Welcome to the Forward Obsessed Founder, my newsletter with insights, awesome tools, and real-world advice to grow your business and career.
GO FORWARD THOUGHT OF THE WEEK ➡️
Garbage in, garbage out. That’s the brutal truth about AI. If you’re feeding it vague, half-baked prompts, don’t be surprised when it spits out generic, mostly useless responses.
But here’s the thing… AI isn’t the problem. You are. Or, more specifically, your prompts are.
Most founders treat AI like a slot machine, hoping if they keep pulling the lever, they'll eventually hit the jackpot. But AI isn’t magic, it’s a tool. And like any tool, it’s only as good as the instructions you give it.
That’s where A.C.T. comes in.
A.C.T. (Audience, Communication, Triggers and Touchpoints) is a framework I originally developed to help businesses sharpen their marketing and messaging. But I’ve realized it’s also the ultimate blueprint for getting AI models to generate insights, strategies, and content that actually move the needle.
Let’s break it down:
A = Audience: Who is the AI speaking as, or to?
AI needs a role to play. Otherwise, it defaults to generic, surface-level responses. Instead of just asking “Give me some marketing strategies,” tell AI who it is and who it’s speaking to.
❌ Weak Prompt: “Give me marketing ideas.”
✅ Strong Prompt: “Act as a SaaS growth strategist. Generate 5 marketing ideas for a B2B founder audience, emphasizing AI efficiency.”
C = Communication: Clarity is Key
AI isn’t a mind reader. If you’re vague, it’ll fill in the blanks however it wants (usually with generic fluff). Effective communication means giving AI clear, structured input so it understands your intent and delivers meaningful output. The more precise you are, the better your results.
❌ Weak Prompt: “Write a LinkedIn post about AI.”
✅ Strong Prompt: “Write a 200-word LinkedIn post in a bold, contrarian tone about why most founders are using AI wrong. End with a CTA for founders to rethink their AI strategy.”
T = Triggers: What Inspires Action?
Triggers are the key elements that drive someone to take action. This could be clicking, converting, or engaging with your content or product. AI needs to understand the final purpose of its output so it can craft responses that align with specific conversion points.
❌ Weak Prompt: “Give me five email subject lines.”
✅ Strong Prompt: “I need five email subject lines for a high-ticket B2B coaching offer. They should be curiosity-driven and optimized for open rates. Keep them under 10 words.”
Here’s Why This Matters (and Why You Should Fix It Today)
If your AI-generated content feels off, flat, or generic, it’s not because AI is failing, it’s because you’re not giving it what it needs to succeed. Dialing in your prompts with the A.C.T. method means:
- Less time wasted tweaking bad outputs.
- Higher quality results that actually align with your brand and business.
- AI that works for you, not against you.
Now, let’s make this even easier for you.
Never Lose Your Best Prompts Again
You’re busy. You don’t have time to reinvent the wheel every time you use AI. That’s why I built Promptly.
Promptly is a simple (free) chrome extension I built that helps me re-use my best prompts.
It works with ChatGPT & Claude. Easily saves me 7 hours a week.
Promptly helps you write, save, and reuse your best AI prompts in one place. Your smartest ideas, always ready.
Try it out today, and stop letting bad prompts sabotage your success.
Three ways I can help make your CFO and board love you right now:
- Help you discover new revenue streams for your business hiding in plain sight.
- Host an AI Growth Workshop for you and your team to reduce fat and wasted manual work by up to 30% weekly.
- Install an IDEA Machine in your business that listens to your customers and market and automatically suggests areas for improvement powered by the latest generative AI tools.
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Please take a second and hit the FWD button ▶️, to share this email with your favorite growth-obsessed peer. I want to inspire 1 million awesome minds like you.
