The Coaches Guide to ChatGPT

If you’re not already sold on AI, you may want to go and read why I think all coaches MUST use ChatGPT before you read this article.

Whether you’re an AI novice, cautiously curious, or already utilizing AI this post has something for you.

Think of this as your all-access pass to unlocking the full potential of ChatGPT, a tool that can revolutionize your marketing.

By the end of this guide, you’ll be either diving in head first or left wondering why you hadn’t embraced the world of ChatGPT sooner.

If you’re already using ChatGPT and want to get straight to the section on prompts, you can clock on number 4 in the table of contents.

The Coaches Guide to ChatGPT

Setting up your account

Before you can start using ChatGPT, you need to set up either a free or a paid account (more on the differences in a moment).

To do so, and after you have read this article, visit the OPenAI website (OpenAI developed ChatGPT)

You will have three options to open an account.

• Using your email, setting up a password and going through the verification process
• Using your Google account if you have one
• Using your Microsoft account if you have one

And voila my friend, you will be good to go.

And go you will.

Understand the differences between ChatGPT-3.5 and ChatGPT-4

Both ChatGPT 3.5 and 4.0 are powerful but they differ in their capabilities. And whereas 3.5 is free, 4.0 is $20 per month.

So let’s take a look:

ChatGPT-3.5

• Quicker response times – it will spit out 20 blog post headline ideas in a few seconds
• Lower computational requirements (won’t be an issue for 99.9% of people)
• Better suited for simple tasks and shorter content like social media posts

ChatGPT-4

• Much better at understanding real language and so requires less hand-holding
• Better for generating longer, more complex content that doesn’t sound computer-generated
• Like a fucking ninja at writing copy and handling specialized tasks such as designing courses and writing lead magnets

if you’re serious about producing content, then paying the $20 is a total no-brainer and something I’m strongly encouraging my clients to do.

Apart from the fact that 4.0 is flat-out better at writing, you also don’t have the pain in the ass of waiting to get on to the server at busy times as can be the case with 3.5.

And you still have the option of using 3.5 (in fact it will default to that, even on the paid service, you have to click the drop-down box and tell it to use 4.0) if you want quick answers that are pretty straightforward.

Note: Bing, is now using 4.0 so you do have that option. But from what I hear because I haven’t used it, it’s nothing like as flexible as going straight to the horse’s mouth.

How to use prompts

Prompts are the information/commands that you type in so ChatGPT-4 knows what you want it to do.

In exactly the same way as asking your clients shit questions will get you shit answers, typing in shit prompts into ChatGPT will get shit results.

Although to be fair, ChatGPT won’t roll its eyes, or ask for its money back.

The more specific and detailed you make your prompts, the more specific and detailed ChatGPT will make its answers.

Here are a few tips to create prompts that will bring you breathtaking responses.

Use clear and concise language

ChatGPT struggles with ambiguous language, so be clear and explicit on what you want it to do.

Think of ChatGPT as one of your kids who you are trying to get to use the dishwasher for the first time.

You wouldn’t just tell them to put the dishes in and turn it on. That would be a recipe for dishwashing carnage.

No, you would explain how to stack it properly, show them where to add the detergent, and the correct setting to use depending on the load.

Whereas your kid undoubtedly thinks you’re being an utter bastard and is plotting to report you to child services for cruelty, ChatGPT loves you for such detailed guidance.

Be specific with what content you want

If you want a blog post of 1,500 words with 5 subheadings and a conclusion, tell it.

if you want it to come up with 20 posts for Facebook that will engage people and create conversation, tell it.

And if you want 25 alternate headlines to consider for an email you are wanting to send out, tell it that too.

Be specific with what style you want

If you want to sound like Winston Churchill or Oscar Wilde, then tell it to write in their style

If on the other hand, you just want to sound authoritative, amusing or downright friendly it’s got your back….if you tell it.

I asked ChatGPT-4 to give me 10 different styles or articles it could write for me.

Here’s what it said:

1. Narrative: A storytelling style that focuses on characters, plot, and setting, often used in novels and short stories.
2. Descriptive: A style that aims to paint a vivid picture through the use of sensory details, often found in poetry and travel writing.
3. Persuasive: A style that aims to convince the reader of a particular viewpoint or opinion, often used in opinion pieces, essays, and advertising copy.
4. Expository: A style that aims to inform or explain a subject, often used in textbooks, how-to guides, and news articles.
5. Technical: A style focused on conveying complex information in a clear and concise manner, often used in user manuals, white papers, and scientific reports.
6. Creative: A more artistic and imaginative style, used in fiction, poetry, and other creative works.
7. Journalistic: A style that presents information in an unbiased, factual, and concise manner, often used in news reporting and feature articles.
8. Academic: A formal style that follows specific guidelines and conventions, used in research papers, scholarly articles, and essays.
9. Epistolary: A style that mimics the format of personal letters or correspondence, often used in novels or historical fiction.
10. Conversational: A casual, friendly style that imitates spoken language, often used in blog posts, interviews, and social media content.

