AI Basics

Understanding AI prompts and tools

The secret to successful Vibe Coding is knowing how to communicate with AI assistants. This guide teaches you how to get the results you want from ChatGPT, Claude, and other AI tools.

The Golden Rule of AI Prompts

Be specific, provide context, and iterate. AI assistants work best when they understand exactly what you're trying to build, who it's for, and what success looks like.

Anatomy of a Great Prompt

Every great prompt has three parts:

1. Role & Context

Tell the AI what role to play and provide background

You are an expert automation consultant helping me build a social media scheduling tool using the Missinglettr API and Zapier.

2. Your Goal

Describe what you want to accomplish

I want to create a system where I add blog posts to a Google Sheet, and they automatically get posted to Twitter and LinkedIn at optimal times.

3. Specific Request

Ask for exactly what you need right now

Please provide step-by-step instructions for setting this up in Zapier, including the exact trigger, actions, and data mapping I need.

Complete Example Prompt

Here's how these three parts come together:

You are an expert automation consultant helping me build a social media scheduling tool using the Missinglettr API and Zapier.

I want to create a system where I add blog posts to a Google Sheet, and they automatically get posted to Twitter and LinkedIn at optimal times.

Please provide step-by-step instructions for setting this up in Zapier, including:
1. The exact trigger I should use
2. All the actions I need to add
3. How to map data from my spreadsheet to the API
4. How to handle errors if something goes wrong

My Google Sheet has columns: Title, Content, Image URL, Post Date

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Too vague: "Help me automate social media"
❌ No context: Jumping straight to technical questions
❌ All at once: Asking for everything in one prompt
✅ Better approach: Break complex projects into smaller steps

Iterating with AI

Rarely does the first response give you exactly what you need. Here's how to iterate:

🧑 You: "This is helpful, but I also need to add images from Canva. How do I include that?"

🤖 AI: [Provides updated workflow]

🧑 You: "Perfect! Now show me the exact JSON payload I need to send to the Missinglettr API"

🤖 AI: [Provides specific code]

Prompt Templates for Common Tasks

Use these templates as starting points:

Building an Automation

You are an automation expert. I want to build [DESCRIBE YOUR GOAL]. 

I'm using [TOOLS YOU HAVE ACCESS TO: Zapier, Make, ChatGPT, etc.] and I need to connect [SOURCE] to [DESTINATION] via the Missinglettr API.

Break this down into the main steps I need to take, and then we'll go through each step in detail.

Debugging an Issue

I'm trying to [WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO] but I'm getting this error: [PASTE ERROR MESSAGE].

Here's my current setup:
- Platform: [Zapier/Make/etc]
- Trigger: [YOUR TRIGGER]
- Action: [YOUR ACTION]
- Data I'm sending: [PASTE YOUR DATA]

What's going wrong and how do I fix it?

Improving Existing Automation

I have a working automation that [DESCRIBE CURRENT AUTOMATION]. 

It works, but I want to improve it by [WHAT YOU WANT TO ADD/CHANGE].

What's the best way to add this without breaking what's already working?

🎯 Practice Makes Perfect

The more you work with AI, the better you'll get at crafting prompts. Start with simple projects and build up to more complex ones.

Build Your First Project →

Recommended AI Tools

Tool	Best For	Cost
ChatGPT	General automation help, code generation	Free / $20/mo
Claude	Long-form technical documentation	Free / $20/mo
Cursor	Building actual applications	Free / $20/mo
v0.dev	Creating web interfaces	Free / $20/mo

Overview