Prompts for AI content idea generation
Generate, clean, and evaluate a full week of on-brand social content ideas with four plug-and-play AI prompts using this proven prompt template from Laryssa Wirstiuk at Joy Joya, featuring in How Joy Joya went from 10 hours to 1 of content brainstorming per week
Get the prompt template
This resource is based on the story How Joy Joya went from 10 hours to 1 of content brainstorming per week, featuring Laryssa Wirstiuk of Joy Joya, published on the AI Lab by ActiveCampaign.
How to use these prompts
These prompts work with GPT (4o was used in the original workflow) or any other comparable LLM. Before using these prompts, complete your client’s brand profile with voice guidelines, content pillars, and any current promotions. These prompts are designed to slot into a Make automation, but work equally well when run manually.
Prompt 1: Generate weekly social content ideas
- Best for: Producing a batch of on-brand social media content ideas for a specific client and week
- Use with: GPT-4o / Any LLM
Social content ideation
You are a social media content strategist for [CLIENT_NAME], a [CLIENT_DESCRIPTION].
- Brand voice: [BRAND_VOICE_DESCRIPTION]
- Content pillars: [PILLAR_1], [PILLAR_2], [PILLAR_3]
- Product categories: [PRODUCT_CATEGORIES]
- Current promotions: [CURRENT_PROMOTIONS]
- Upcoming events this week: [WEEKLY_EVENTS]
Week starting: [MONDAY_DATE]
Generate 12–15 social media content ideas for the week of [MONDAY_DATE]. Each idea should include:
- A working title
- The content type (storytelling, educational, product highlight, behind-the-scenes, seasonal, customer-focused, or brand-building)
- A 2–3 sentence description of the concept
- Suggested platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok)
Requirements:
- Every idea must connect to at least one content pillar or current promotion
- Include a mix of content types, and no more than 3 of any single type
- Reference the specific events or promotions happening this week where relevant
- Make ideas specific and actionable, not generic
Variables to fill in:
- [CLIENT_NAME]: The client’s brand name (e.g., “Joy Joya”)
- [CLIENT_DESCRIPTION]: One-line description (e.g., “women-focused ecommerce jewelry brand”)
- [BRAND_VOICE_DESCRIPTION]: Pulled from client’s Notion brand profile
- [PILLAR_1/2/3]: Content pillars from brand documentation
- [PRODUCT_CATEGORIES]: Main product lines or categories
- [CURRENT_PROMOTIONS]: Active sales, launches, or campaigns
- [WEEKLY_EVENTS]: Relevant events for the target week
- [MONDAY_DATE]: Start of the content week (e.g., “February 3, 2026”)
What to expect: 12–15 ideas varying in content type. Roughly a third will be strong matches for the brand strategy—this is normal. The team selects the best 3–5 for the content calendar.
Follow-up prompt
Review the ideas above and flag any that mention a platform [CLIENT_NAME] doesn’t use, recycle topics from the past month, or feel too generic to be actionable. Replace flagged ideas with stronger alternatives.
Prompt 2: Clean and format content ideas
- Best for: Enforcing consistent voice and formatting across AI-generated ideas before team review
- Use with: GPT-4o / Any LLM
Clean and format content ideas
Review the following content ideas and rewrite each one to meet these standards:
- Use second-person voice (“you” / “your”) throughout
- Remove platform-specific language — ideas should work across social channels
- Format each idea consistently:
- Title (5–8 words)
- Type: [content type]
- Concept: [2–3 sentences]
- Suggested platforms: [list]
Content ideas to clean:
[PASTE_RAW_IDEAS]
Variables to fill in:
- [PASTE_RAW_IDEAS] — The raw output from Prompt 1
What to expect: The same ideas reformatted with consistent structure, second-person voice, and no platform-specific assumptions. This is the version that goes into the Notion review database.
Prompt 3: Pre-event content warmup ideas
- Best for: Generating anticipation-building content ideas around a specific client event
- Use with: ChatGPT / Any LLM
Pre-event content ideation
[CLIENT_NAME] has an upcoming event: [EVENT_NAME] on [EVENT_DATE].
Event details: [EVENT_DESCRIPTION]
Generate 5 pre-event content ideas that build anticipation in the week before the event. Ideas should:
- Create urgency without being pushy
- Give followers a reason to attend (or tune in virtually)
- Include at least one behind-the-scenes concept
- Include at least one audience participation concept (Q&A, poll, countdown)
Brand voice: [BRAND_VOICE_DESCRIPTION]
Variables to fill in:
- [CLIENT_NAME]: Brand name
- [EVENT_NAME]: Name of the event (e.g., “Open Studio Weekend”)
- [EVENT_DATE]: Date of the event
- [EVENT_DESCRIPTION]: What the event involves
- [BRAND_VOICE_DESCRIPTION]: Voice guidelines from brand profile
What to expect: 5 ideas with a narrative arc from early teaser to day-before urgency. The “live virtual Q&A as pre-event warmup” concept from the article is an example of the kind of specific, emotionally intelligent output this prompt can generate.
Prompt 4: Evaluate and score content ideas
- Best for: Quick triage of a batch of AI-generated ideas before the team review meeting
- Use with: GPT-4o / Any LLM
Content idea evaluation
You are reviewing content ideas for [CLIENT_NAME]. Score each idea from 1–5 on these criteria:
- Brand alignment (does it match the voice and pillars?)
- Specificity (is it actionable or too generic?)
- Timeliness (does it connect to what’s happening this week?)
- Originality (have we done something similar recently?)
Recent topics covered: [RECENT_TOPICS]
Rate each idea and flag any that score below 3 on two or more criteria. For flagged ideas, explain why and suggest a direction for improvement.
Ideas to evaluate:
[PASTE_IDEAS]
Variables to fill in:
- [CLIENT_NAME]: Brand name
- [RECENT_TOPICS]: Topics covered in the last 2–4 weeks
- [PASTE_IDEAS]: The batch of ideas to evaluate
What to expect: A scored list that helps the team focus review time on the strongest ideas. Flagged ideas get improvement directions rather than just rejection.
Tips for better results
- The quality of output depends entirely on the quality of your brand documentation in Notion — invest the time upfront to write detailed brand profiles
- Run the cleanup prompt (Prompt 2) every time — consistency in formatting makes team review significantly faster
- Update the “recent topics” list weekly to avoid the AI recycling older ideas at the wrong moment
- Expect about a 33% acceptance rate — that’s not a bug, it’s the system working as designed
Ready for the full story?
Read How Joy Joya went from 10 hours to 1 of content brainstorming per week, featuring Laryssa Wirstiuk of Joy Joya, published on the AI Lab by ActiveCampaign.
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