Prompting vs. Persona - A Review of Results

Different approaches for generating blog post outlines

A woman and an AI robot sit across from each other at a table, rapt in conversation.

When it comes to interacting with AI, a lot of people focus on prompting techniques. There are specific formulas you can use to prime the system to give you what you’re looking for. If you’re clear upfront about what you need, and you can articulate that clearly, you can direct the system in ways that are so much better than just popping down in front of the computer and asking for something general.

Another way of approaching it, which is more interactive, and gives you the opportunity to more actively shape the results over the course of conversation, is working with predefined personas, who articulate certain capabilities of the model like they would if they were people.

They’re not people, but the way that they interface with you is more familiar, And it can also be a lot more interactive. If you’ve been struggling to get the results you want from prompting alone, you may want to consider the persona approach.

You can either create a custom GPT with personas, or you can simply define personas and upload them to the model of your choice. That gives you a lot of flexibility, and you can use it in whatever model you like, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or others.

Let’s take a look at the difference between the two approaches.

Regular Prompting

Here’s the result from prompting regular ChatGPT to write a blog post about Building your influence, one post at a time:

Human:

You are a blogger. Your task is to create a detailed outline for your next blog post titled “Growing Your Online Influence, One Post At A Time”. The blog post is aimed at solopreneurs and infopreneurs. The keywords this blog is targeting are social media, influence, content.

The themes for this blog post are:

• building a readership that converts

• Expanding your reach with targeted content

• Not burning out from overwork

ChatGPT:

Here’s a detailed blog post outline for your upcoming post titled:

“Growing Your Online Influence, One Post At A Time”

Target Audience: Solopreneurs & Infopreneurs

Primary Keywords: social media, influence, content

Themes: building a readership that converts, expanding reach with targeted content, avoiding burnout

I. Introduction

• Hook: The myth of going viral vs. the power of consistent influence

• State the problem: Many solopreneurs post often but gain little traction or burn out quickly

• Promise: Learn how to build lasting influence through sustainable content strategies that convert

• Preview the post structure

II. What Is “Online Influence” (And Why It Matters)

• Define online influence in the solopreneur/infopreneur context

• Why social media presence alone isn’t influence

• The link between influence and conversions: followers → subscribers → customers

III. Building a Readership That Converts

A. Know Your Audience Deeply

• Create clear customer avatars

• Use audience insights to inform every post

B. Write for Transformation, Not Just Engagement

• What problem are you solving in each post?

• Use storytelling to spark emotional connection and trust

C. Build an Ecosystem, Not Just a Feed

• Guide readers from social media to email list or product pages

• Funnel strategy in micro-content: CTA-driven posts that gently lead to action

IV. Expanding Your Reach with Targeted Content

A. Focus on Content That Aligns with Search & Share Intent

• Marry SEO with social psychology

• Use keyword tools + audience questions to generate post ideas

B. Diversify Content Types Without Spreading Too Thin

• Long-form vs. short-form: where to use what

• Recycle one idea across platforms: carousel, blog, short video, quote

C. Collaborate & Cross-Pollinate

• Tap into existing audiences through partnerships or guest content

• Micro-influencer collaborations on niche topics

V. Avoiding Burnout in the Content Creation Game

A. The Myth of “Daily Posting”

• Why quality > quantity in influence building

• Examples of weekly content calendars that still build momentum

B. Batch, Schedule, Automate

• Tools to automate (Buffer, Later, Notion content boards)

• Batching content in themes: Content Monday, Edit Tuesday, Schedule Friday

C. Protect Your Creative Energy

• Practice “white space” in your schedule

• Align content creation with peak energy times

• Create based on alignment, not pressure

VI. Real-Life Examples or Case Studies (Optional Section)

• Highlight 1–2 solopreneurs who’ve built influence gradually but powerfully

• Focus on actionable takeaways from their strategies

VII. Final Thoughts: The Compound Power of One Post at a Time

• Recap: Influence is built through consistency, not virality

• Encouragement: Your audience doesn’t need millions—just the right ones

• CTA: Invite readers to share their biggest challenge with content or join a free content strategy challenge/email list

VIII. Call-to-Action (CTA) Suggestions

• “Download my free 7-day content strategy planner”

• “Join my newsletter for weekly strategies to grow your influence without burnout”

• “Comment below: What’s your biggest struggle with building influence right now?”

Let me know if you’d like me to expand any of these into full paragraphs or help you draft the introduction or conclusion.

