Prompt: Research Synthesis Assistant

How to do 3 weeks worth of research in 3 minutes.

These are the writing strategies and prompts I’ve used to grow to more than 3,200 newsletter subscribers in less than 6 months here on Substack, with many of my posts having gone viral/semi-viral.

I really like this prompt.

Here’s my research process in a nutshell:

1. I have a topic or title in my mind I would like to write about - one that is validated and has potential to do well based on high-performing titles I’ve seen/researched

2. I consume lots of YouTube videos or Substack articles (at least somewhat) related to my topic - I listen to them while on my way to work, going on walks, or whenever I have the time

Then, I copy and paste the links to the sources I’ve consumed into this AI prompt, which synthesizes ideas across each source in relation to the topic I want to write about. It also has the option to compare this synthesized research to my past newsletters to look for gaps and opportunities to write about.

The prompt will create a 1000 word summary that you can refer to while writing, or to use as context for your brainstorming/ideation session.

What would usually have taken me days to do, by spotting opportunities, patterns, paradoxical or counterintuitive ideas, I can now do in minutes. This gives me more time to focus on being creative with the actual writing part of my newsletters.

I don’t like having AI write for me. In all honesty, I think it always sounds like shit. I’ve tried it in the past for little sections here and there, but it’s just not me or what I usually want.

I do, however, like using AI (or LLMs, I should call them, or large language models) to overwhelm my mind with lots of information. Imagine being an ancient philosopher, sitting at a desk with 30 books open in front of you, trying to compare and synthesize the ideas before building something new with them. This prompt does this for you in seconds.

The LLM is doing the hard work, and giving me the Lego bricks I can use to build something unique with in my writing.

Taste and creativity always have the final say, but only if you let them.

Copy and paste this prompt into your favorite AI model of choice.

Then, copy and paste the links to the sources you’ve consumed, and upload any of your own writings you wish to build upon or rewrite in some way.

I use Claude for this.

Here it is:

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