If You Can't Write, GPT-3 Won't Help

The decline in the use of words and well-crafted compositions has been occurring over many decades.

Bill French

Now we have pseudo-tokens for language; the affable emoji without context or background are generously used in place of thoughtful conversation.

For decades I’ve been trying to get co-workers and colleagues to write. From technical documentation to Slack messages and critical requirements and plans, it seems we’ve lost that lovin’ feeling for written expression. Despite my requests and often very stern admonitions for lax attention to written details and communique, all I get are excuses and sometimes the equivalent of cave dweller grunts. The decline in the use of words and well-crafted compositions has been occurring over many decades. Now we have pseudo-tokens for language; the affable emoji without context or background are generously used in place of thoughtful conversation.

While this decline in writing is slow and almost imperceptible, what comes next will be abrupt.

To leverage GPT-3, you need to write well because to make it work; it needs to understand what you want. If you can’t express clear thoughts and ideas with words and some punctuation, your experience with the newest and likely the most profound technical innovation in decades will not serve you well. Within 36 months I predict there will be college courses designed to teach students how to ask NLP models questions.

⁠

GPT-3⁠

(and the newest experiment,

ChatGPT⁠

) from

Open AI⁠

produce impressive results if — and only if — it is given carefully composed prompts designed to extract the information you seek. If you give it garbage, it will reciprocate sometimes doubling your garbage back.

What follows are two GP3 prompts and results. One is lazily composed. The other is very discrete, exposes details about the business and includes a definitive request for GP3 to consider.

You be the judge.

A simple GP3 Prompt

Give me some ideas to increase sales at my store:

→

GP3 Results

Offer discounts and promotions: Offer discounts and promotions to customers to encourage them to buy more. You could offer discounts on certain items or provide promotional codes or coupons to make it easier for customers to purchase.

Create a loyalty program: Create a loyalty program to reward customers for their loyalty and encourage them to come back. You could offer discounts or free items to customers who purchase a certain number of times from your store.

Invest in marketing: Invest in marketing to reach more customers and increase sales. You could start a blog, create an email list, or use social media for advertising your products and services.

A Discrete GP3 Prompt

My retail store for marine products provides service for engine tuneups, watercraft add-ons, floating toys, paddle boards, and ocean kayaks.

My customers love the outdoors and are typically families with children between ages 6 and 14. Most of them have a dog and tend to be experienced swimmers.

Generate a list of 7 ways to promote my store and a detailed marketing plan to implement them:

→

GP3 Results

Lead Generation Campaign: Establish a lead generation campaign to build an email list of current and potential customers. Utilize a combination of search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising to drive website traffic, compile emails from interested visitors, and create an email marketing campaign.

Social Media Advertising: Take advantage of social media advertising platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, to reach a wider audience with targeted ads showcasing the products and services offered by the store.

Organize Outdoor Adventure Events: Partner with local businesses to organize outdoor adventure events, such as marine-themed tours, obstacle courses, and races. Use these events to build brand awareness and generate leads.

Sponsor Local Events: Become a sponsor of a local event, such as a beach clean-up event, a school field trip, or a dive competition. This will help create brand awareness and goodwill within the local community. Showcase Happy Customers: Ask loyal customers to submit photos from their time at the store or of the products they purchased. Use these images in a “Happy Customers” campaign to showcase the store’s success.

Create Referral Programs: Establish a referral program that incentivizes customers to refer their friends and family. This will help build word-of-mouth marketing and expand the customer base. Produce Engaging Content: Create content that appeals to the target audience, such as blog posts, tutorials, and videos about the products and services offered. This will help to keep customers engaged and build trust in the store.

Marketing Plan:

Define objectives: The objectives of this marketing plan are to increase brand awareness among current and prospective customers, increase lead generation, and boost sales.

Identify target customer: The target customer is families with children between the ages of 6 and 14 who love the outdoors and are experienced swimmers.

Identify tactics: Lead generation campaigns, social media advertising, outdoor adventure events, sponsoring local events, showcasing happy customers, referral programs, and producing engaging content.

Implementation timeline: Executing the aforementioned tactics should begin immediately and continue for three months. Activities should be tracked and updated with actionable insights gathered from data. Budget and resources: An initial budget of $5,000 should be allocated for the implementation of this marketing plan. In addition, time and resources should be set aside for ongoing activities such as tracking results, making adjustments, and creating content.

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