4 ChatGPT Mistakes You Might Be Making (And How to Fix Them)

ChatGPT is an incredibly powerful tool.

But only if you know how to use it properly.

I speak to accountants and business owners every week who’ve dabbled with ChatGPT — only to give up because “the results aren’t that great.”

The truth? It’s not the tool that’s the problem. It’s how most people use it.

Watch the full video on this topic here.

Mistake #1: Treating ChatGPT Like Google

This is the most common beginner mistake I see.

People open ChatGPT, type in a question like they would on a search engine, and expect gold. But that’s not how it works.

ChatGPT isn’t a search engine. It’s a conversation partner. In fact, I recommend you treat it like a junior team member — someone you’re delegating tasks to.

When you brief a team member, you don’t say: “Write blog about tax.” You give context. Background. Tone. Structure. Audience.

Do the same with ChatGPT, and your results will instantly improve.

Quick tip: Give it a name. Mine’s called Nia. Makes the interaction feel more human — and reminds me to give better instructions.

Mistake #2: Using One-Sentence Prompts

Let’s be blunt. “Write a blog about tax planning” won’t get you a great result.

Why? Because as the old saying goes: garbage in = garbage out.

If you want high-quality output, you need to put effort into the input.

That means being specific:

• Who’s the audience?
• What format do you want?
• What’s the tone of voice?
• Are there any key points to include?

When you craft better prompts, you get better results — it’s that simple.

But there’s a twist… Writing detailed prompts from scratch every time can be time-consuming. Which brings us to the next mistake.

Mistake #3: Not Telling ChatGPT Who You Are

ChatGPT can only help you if it knows who it’s helping.

And yet, so many users start typing away without giving any context about their role, audience, or writing style.

This is where Custom Instructions come in. Custom Instructions let you:

• Tell ChatGPT who you are and what you do
• Explain who you serve (e.g. accounting firms working with medics)
• Describe how you want it to respond — including tone, sentence length, style

If you write blogs, articles, or client-facing content, this is a must. Set it once and it applies to all future chats.

That way, even if you forget to tell it “make this sound human”, it already knows.

Mistake #4: Wasting Time Writing Prompts from Scratch

Creating long, detailed prompts every time is tiring. But here’s the good news: you don’t need to.

Instead, build a Prompt Library — a simple system that stores all your best prompts for repeatable tasks.

For example, I recently shared my KPI Creator prompt.

It helps you generate a tailored dashboard of Key Predictive Indicators for any business in just 2 minutes.

Here’s how it works:

• You save the prompt in your Prompt Library
• When you need it, you copy it across
• You just fill in a few variables — like industry and website
• ChatGPT does the rest

Think of these prompts as mini systems. They save you hours, give you consistent outputs, and stop you from reinventing the wheel.

Pro Tip

Create prompt templates for any task you do regularly. If it’s worth doing more than once, it’s worth systemising.

FAQ

Why is a short prompt not effective?

Short prompts lack clarity and structure. ChatGPT performs best when given detailed instructions, just like a human team member would.

What should I include in Custom Instructions?

Describe who you are, who you help, how you want responses written (e.g. short sentences, friendly tone), and what your priorities are.

Where should I store prompt templates?

You can use tools like Notion, Trello, Airtable — or create your own Prompt Library like I’ve built for the AI Academy.

Want to Learn More?

If you want to stay ahead of AI and learn how to use it in your firm…

👉 Join my free community: ChatGPT for Accountants & Bookkeepers

You’ll get:

• News and Updates in the world of AI
• Free Video Training Courses
• Reminders and Recordings of Live Training Events
• A growing Community of forward-thinking professionals

Final Thoughts

ChatGPT is a brilliant tool — but only when used properly.

By avoiding these 4 common mistakes:

1. Treating it like Google
2. Using one-line prompts
3. Skipping context
4. Rewriting from scratch

…you’ll start getting the kind of results that actually move your business forward.

Check out the full video on this topic here.

Plus, join our AI and ChatGPT for Accountants and Bookkeepers Skool Community. This community is your free ticket to confidently navigate and master AI. Join today and future-proof your firm.

Wishing you every success on your pricing journey

The Value Pricing Academy Team