🫣 10 Hours Worth of Research In Under 1 HR
- by
- Alec Newcomb
For anyone who needs to do research…this deep dive is for you.
Research Prompts: From Saving You Time on Hiring to SWOT Analyses
Read Time: 6 minutes
On Wednesday, we skimmed the topic of using AI to do research.
Today, we’re going to go deep on a few different ways I use AI to make my research much faster and better.
👇🏼
Today at a Glimpse 👀
- The no BS prompt you’ll want to use to help you compare software.
- AI prompts to help with the hiring process.
- My base/standard research prompts.
- Deeper dive into research prompts: From a business model canvas to SWOT analyses.
NO BS GUIDE TO SOFTWARE COMPARISON PROMPTS 🫡
Between helping you, teaching, and running three companies, I have reviewed a lot of software.
I’ll start my research with a prompt like this:
“I’m trying to answer the following question: [which is the best lms plug in for WordPress]. Use the data provided to help answer this question. Identify the most appropriate analysis to do this (i.e., summary of key metrics, chart, or sentiment analysis), and then create that analysis.”
👇🏼
I then upload my research notes, PDF saves of pricing pages, PDF of reviews, etc. to start my software research process.
I’ll use a prompt from Wednesday’s email (never too late to go reread it):
“Review google, reddit, capterra, and G2 reviews on each company mentioned above; what is the sentiment in the last 180 days?” Then I’ll typically ask ChatGPT to put the results in a table.”
👇🏼
Then, I’ll start to ask ChatGPT 3-5 questions such as:
“Can you explain to me why you recommend [learnwords] over the other options? Give me the top 5 negative reviews for [learnwords]. Give me the top 5 questions asked about [learnwords].”
STOP SCRATCHING YOUR HEAD OVER SEO 🐨
Keyword research if you’re not an expert at a marketing agency takes more time than you have…
Scouring 3 different tools + going deep on what will work for your site.
But early this year, we tested this excellent AI-based SEO writing tool.
It’s called Koala, and it generates SEO-friendly content in minutes. No prompt engineering required!
HIRING WITH AI 🧠
I interview many people for various roles most weeks, and researching everyone who applies is tedious.
I use a little bit of AI to make things easier.
Here’s how:
“[Candidate Name] from [location] is a candidate for [role] at [company], and I will be interviewing him/her on Monday. As an expert researcher, please conduct a comprehensive review of the following:
1. His/Her last ten professional roles, including job titles, responsibilities, and tenures.
2. Locations where he/she has lived or worked.
3. Any published articles, papers, or thought leadership content.
4. His social media presence across platforms, including LinkedIn, X/Twitter, YouTube, and any other relevant channels.
Provide detailed insights that will help guide the interview, including key achievements or potential talking points.”
🤝 working smarter.
BYO (Build Your Own) AI Prompts Database ✔️
We use Notion for meeting agendas, SOPs, and, well, pretty much everything…
But it’s function as a database is key to collaborating as a team. If you’re looking for a handy solution to organize and store your AI prompts…
Spreadsheets don’t cut it. Notion’s better.
MEGA-STRATEGY RESEARCH PROMPT 🥸
I want you to act as a Business Model Generation Consulting Expert and answer the following question: [INSERT PROMPT].
Business Model Canvas Analysis
“Present the results in a table where each column represents a box from the Business Model Canvas, as outlined in the book Business Model Generation by Alexander Osterwalder. The table should include:
• Key Partners
• Key Activities
• Key Resources
• Value Propositions
• Customer Relationships
• Channels
• Customer Segments
• Cost Structure
• Revenue Streams.”
Alternative Approaches
“In addition to the Business Model Canvas, write a paragraph discussing less frequently covered approaches for evaluating and refining business models that could be useful for [PROMPT].”
Porter’s Five Forces
“Provide a table where each column represents a factor from Michael Porter’s Five Forces Model (i.e., Competitive Rivalry, Supplier Power, Buyer Power, Threat of Substitution, and Threat of New Entry) to evaluate [PROMPT].”
SWOT Analysis
“Present a 2×2 table that highlights the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats related to [PROMPT].”
Industry Statistics
“For [PROMPT], provide industry-specific financial data, focusing on:
• Key financial statistics (e.g., likelihood of success, startup costs range)
• Emerging trends since 2000
• Investment payback periods (if available)
• Gross margin or profitability ratios within the sector.”
AI is a great research partner. But you’ve got to keep it simple.
💡My Tips
- Talk to it on your phone to organize your thoughts
- Build a chain of questions/prompts to help you research your topic
- Ask detailed questions about the results you get back, as it hallucinates 20% of the time!
- Put it in tables, graphs, or other formats that work best for you or your audience
I hope this gets you started on using AI to help you make better decisions through research.
P.S. I was stuck waiting in a line for 40 minutes today, and I got a 78-year-old talking to ChatGPT. If he did it, you can too.
