unless told the exact shape. Try: Add: "Plain text, no bold or headings."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it. Try: Cap each part instead, for example "each line under 15 words."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Names the columns
  • Excludes refunds
  • Handles empty cells
  • Asks for totals
  • Cuts the chatter

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