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Write a search ad that fits the platform's character limits

Practice: Asking for a format you can use. About 5 minutes.

About this exercise

You own Crumb & Kettle bakery and are setting up a search ad. The ad form has 5 boxes, so you need exactly 5 plain-text lines labeled "Headline 1:", "Headline 2:", "Headline 3:", "Description 1:" and "Description 2:", with nothing else. Each headline must be 30 characters or less and each description 90 characters or less. Only advertise what you still sell, at today's prices. Write a prompt that gets you text you can paste straight into the form.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Not giving the form's layout. The AI writes one ad as a paragraph, or several versions with a strategy note, none of it pasteable. Try: Add: "Exactly 5 lines labeled Headline 1:, Headline 2:, Headline 3:, Description 1:, Description 2:. Nothing else."
  • Not passing on the limits. The AI has no idea how small the ad boxes are, so it writes headlines that won't fit. Try: Add: "Each headline 30 characters or less (2 to 4 words), each description 90 characters or less."
  • Advertising what you don't sell. Cronuts and the $40 cake price are in your notes, and the AI uses them unless you point to the Nov 4 update. Try: Add: "Use my Nov 4 notes: no cronuts, cakes from $45, no award, no holiday pies."
  • Trusting the AI to count. AI is bad at counting characters and words, so it drifts over the limits. Try: Give it short targets it can hit: "headlines 2 to 4 words, descriptions under 12 words."
  • Getting markdown in an ad form. AI bolds the labels, and the asterisks end up inside your ad. Try: Add: "Plain text, no bold."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Gives the exact layout
  • Passes on the character limits
  • Uses the updated notes
  • Keeps lines short
  • Asks for plain text

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