You Don’t Need Prompt Templates
Follow this Prompt System instead (FREE)
Introduction
There’s this whole wave of people out there selling “prompt templates.”
You’ve seen them: “The Ultimate 100 Prompts for XYZ” or “Steal My Exact Prompt That Gets Me 10x Results.”
And sure, they can be useful — like training wheels. But here’s the thing:
You don’t actually need prompt templates.
You need a prompt system.
Why Templates Don’t Scale
A template is like a cookie cutter. You use it, you get a predictable shape. That’s fine for cookies — but conversations with AI aren’t cookies. They’re dynamic, context-driven, and highly individual.
The moment your use case shifts, your template breaks. You’re back to square one, hunting for another “perfect prompt.”
It’s like trying to learn a language by memorizing tourist phrases. Works for ordering coffee, but the second someone asks you a real question, you’re lost.
The Power of a System
Instead of clinging to static templates, think in terms of systems.
Here’s how it works:
- Set your intention. What do you actually want to achieve? Be crystal clear.
- Feed context. Don’t just ask a question out of the blue. Give the AI what it needs — background, examples, tone.
- Iterate. Don’t expect perfection on the first try. Treat it like collaboration. Adjust, refine, and redirect.
- Meta-level thinking. This is the big one: you can literally tell ChatGPT to build the template for you.
Yes, really.
You can say:
“Here’s a piece of text someone else wrote. Analyze what works, what doesn’t, and generate a reusable structure I can use going forward.”
Boom. You’ve now got a living template, custom-made for your needs.
Why This Matters
Templates are one-size-fits-all.
Systems are individual, adaptable, and scalable.
When you rely on templates, you’re always dependent on someone else’s thinking. When you build a system, you become the one in control.
AI is powerful not because it can spit out 50 variations of “write me a LinkedIn post,” but because it can help you design your own frameworks on demand.
The Takeaway
You don’t need prompt templates.
You don’t need to buy PDFs full of “magic phrases.”
What you need is a prompt system.
A way of working with AI that adapts.
To your goals,
your voice, and
your projects.
Because here’s the truth:
AI can generate the templates for you.
And they’ll always be better when they’re yours.
