How to Write a Great Newsletter Prompt

When you create a newsletter on Novaly, you write a prompt. That prompt is not a search query — it is a brief. It tells the system what angle you want, what to emphasise, what to leave out, and how to frame the story.

The difference between a vague prompt and a precise one is the difference between a newsletter you skim and one you read every time it lands.

Here is how to write the second kind.

Start with your angle, not your topic

Most people start with a broad topic: artificial intelligence, climate change, French politics. That is a category, not a brief.

A good prompt starts with an angle:

"I follow the business implications of AI regulation — especially how new rules in the EU affect startups and incumbents differently. I am less interested in the technology itself and more in the economic and strategic consequences."

That single paragraph tells Novaly far more than "AI regulation" does. It filters sources, shapes the framing, and produces a newsletter that feels like it was written for you.

The test: if two people with different interests could share your prompt, it is too broad.

Be explicit about what to exclude

Novaly curates from verified sources on your topic. The more you tell it what not to include, the sharper the result.

Examples of useful exclusions:

• "Skip opinion pieces and focus on reported news."
• "No US-centric coverage — I want a European perspective."
• "Avoid product launches and focus on research findings."
• "Do not include anything about crypto unless it relates directly to central bank digital currencies."

Exclusions are often more powerful than inclusions. They reveal the shape of what you actually want.

Set the right depth

Some readers want a quick situational update — three key developments, one sentence each. Others want a structured analysis with context, implications, and open questions.

Tell Novaly which you prefer:

"I want a brief weekly digest — three or four items, each with a headline and two to three sentences of context. Nothing longer."

Or:

"I want a thorough weekly briefing. Each topic should include background context, what changed this week, and why it matters for the next three to six months."

Neither is wrong. But mixing them produces something neither deep nor brief.

Name your sources (or source types)

You do not need to list specific outlets, but naming the type of source you trust changes the quality of curation significantly.

• "Prefer peer-reviewed research and science journalism over opinion."
• "I trust financial press (FT, Bloomberg, The Economist) more than general news."
• "Focus on primary sources — company announcements, regulatory filings, official reports — rather than commentary."

Revisit your prompt after three editions

Your first prompt is a hypothesis. After three editions, you will know whether it is working.

Open the newsletter editor and ask yourself:

• Did I read the whole thing, or did I stop halfway?
• Was there anything this week that I wished had been covered but was not?
• Was there anything covered that I skipped every time?

Edit accordingly. The prompt is a living document. The readers who get the most out of Novaly are the ones who treat it that way.

A template to get started

If you are stuck, use this structure:

I want a [frequency] newsletter about [specific angle on topic].

I am interested in [what matters to you] and specifically [the lens or perspective you care about].

Please exclude [what to skip].

Sources I trust: [type or outlet].

Format: [brief update / detailed briefing / something else].

That is the brief. Everything else is refinement.