A writing agent needs more than “make it personal.” Give it a clear commercial purpose, a small set of approved facts and a precise next step. Then review the output against those instructions.
Lead with the buyer’s context.
Describe the business problem or reason for contact in plain language. Tell the writer which prospect evidence is relevant and what to do if that evidence is missing. A safe fallback is a neutral introduction; invented personalisation makes the message less trustworthy.
Separate requirements from preferences.
Required wording, sender representation and claims to avoid should be explicit. Tone and length are preferences within those boundaries. If the prompt asks for both a detailed catalogue summary and a very short email, remove the conflict before asking for a draft.
Review the draft as a recipient would.
Check whether the email states who is writing, why this business was contacted and what reply would help. Confirm that claims are supported and that the instruction was applied to the actual draft. In the current workflow, changing saved instructions applies to new drafts and rewrites; existing emails are not silently rewritten.
IN PRACTICE
Remove conflicting instructions.
Be detailed but very short. Sound exciting. Promise the best deal and ask for a meeting.
Stay under 100 words. Use approved product facts. Ask whether the team reviews suppliers. Do not promise price, performance or exclusivity.
The second brief defines a feasible output. Required facts and prohibited claims come before tone preferences.
| Instruction layer | Review question |
|---|---|
| Commercial message | Is there one offer and one next step? |
| Evidence boundary | Can every factual claim be supported? |
| Style preference | Can the tone and length coexist? |
Compare a generated draft with the saved writing instructions line by line. Mark each requirement as met, missing or conflicting. Resolve conflicts in the brief, request a rewrite and inspect the new draft before allowing it to progress.
A worksheet for your team.
Use this as a starting point. Replace the fields with verified information about your own business.
Purpose of the email: Audience and mission: Sender and represented company: Language and tone: Maximum length: Required message: Approved facts and evidence: Personalisation rule and fallback: One call to action: Claims and wording to avoid:
Before you move on.
- There is one clear offer and question.
- Personalisation has an evidence requirement.
- Prohibited claims are explicit.
- The actual draft has been reviewed after changes.
Editorial guidance for planning and review. Examples are illustrative. Confirm your workspace’s available controls and configuration before live execution.