Not too shabby eh?

You can even combine styles by using a prompt like ‘Hey ChatGPT-4, please write in a style that is both descriptive and persuasive‘

By the way, you don’t have to address it by its name and it doesn’t really care if you say please, but for some bizarre reason no doubt buried in my childhood, I tend to.

Give it examples

I wanted to add an element to the client journey on my services page that looks at AI and ChatGPT.

I copied the entire page and dropped it into ChatGPT-4.

I then asked it to analyse the content and write a section on using AI and ChatGPT for client attraction that would slot in nicely.

And with a couple of minor tweaks, this is what it gave me and it is now on my page…..

Leveraging AI and ChatGPT for client acquisition

Artificial intelligence (AI) and ChatGPT have revolutionized the way we communicate, and they can be a game-changer for your coaching business as well.

By integrating AI-driven tools and chatbots into your marketing strategy, you can significantly enhance your client acquisition efforts while saving time and resources and I will show you how.

ChatGPT can help you engage with potential clients on your website, social media, or messaging platforms, providing personalized responses and assistance around the clock.

I am spending two hours every day keeping on top of AI trends and staying aware of the latest tools that can help you become a fully booked coach.

If you want to write copy and keep it in your inimitable style, then tell it what your style is each time you prompt it.

I have a longish post of mine that is very typical of my style in a TXT doc.

Now when I want it to do some writing and retain my style I can use that as the prompt.

It has struggled a tad in retaining my style and humour, but I’m a fairly unorthodox writer and it still gives me a brilliant starting point when I’m struggling to get on a role.

This blog post started off in ChatGPT-4.

I will have changed 90% of it by the time I hit publish but it has saved me at LEAST 3 or 4 hours.

Reprompt

Many people have been unimpressed after posing an ambiguous query and not receiving a Shakespearean masterpiece that brought them to tears in return.

The first prompt should just be the starting point that gives you the opportunity to push it further by using additional prompts like:

• Please rewrite, but add some humour and reduce the length by 50%
• Please rewrite and remove any words with more than 3 syllables
• Please add 4 subheadings and present the second section as bullet points
• Please find 3 famous quotes that sum up the 3 sections and insert them accordingly
• Please change styles and make me sound like a Knight of the Roundtable with a bad attitude and very sore haemorrhoids

Then if you still don’t like what it offers you ask it to do it again and again drilling down and getting more precise each time.

Don’t worry, it won’t get exasperated or sulk like the kid with the dishwasher.

When you finally get something close to what you want you can should manually edit and tweak it accordingly.

Understanding the limitations

ChatGPT has no knowledge of anything that has happened since September 2021.

It’s like it went on an almighty Spring-break bender and blacked out for 18 months.

Presumably, that will change but if you’re researching anything that has happened since then avoid asking ChatGPT.

It also has a tendency to make shit up faster than Donald Trump on a Big Mac-fuelled midnight social media rant.

It told me that I run a podcast called The Discomfort Zone, which was news to me.

The Discomfort Zone was the original name of my blog prior to 2010 but I have never run a podcast.

But ChatGPT can say things with such aplomb and conviction that it’s hard not to believe it knows what it’s talking about.

When it’s being an idiot it’s being the most confident idiot in the room.

You absolutely MUST fact-check anything that is objective, or risk looking very foolish.

Not only that, but if Google sniffs an AI rat because you are spreading falsehoods it may well penalize your site.

Is using ChatGPT ethical?

ChatGPT is merely a tool in the same way as your phone is merely a tool.

Most people would agree that it’s ethical to use your phone to call your aunt to wish her happy birthday.

But equally, most right-minded people would concur it’s not ethical to use it to beat a penguin to death because your football team lost to a side wearing black and white shirts.

In other words, it’s how you use the tool that matters.

If your goal is to help, inform, and/or entertain people, then using ChatGPT is not just acceptable, but sensible.

This post will still have taken me 4 or 5 hours even with the help of AI.

In no way do I feel like I’m being unethical by having it help me in the early stages any more than if I’d used a spellchecker.

However, if I’d gone and grabbed somebody else’s post on this topic and thrown it into ChatGPT and asked it to rewrite it, and then published what it gave me, that would have been unethical.

One person left a comment in my last ChatGPT post saying she was concerned about all the potential job losses because of AI.

I get that.

There is a dark side to AI that would scare me shitless if I was 40 years younger or had kids.

But there’s a dark side to the Internet. The very internet that allowed her to leave me that comment.

The term Luddite is seen as an insult and aimed at people who refuse to move with the times.

Yet in the early 19th century, the Luddites were seen as heroes to many in England for breaking into factories and destroying new machinery.

Luddites worried that traditional jobs, mainly in the textile industry, were going to be lost so they tried to halt technological progress.

This is no different.

You cannot slow down advances in technology, so you may as well embrace them.

All you can do is use AI in alignment with your own values and with the best intentions.

Now I would LOVE your take on this post. Has it helped you?

Please leave me a comment and it would be splendid if you could share this on social media using one of the clicky icon things on the left-hand side.