How to use AI Claude Skills for freelance copywriters
8 AI prompts to set up Claude for client copywriting work
For about six months, before I actually explained what I wanted, I was copy-pasting the same set-up paragraph into every Claude session. The one that explained the voice, what counts as a decent brief. Every. Single. Time. If I didn’t do this, Claude would quickly go off-piste!
I knew there had to be a better way. Turns out there was, and it had been sitting in Claude’s settings the whole time.
Skills files. A persistent instruction set that loads automatically whenever you open a chat. You write it once, Claude knows your defaults forever. No preamble, no re-explaining, no “as I mentioned earlier.”
I spent a couple of hours building one for copywriting work. The prompts below are exactly what I used. The result is a version of Claude that already knows your clients, your process and your rates before you type a single word.
Why Skills files aren’t just for developers
Most of what’s written about Skills online is aimed at coders. Which makes sense. They got there first.
But a developer’s work is fairly self-contained per session. Copywriting isn’t. It runs on accumulated context: who the client is, how they sound, what a good brief looks like, what you’re going to push back on. That context disappears every time you close the tab.
Skills is where you put it so it doesn’t.
Prompt 1: Brand voice entry builder
What it does: Produces a fully formatted Skills entry for a specific client’s brand voice, ready to paste straight into your Skills file.
When to use it: When onboarding a new client, or when you’ve been working with someone long enough that you can describe how they sound with some precision.
The Prompt:
You are helping me build a Claude Skills file entry for a client’s brand voice. I’ll give you information about this client and you’ll turn it into a clean, structured Skills entry I can paste directly into my file.
Client name: [CLIENT NAME] Industry: [INDUSTRY] Target audience: [WHO THEY’RE WRITING FOR] Tone description: [HOW THEY SOUND - e.g. “direct but warm, plain English, no jargon”] Words or phrases they use: [SPECIFIC VOCABULARY OR PHRASES] Words or phrases to avoid: [THINGS THAT DON’T FIT THEIR VOICE]Output types I write for them: [E.G. “email sequences, landing pages, LinkedIn posts”] One example of their writing I like: [PASTE A SHORT SAMPLE]
Format the output as a Skills entry with these sections: Voice overview (2–3 sentences), Tone markers (bullet list), Vocabulary rules (bullet list), Output defaults (what to assume unless told otherwise). Keep it under 300 words.
How to use it:
Fill in each placeholder from memory, not from a mood board. If you can’t describe how the client sounds without looking something up, you don’t know their voice well enough yet.
Read the output like a client would. Does it sound like them? Edit anything that’s off before you file it.
Paste it into your Skills file under a heading like “Client: [Name] - Brand voice.” Keep that heading consistent so Claude can find it.
Example input: Client name: Hartley & Co / Industry: B2B SaaS / Target audience: ops managers at mid-size logistics firms / Tone: plain-spoken, slightly dry, no marketing fluff / Words they use: “straightforward,” “works out of the box,” “no surprises” / Words to avoid: “innovative,” “cutting-edge,” anything with an exclamation mark / Output types: case studies, email sequences, web copy / Example: “Hartley tracks your fleet in real time. No setup headaches, no ongoing IT support. It just works.”
What you’ll get: A 200-250 word Skills entry with four clearly labelled sections, formatted for direct paste into your Skills file.
Advanced note: If you write for the same client across different channels (e.g. long-form articles versus social posts), run this prompt twice with different output types specified. The voice entry will pick up the register shifts between channels and give you a more accurate default.
oops, you hit the paywall!
Here’s what’s behind it…
The bonus is a full Skills file template with all seven sections pre-labelled and placeholder text in every slot. You can open it, work through the prompts in order, and have a complete file by the end of the session.
Plus the other seven prompts in the sequence:
Prompt 2 - Brief intake entry builder: Produces a Skills entry that tells Claude exactly what information you need from a client before you start writing, so it can flag gaps automatically when you paste a brief in.
Prompt 3 - Platform tone calibrator: Builds a Skills entry for output defaults per platform: what changes between a LinkedIn post, an email subject line and a homepage hero when you’re writing for the same client.
Prompt 4 - Feedback translator: Creates a Skills entry that helps Claude turn vague client feedback (”make it punchier,” “less salesy”) into specific edits rather than a full rewrite.
Prompt 5 - Scope and rate defender: Builds an entry that gives Claude enough context about your pricing to help you write scope-of-work language and push back on feature creep.
Prompt 6 - Portfolio case study writer: Produces a Skills entry with your preferred case study format, so Claude can draft a first version from a few bullet points about a completed project.
Prompt 7 - Client onboarding doc generator: Builds an entry covering your working process, turnaround times and revision policy, so Claude can produce a ready-to-send onboarding doc for any new client.
Prompt 8 - Generic output checker: Creates a Skills entry with your personal quality bar, so you can run any draft through Claude and get a specific list of what needs fixing and why.