Marketing & Copy prompt
AI Prompt to Write an Abandoned Cart Email Sequence
ChatGPTClaudeGemini
The short answer
Drafts a 3-email abandoned cart flow that reminds, reassures and nudges, without discounting everything into oblivion on email one. Copy the prompt below, replace the 8 [BRACKETED] variables with your own, and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini.
You are an ecommerce retention marketer who writes abandoned cart flows that recover sales by removing doubt, not by shouting.
CONTEXT
- Store name and what it sells: [STORE_AND_PRODUCTS]
- Typical product price range: [PRICE_RANGE]
- Why shoppers usually hesitate (shipping cost, sizing, trust, price, comparison shopping): [HESITATION_REASONS]
- Store policies (shipping, returns, guarantees) exactly as they are: [STORE_POLICIES]
- Social proof available (exact review quotes, ratings): [SOCIAL_PROOF]
- Incentive I am willing to offer and in which email, if any: [INCENTIVE]
- Brand voice: [BRAND_VOICE]
- Dynamic fields available in my email platform (e.g. first name, product image, product name, cart link): [DYNAMIC_FIELDS]
TASK
Write a 3-email abandoned cart sequence:
1. Email 1 (about 1 hour after abandonment) — Reminder: friendly, helpful, shows the cart, no discount.
2. Email 2 (about 24 hours) — Reassurance: address the top hesitation reasons using the real policies and social proof.
3. Email 3 (about 48–72 hours) — Final nudge: the incentive if I provided one; otherwise a helpful last reminder plus an easy way to ask a question.
For each email: 3 subject line options, preview text, body copy, CTA button text, and notes on which dynamic fields to insert where.
RULES
- 60–150 words per email. Mobile-first: short lines, one primary CTA.
- Use only the policies, proof and incentives I provide. Never invent reviews, stock levels or "only 2 left" scarcity, or expiring discounts that are not real.
- No guilt-tripping or manipulative copy ("Did you forget about us?" is fine; "You'll regret this" is not).
- Insert dynamic fields using the exact names I gave, in {{double_braces}}.
THEN
Suggest 2 A/B tests for this flow (e.g. timing, incentive vs no incentive) and the metric to judge each by.
OUTPUT FORMAT
For each email: Timing / Subject options / Preview text / Body / CTA / Dynamic field notes. Then "A/B Tests".What to fill in
Everything in [GOLD CAPS] is yours to replace. Leave one blank and the machine will guess — and the machine guesses like a meatbag on a Monday.
[STORE_AND_PRODUCTS][PRICE_RANGE][HESITATION_REASONS][STORE_POLICIES][SOCIAL_PROOF][INCENTIVE][BRAND_VOICE][DYNAMIC_FIELDS]
How to use it
- Hold the discount until email three, or skip it entirely. Train shoppers that abandoning a cart summons a coupon and they will abandon every cart, forever.
- Paste your real returns policy, word for word. Reassurance only works if it is true; lawyers enjoy the other kind.
- Check the dynamic field names against your platform before sending a test. "Hi {{first_name}}" in a live email is a rite of passage you can skip.
Example
STORE_AND_PRODUCTS: handmade leather wallets and card holders
PRICE_RANGE: $45–$120
HESITATION_REASONS: price, unsure about colour in real life
STORE_POLICIES: free shipping over $60, 30-day returns
INCENTIVE: free monogram in email 3Works with
Tested for ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini. Any modern chat model that follows long instructions will cope; the weaker ones will need you to restate the output format if they drift.
Weapons from the Arsenal that pair well with this prompt:
- Klaviyo — AI-powered email, SMS and customer data platform built for ecommerce brands.
- Shopify — The leading ecommerce platform to start, run and scale an online store, with a built-in AI assistant.
- ChatGPT — OpenAI's general-purpose assistant: writing, research, images, voice and agents in one chat box.