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Pirate Prentice
Pirate Prentice

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40 prompt templates for e-commerce copy (the ones that actually ship)

Most AI copywriting guides give you principles. This is a cheat sheet.

I spent a few weeks building and testing prompts specifically for e-commerce copy workflows — product pages, email flows, ad creative, site copy. The kind of work that fills a freelance pipeline or ships a DTC brand's calendar.

Sharing the architecture here, plus a few samples.

The problem with generic prompts

Generic: "Write a product description for a blue coffee mug."

What ships:

You are a DTC copywriter. Product: [NAME]. Key benefit: [BENEFIT]. 
Target customer: [PERSONA]. Tone: [TONE].
Write a 3-sentence product description opening with the transformation, 
not the feature. No puns. No exclamation marks.
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The difference is constraint. Vague inputs produce average outputs. Bracketed placeholders force you to think before you prompt — and that thinking is where the quality comes from.

How the 40 prompts are organised

Product copy (8 prompts)

  • Feature-to-benefit converter
  • Long-form PDP (problem → agitation → resolution structure)
  • Collection page descriptions
  • Bundle/upsell copy

Email flows (10 prompts)

  • Welcome series (3-email sequence, single prompt chain)
  • Abandoned cart 1 (urgency without pressure)
  • Abandoned cart 2 (social proof + incentive)
  • Win-back (6-month lapsed customer)
  • Post-purchase upsell
  • VIP early access

Ad copy (8 prompts)

  • Facebook awareness (cold audience)
  • Facebook retargeting (cart abandoners)
  • Google search headline set (10 variants)
  • UGC-style script (15-second video)

Site copy (7 prompts)

  • Homepage hero (above the fold)
  • About page (founder story framework)
  • FAQ generator from product specs
  • Trust badge copy

Strategy + editing (7 prompts)

  • Brand voice audit
  • A/B test variant generator
  • Brief-to-copy pipeline (PDP + email + 2 FB ads from one input)
  • Copy critique prompt (gives structured feedback on your draft)

Sample: the brief-to-copy pipeline

This one prompt generates coordinated copy across four formats from a single product brief:

Product brief:
- Product name: [NAME]
- Category: [CATEGORY]
- Key benefit: [BENEFIT]
- Target customer: [PERSONA, age, job, pain point]
- Price point: [PRICE]
- Differentiator vs. competitors: [DIFFERENTIATOR]
- Tone: [TONE]

Using this brief, produce:
1. A 120-word long-form product page description (hook → benefit → social proof placeholder → CTA)
2. A 3-email welcome sequence (subject + 150-word body each)
3. Two Facebook ad variants (hook + 3 body sentences + CTA each): 
   one benefit-led, one pain-led
4. One 15-second UGC-style video script
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The output isn't always perfect. But it's a solid first draft across all four formats in one pass — which is the point.

A note on review

Every prompt output needs a human pass. The bracket system forces you to think before generating, but the editing step is where your judgment adds value. These are starting points, not finished copy.


The full 40-prompt pack is available here if you want the complete set: https://pirateprentice.gumroad.com/l/uhckix ($24 one-time, PDF + Markdown).

What copy format do you find hardest to prompt effectively? Curious whether email flows or ad copy is more of a pain point.

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