ChatGPT takes care of the routine, saves time, and sparks new ideas when you’ve run out of your own. It’s not a replacement for your expertise — it’s an extension of it.So instead of manually looking for link donors, analyzing competitors, or writing your fifth follow-up email, all you need is a well-crafted prompt.
Here’s how to build one to get the most out of it.
How to create an effective prompt: the formula
ChatGPT doesn’t read between the lines — it responds to clear, contextual queries.If you want more than generic advice and need a usable output — you have to master prompt writing.Treat your prompt like a technical brief. The more precise it is, the better the result.
The universal formula for an effective prompt looks like this:
[Action] + [Context or Example] + [Constraints or Criteria] + [Expected Output Format]
- Action – what you need to do: find, generate, compare, explain.
- Context – niche, goal, example, business logic. GPT needs to understand what it's working with.
- Criteria – numeric or qualitative restrictions: DA > 40, English-language sites, blog must contain “Write for Us.”
- Format – table, list, under 100 words, HTML, etc.
Example prompt using this formula:
Find 20 websites for guest posting in the finance niche, with DR over 40, English-language, active blogs, and a submission form. Format: table with columns – site / DA / contact / submission form link.
The less ambiguous your prompt, the less generic and shallow the result.
GPT shouldn’t guess — it should execute, and it’s up to you to define how precisely.
You can start with the above template, but for better accuracy, use a full structure:
- Context – Project background, niche, situation, input data.
Example: “I’m working on promoting a SaaS product for small businesses in the finance niche.” - Role – Who you are and your function.
Example: “I’m a link builder focused on donor outreach.” - Task – What exactly you want from ChatGPT.
Example: “I need to find sites with DA > 40 for guest posting.” - Format – How the output should be structured.
Example: “Table with columns: website name / DA / email / Write for Us page.” - Constraints – Language, length, tone, style, timeframe.
Example: “Only English-language finance websites, no older than 2023.”
Here’s how such a prompt looks in practice:
I’m a link builder working on a SaaS product in the finance niche. I need to find 20 websites with a DA over 40 that accept guest posts. Constraints: English-language sites, active blog, and a contact or submission page.Format: table with columns – site / DA / email / “Write for Us” page link.
ChatGPT gets all the essentials: your field, the task type, and your role — and that reduces the risk of receiving generic output.
Categories of useful prompts
Overall, it’s convenient to split prompts into key categories depending on the stage of your work — from opportunity research to reporting.
Opportunity research is the most common type of prompt — when you need to find, compare, or collect something.
What you can ask for:
- A list of donor websites filtered by niche, region, or language.
- Domains that link to your competitors but not to you.
- A selection of crowd platforms, forums, and blogs for natural link building.
- DR/DA/TF comparison between multiple sites.
Prompt example:
Help me find potential websites for backlinks in the [NICHE] niche. Criteria: DR 20–50, traffic of at least 1,000 unique visitors/month. Language: Ukrainian/English. Region: [REGION]. Provide 10 types of sites and sample Google search queries.
Another category is idea generation, when your go-to templates are exhausted and you’re looking for a fresh approach.
What you can ask for:
- Guest post topic ideas for a specific niche.
- Anchor list variations focused on brand/service/features.
- Link-building strategies without budget: collaborations, quotes, comments, newsjacking.
Prompt example:
Generate 10 guest post topic ideas in the cybersecurity niche that naturally allow placing a link to a VPN service.
Prompts are also useful for outreach and template writing, helping automate communication with editors, site owners, and communities.
What you can ask for:
- First outreach email templates in a neutral/friendly tone.
- Follow-up message if there’s no reply.
- Comments for forums and blogs (in a specific tone/style).
Prompt example:
Write a personalized outreach email for a [WEBSITE TYPE]. Recipient details:
Name: [NAME]
Website: [URL]
Last article: [TITLE]
Socials: [ACTIVITY]
Goal: propose a [TYPE OF COLLABORATION]
Tone: professional but friendly. Length: up to 120 words. Include a compliment on their content + a clear value proposition.
For analysis and reporting, prompts can help summarize findings, build reports, or flag potential risks.
