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Tell preorder customers their order ships late

Practice: Keeping the AI to your sources. About 5 minutes.

About this exercise

Your preorder customers need to hear their game console bundle will ship late. Write a subject line starting "Subject:" (under 8 words, naming the new date), then a body under 70 words, plain text, whose first sentence gives the new ship date (no thank-you or apology before it). Use the latest date, give the cancel-for-refund link, don't name or blame the supplier, and offer only the credit the notes approve. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 85 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead: "body 4 sentences, each under 15 words."
  • Not asking for the subject line. The AI writes only a body, or a long subject that gets cut off in an inbox. Try: Add: "First line: Subject: under 8 words, with the new date."
  • Warming up first. The AI opens with "We wanted to reach out with an update" before the date. Try: Add: "Body sentence 1 gives the new ship date."
  • Using the first date or blaming the partner. Dec 5 appears first in the thread and the supplier is named, so the AI may use both. Try: Add: "Ship date is Dec 12. Don't name the supplier or mention customs."
  • Ignoring where it will be pasted. AI loves bold and headings, which show up as stray ** and # symbols in the email tool. Try: Name the place and the format: "For the email tool. Plain text, no bold or headings."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Asks for a subject line
  • Uses the latest date
  • Keeps the partner out
  • Gives the cancel option
  • Sets a word limit

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