7 AI prompts from Ryan Dohrn that will change how you work
By Alisa Cromer, NichePublisher.biz
I was on hand as Ryan Dohrn, producer of the 2025 Niche Media Conference – and head of Brainswell Media sales consulting – took center stage on the last day to give publishers a few last life-altering AI prompts.
There is no way to actually convey the “aha!” moment without actually using ChatGPT, but after testing these prompts at NichePublisher.biz I can attest that these prompts will make their way into your work habits.
Here’s how Dohrn proposes using ChatGPT (or the AI tool of your choice):
- Create the illusion of knowledge.
The art of putting things into words is critical for positionning anyone as a thought leader in the niche. ChatGPT is really good at coming up with words for things people know, but may not know how to say.
In addition, it’s great way to train media sellers how to talk to clients, especially sellers with sales skills who are new to the niche and need to grasp its nuances right away.
Prompt: Make me smart so I appear wise about [fill in the blank]
GPT returns one core sentence that can be repeated time and again.
Then it goes on to give core vocabulary words and what they mean and, also, “Smart phrases you can drop,” along with “smart sounding opinions you can casually drop” and a cheat sheet of answers, if “someone says…you can say…”
Example:
If someone says:
- “SEO is so competitive.”
You can say:
“True. That’s why long-tail keyword strategy and intent-matching are more critical than ever.”
Not a bad set of responses to train a new sales rep in digital services.
2. Increase advertiser retention
ChatGPT can give suggestions about advertiser retention that no one on your team may have come up with.
One of these is a newsletter aimed at advertisers. No time to pull this off? Dohrn suggests asking GPT to help.
The Prompt: Create an advertiser newsletter with marketing tips and trends. Position my publication as a thought leader.
GPT returns a structure for the newsletter. The next Prompt: Give me 12 topics to use, one per month, that highlight these key [themes] that make our publication look like an expert in marketing to [fill in the blank].
ChatGPT will also build the newsletter, including a section that promotes exclusivity:
Ad Space Update: 1 Spot already sold. There are only 5 and 4 are available.
The last bit of the newlsetter asks to connect:
,Let’s Connect
Need fresh ideas for reaching magazine publishers? We’re happy to brainstorm with you.
[Request a Media Kit] | [Schedule a Quick Call]
Finally, GPT suggested “at tiny tip to make it even smarter” – ergo a catchy name for the newsletter, and suggests one.
Pretty nice!
3. Become a thought leader on LinkedIn
For publishers struggling to keep a schedule of LinkedIn posts that create a sense of being “well known” as thought leaders in your niche, GPT can yield plenty of ideas to up the posting schedule, Dohrn said.
Prompt: I want to create 12 posts for LinkedIn. I would like the posts to feature positive stats about [fill in the bliank]
The results from our testing of this prompt were pretty solid, especially when we add to the prompt with specific themes we knew were important to our audience.
GPT even prompted us if we wanted an image, and suggested free image sites – Unsplash.com (very polished photos), Pixabay.com (mix of photos, vectors, and illustrations), Pexels.com (great lifestyle and business images) –where there are no legal issues.
Then it offered to create a template – or even a specific image for each post, via its integration with Canva. Make sure you add “a free image” to the prompt, Dohrn reommended, to avoid legal issues down the line. It also tells you how to set up. Canva, and gives design tips.
4. Find the perfect gifts for your team and/or clients
Ok, so this one sounds personal and definitely can be used in your personal life, but how many times do publishers wonder what to give marquis customers, or key employees on their anniversary dates? Put any additional information about the persons age, interests, profession, and so on into the prompt from clever ideas that, well, create the illusion you gave this a lot of thought.
Which, by the way, you did.
5. Brainstorm ideas for your next problem or project
This sounds like an obvious statement but actually is not. Publishers often struggle to come up with ideas for solving problems, when they could use a trained AI bot always open in their browser. At a couple of points during the conference someone asked an expert a question and they simply answered seroiusly, “Why don’t you ask AI.”
Some of the more interesting brainstorming ideas Dohrn shared include:
Prompt: “I have an advertisers that wants to cancel due to the current economy. How do you recommend that I respond?”
Here’s another one we tested for membership sales:
“I have abandons that I want to recontact to tell them about new benefits, including a member network where they can DM eachother, roundtables, and private group discussions. What do you suggest?”
The results provided a much better set of ideas than our original barely fleshed out version.
6. Solve “Too Long to Read” issues (TLTR)
As attention spans shrink, publishers need to manage the length of almost every internal and external communication, whether a memo to staff, or a sales letter.
Dohrn puts this lingering issue into the category of (TLTR), or Too Long to Read, which can be easily solved with AI.
Prompt: Cut this sales letter to [in half or # paragraphs and #of words]
Some smart organizations are already doing this trick multiiple times a day. The shorter version is not only easier to read, but typically also makes the point in a clearer way.
7. Ask AI to teach you
“One of the most used prompts on Chat GPT is ‘teach me,'” Ryan said.
This is another prompt that sounds obvious for organizations that are not using it.
Prompt :”What should I ask you to make [fill in the blank or upload a document] better?
Dorhn suggests using the “Teach me prompt” for almost any subject matter. It is also a great question to ask after AI has already delivered an answer, or if you don’t know what prompt to ask, you can ask AI to give you a prompt that will deliver the result you want.
Many thanks to Dohrn for another great conference, and super useful set of prompting ideas.