What you can ask for:
- A short backlink profile analysis (types, anchors, brand ratio).
- A list of suspicious or toxic domains.
- A report outline with key metrics for a client.
Prompt example:
Analyze this list of domains in detail and highlight the ones that might be spammy. Format: table with brief explanations.
A well-crafted prompt is half the work.
Instead of dozens of clicks and manual searches, you get a ready-to-use result — right here and now.
Ask ChatGPT to write a prompt for itself
You don’t need to know how to phrase your request right away. If you’re clear on what outcome you need but unsure how to word it — just say that to GPT. It will help generate an effective prompt for itself.
This approach is especially useful for complex, non-standard tasks when you need creativity, want to avoid trial-and-error, or need to test multiple phrasing options for the same goal.
How does it work in practice?
Your request “I’m a link builder. I need to find guest posting sites in the SaaS niche with DA > 40. Help me craft a precise prompt to get a table with contact info.”
GPT’s response: “Find 20 websites in the SaaS niche that accept guest posts and have a Domain Authority above 40. For each site, provide a table with the following fields: website name, homepage URL, DA (Domain Authority), link to the 'Write for Us' or similar page, contact email (editor or content manager), contact name (if available), and a note (e.g., 'requires pitch', 'requires backlink', etc.). Return the result as a table.”
When creating prompts for itself, GPT can also suggest alternative versions — with different tones, formats, or tailored constraints.
Advanced techniques
There are a few other helpful practices for communicating more effectively with GPT.
Chain-of-thought prompting
This method makes ChatGPT “think out loud,” showing its reasoning.
It’s especially valuable for complex analytical tasks.
Example:
Analyze whether it’s worth collaborating with example-blog.com for a backlink. Think step by step:
- Start by evaluating technical metrics (DR, traffic, indexing).
- Then analyze content relevance to our niche.
- Check the site's reputation and content quality.
- Assess the likelihood of getting a positive reply.
- Final conclusion: collaborate or not, and why.
My niche: SaaS for small businesses.
Role-playing prompts
A powerful technique is to assign ChatGPT a specific role with expertise and experience.
Example:
You’re an experienced link builder with 8 years in the field, having worked with top SEO agencies. You specialize in white-hat techniques and have an average outreach success rate of 15%.
A client asks: “Should we get links from websites that sell backlinks?”
Answer from your professional perspective, include potential consequences and better alternatives.
Iterative refinement
Don’t settle for the first result. Use a progressive enhancement method:
- Get a basic result
- Ask to improve specific elements
- Add new requirements or limitations
- Adapt the output to your project
Example:
Step 1: “Write an outreach email for a blogger.”
Step 2: “Make it more personalized — reference their latest article.”
Step 3: “Shorten it to 80 words, but keep all the value.”
Step 4: “Add a subtle sense of urgency without sounding salesy.”
Save successful iterations as templates — it’s a useful habit.
Tools and extensions for working with prompts
Even the best prompts aren’t always fun to write from scratch. Luckily, there are libraries and extensions that help you save, reuse, or adapt high-performing queries quickly.
Prompt libraries:
- PromptHero — large prompt library categorized by profession.
- Awesome ChatGPT Prompts — free GitHub repo with collections for SEO, content, outreach, and more.
- PromptBase — premium prompt marketplace ($2–10) with templates by real-world experts, great for niche or advanced use cases.
Browser extensions:
- ChatGPT Prompt Genius — lets you save, organize, and tag favorite prompts directly in the ChatGPT interface.
- AIPRM for ChatGPT — over 4,000 templates with SEO and marketing focus. Works inside ChatGPT.
- Merlin — brings GPT to any webpage with contextual awareness. Handy for analyzing donor sites or crafting outreach messages.
These tools won’t replace your expert thinking — but they provide a solid base to start or scale from.
Conclusion
ChatGPT is only as good as the task you give it. The five-part prompt formula (context, role, task, format, constraints) is the foundation of every successful LLM interaction.
Of course, GPT won’t replace proper analysis, source checking, contact validation, or real communication. But it helps quickly draft, test hypotheses, or run a preliminary review — so you can spend your time on more strategic work.
