Stop making these AI mistakes

March 16, 2025

By Kim Komando

If you’re not using AI in your business or professional life yet, guess what? Your competitors are and they’re getting ahead. Time to change that. 

The secret to making AI actually useful? Asking the right questions. A lazy prompt gets you a lazy answer. A smart one is where the magic happens. Here are three power-packed AI prompts to start using today.

1. For content and marketing

Struggling with blog posts, email campaigns or social media content? Try these prompts.

• “Write a persuasive email marketing campaign promoting [product/service], focusing on [unique benefit]. Keep it under 150 words.”
• “Give me five engaging social media post ideas for [industry] that encourage high engagement.”
• “Write a 1,000-word blog post on [topic], using a professional and informative tone. Include subheadings and a call to action.”

📌 Pro Tip: Be specific. Need a polished LinkedIn post? Say so. Want something fun for Instagram? Ask for engaging. Posting to social? Specify if you need text, captions or video ideas.

2. For strategy and decision-making

AI can spark new ideas, spot trends and help you boost your bottom line.

• “What are the top five trends in [industry] for [year], and how can I leverage them for my business?”
• “Give me a step-by-step guide on how to improve customer retention for my business.”
• “What are three innovative revenue streams I can add to my existing [business model]?”

📌 Pro Tip: Get better AI answers by giving your niche, target audience and company size. Tell AI what you’ve already tried and where you’re stuck.

3. For increasing sales

AI can help you close more deals.

• “Write a high-converting sales pitch for [product/service] targeting [specific customer demographic].”
• “Create a high-performing cold email template that gets responses and leads to conversions.”
• “What are the strategies that [name your competitor] at [put their website here] is using to make money?”
  

📌 Pro Tip: AI can fine-tune your emails to boost open and response rates. Tell AI exactly who your ideal customer is, their pain points and why your product is the solution.

The trick to making AI work for you? 

Ask smart questions. Be specific. Give context. Define your goal. That’s how you get game-changing results. Did you hear about the candle store owner who retired? He was burned out. (I saw that smile!)

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