ChatGPT Prompt Template That Works Every Time (6 Slots)

Bad ChatGPT output is almost never the model's fault. It's the prompt.

When you type something vague, the model fills the gaps with its best guess, and its best guess is usually generic, off-tone, and not what you actually wanted. The fix isn't a better AI. It's a better input. One reusable template, six slots, and you'll get structured, usable output almost every time.

The Template#

Here's the full structure, "one prompt that rules them all":

I want you to act as an expert in [Topic 1] and [Topic 2]. My goal/objective is to [describe your goal] for [target audience] in [optional: location or context]. I want you to create [desired output] in the format of [format]. Please use a [tone] tone. Keep in mind that [any additional details or constraints].

Six slots. Each one narrows what the model generates, so it spends less time guessing and more time being useful.

Expert role, Tell ChatGPT what kind of expert it's playing. "Expert in blog writing and surfing" produces different output than "expert in marketing." This primes the model's vocabulary, reference points, and approach before it writes a single word.

Goal/objective, What are you actually trying to produce? "Create a 400-word blog post" is a goal. "Help me with content" is not.

Target audience, Who is this for? Age range, interest level, background. The model writes differently for surfers aged 15-50 than it does for corporate executives. Give it that context.

Desired output, Name the deliverable. A blog post, a product description, an email subject line, a LinkedIn caption. Be literal.

Format, How should it be structured? Number of paragraphs, word count, bullet list, headers. If you don't specify, you'll get whatever default the model prefers.

Tone, Playful, professional, conversational, technical. This is where your brand voice lives. Don't skip it.

A Live Example#

Here's what this looks like when you actually fill it in. Goal: a surfing blog post for a content site.

• Expert role: Blog writing and surfing
• Goal: Create a 400-word blog post about surfing in Costa Rica
• Target audience: Surfers aged 15-50
• Desired output: Blog post
• Format: 400 words, three paragraphs
• Tone: Playful, with surfer slang

The assembled prompt:

I want you to act as an expert in blog writing and surfing. My goal is to create a 400-word blog post about surfing in Costa Rica for surfers aged 15-50. Please create a playful blog post using surfer slang and include tips on the best surf spots in Costa Rica. The format should be a blog post, 400 words long, divided into three paragraphs. Keep in mind that the target audience is surfers aged 15-50 and the post should focus on surfing Costa Rica.

Yes, it's a little repetitive. That's intentional. Repetition in a prompt reinforces the constraints for a large language model, it helps, not hurts.

The output was a three-paragraph post with surfer slang, solid hooks, and a list of surf spots. Not perfect, but close enough that minor edits would make it publishable. That's the bar: not "done," but "worth editing" instead of "worth deleting."

The Self-Interview Trick#

If filling out the template yourself feels slow, use ChatGPT to do the intake. Paste the template and say: "I want to create a prompt, please ask me questions."

ChatGPT will run through each slot as a question. You answer conversationally. It assembles the final prompt. Then you copy that prompt, open a fresh conversation, and paste it in.

This is useful when you know what you want but don't know how to phrase it, which is most of the time when you're working in an unfamiliar topic area or content format.

If you want to take this further and apply structured prompting to a specific format, the HeyGen Script Generator GPT does exactly this for AI avatar video scripts. It handles the prompt structure automatically so you get HeyGen-optimized scripts without building the prompt from scratch each time.

The template works for anything: email sequences, social captions, product descriptions, video outlines. The format stays the same. You just swap in different values for each slot. Once you've used it a few times, filling it out takes under two minutes, and you stop getting output you can't use.

If you want to go deeper on building AI workflows around content, how to use ChatGPT for content creation is a good next read. And if you're thinking about building a full content system around AI avatars, the Cantina AI faceless account guide shows how that comes together end to end.

Watch the full video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/3xO0ZrB5sNA

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