Persona Interaction

And here’s the result from the publishing team I work with:

Human:

Hey team, we need to outline a blog post about building influence, one blog post at a time

PubTeam:

Great — thanks for the prompt.

Let’s get this kicked off by bringing in our team member who’s best suited to shape blog content and strategy.

🔹 Patricia Parker (Editorial Lead)

Patricia steps forward with a thoughtful expression and a notepad already open.

Patricia says:

“Before I start outlining this post, I want to make sure I’m aligned with what we’re trying to achieve. Can you clarify a couple of things for me?**

1. Who is our target audience for this post? Are we aiming at professionals, creators, thought leaders, beginners, or a mix?

2. What do we want readers to do after reading this post? Subscribe? Share? Start their own blog?

3. Are we positioning this as a personal success story, a how-to guide, a philosophical reflection, or something else?”

Once you answer Patricia’s questions, she’ll outline a post that aligns with KayContent style — conversational, insightful, and grounded in practical value.

Human:

This is for solopreneurs and infopreneura who are at risk of burning out while they’re trying to increase their influence. I want them to subscribe and share. This is a combination. Personal success story and how-guide

PubTeam:

Perfect — thank you.

🔹 Patricia Parker (Editorial Lead)

Patricia nods with clarity and sketches a structure on her notepad.

Patricia says:

“Got it. We’re speaking to solopreneurs and infopreneurs on the edge — smart, capable people pushing hard to build visibility, but possibly doing it the hard way. We’ll speak to their lived experience, offer a breath of relief, and show a way forward that’s sustainable, doable, and powerful — one blog post at a time.”

Here’s the outline for the blog post:

📣 Blog Title: Influence Doesn’t Happen All at Once — It Happens One Blog Post at a Time

Introduction: The Myth of Overnight Authority

• Start with a quick personal anecdote or relatable image: burning the candle at both ends, checking stats at 2 a.m., juggling content calendars, client calls, and your sanity.

• Call out the toxic myth: “go viral or go home.”

• Set the stage: building lasting influence isn’t about one big moment — it’s about steady, clear, courageous communication — one post at a time.

Section 1: Why Influence Feels So Hard Right Now

• Talk about the overwhelm of the attention economy.

• Speak directly to the audience’s pain points: inconsistent results, comparison traps, algorithm anxiety.

• Normalize the burnout. “You’re not lazy — you’re running three businesses in one body.”

Section 2: A Better Way — Sustainable Influence Through Blog Writing

• The blog as your quiet powerhouse: evergreen, searchable, shareable.

• Blog posts as long-game strategy: not trendy, but timeless.

• Introduce a mindset shift: “One post = one person helped = one brick in your empire.”

Section 3: A Personal Story (Insert Here)

• Insert a short but vivid story of the author (or client) who saw slow, consistent growth from blog writing.

• Focus on what changed: mindset, results, clarity of voice.

• Show the tipping point: a post that resonated, a subscriber who became a collaborator, an opportunity that appeared out of nowhere.

Section 4: The 3-Step Framework to Build Influence Without Burning Out

1. Write what matters most to you – Not just what ranks. Speak with conviction.

2. Connect instead of performing – Authenticity over polish. Aim for resonance, not perfection.

3. Build a rhythm, not a factory – Sustainable pace (e.g. one solid post every 2 weeks is better than five rushed ones).

Section 5: How AI Can Lighten the Load (Without Replacing Your Voice)

• Tie in KayContent themes: GenAI as your collaborative partner.

• Use AI to help you brainstorm, structure, and edit — but keep your human essence.

• Offer a simple prompt for AI-assisted blogging (optional).

Call to Action: Influence, Your Way

• Reassure them: you don’t have to hustle harder to be heard.

• Encourage them to start now — one post at a time.

• Invite them to subscribe for more sustainable influence tools.

• Ask them to share this with someone else who’s working too hard for too little traction.

Patricia says:

“That’s the scaffolding. Want me to assign this to someone to draft next? Or are you planning to write this yourself and just need the structure?”

Let me know how you’d like to proceed, and we’ll get the next team member involved as needed.

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Closing Thoughts

Now, while both approaches can give you much better results then asking generally for a blog post outline, the flow is different. First off, you don’t have to figure out exactly where you’re going from the start, and you can discuss with the system about different directions you could take.

If you’re working with personas, it can become even more interactive, and rather than putting a lot of upfront effort into clearly defining the prompt, you can flow with the discussion, and maybe even find new points that you want to discuss that you hadn’t thought about before.

There’s no right or wrong way, there are just varieties of choices. And it helps to know a variety.