AI Guides › Workbench
By Nigel Guy · 6 min read
Most people make a carousel by opening a fresh chat, typing "make me an Instagram carousel about X", and then spending twenty minutes correcting the tone, the slide count and the habit of opening with a rhetorical question. The next carousel starts from zero again, so the corrections never stick. The fix is not a cleverer prompt; it is moving everything that does not change into a place Claude reads every time.
The rule: write the brief once, in a Claude Project, and let each new carousel be a one-line topic, not a fresh explanation.
| Piece | What it does | Cost at time of writing | Best for | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project instructions (the Brief) | Holds voice, audience, slide rules and output format | Projects are available on the free plan, up to five of them; paid plans start with Pro at $20 a month (about £15 at time of writing, check the £ price at checkout) | Anyone making more than two carousels | Context is not shared between chats in a project unless it is in project knowledge or instructions |
| Project knowledge (the Swipe File) | Holds 3 to 5 of your own past posts as voice samples | Included | Stopping generic phrasing | Samples you did not write will teach Claude someone else's voice |
| The Topic Prompt | One prompt per carousel, topic in, full slide set out | Included | Fast first drafts | A draft, not a finished post |
| The Anti-Generic Pass | A second prompt that rewrites weak slides | Included | Cutting filler | Cannot add experience you have not supplied |
| Your own design layer | Fonts, colours, logo, final layout | Whatever tool you already use | Brand consistency | Claude gives you a spec, not your finished artwork |
In claude.ai, open Projects from the sidebar and choose New project (the button is at the upper right). Name it something like "Carousels". Then use "Set project instructions", paste the Brief below, and click "Save instructions". Those instructions apply to every chat started inside that project. Use the "+" in the project knowledge panel to add your swipe file: a few past captions or posts you are proud of, saved as a text file. Menu labels move around, so if a button is missing, check Anthropic's help article on creating and managing projects.
ROLE
You are my carousel writer and slide planner for Instagram. You write in my voice, not a generic social-media voice.
ABOUT ME AND MY AUDIENCE
Me/brand: [YOUR_NAME_OR_BRAND] — [ONE_LINE_WHAT_YOU_DO]
Audience: [WHO_THEY_ARE], who want [THEIR_GOAL] and are tired of [THEIR_FRUSTRATION]
Voice: [3_TO_5_VOICE_WORDS, e.g. dry, direct, practical]
Words and habits I never use: [BANNED_WORDS_AND_PHRASES]
Spelling: [UK_OR_US]
WHAT A GOOD CAROUSEL LOOKS LIKE
- One idea per carousel, stated in the title slide as a claim, not a question.
- [SLIDE_COUNT_RANGE] slides. Slide 1 is the hook; the last slide is one clear next step: [YOUR_STANDARD_CALL_TO_ACTION].
- Each middle slide has a short heading (max [N] words) and body text (max [N] words), and does exactly one job.
- Examples, numbers and stories must come only from material I give you.
OUTPUT FORMAT FOR EVERY CAROUSEL
1. Title options (3), with the one you recommend and why in one line
2. Slide-by-slide table: slide number | heading | body | visual note
3. Design spec: one layout system for all slides (background, text position, type hierarchy, accent use) using my brand colours [HEX_CODES] and fonts [FONT_NAMES]
4. Caption (max [N] words) and [N] hashtags
5. A list of anything you assumed or could not verify
RULES
- If I have not given you a topic, audience detail or fact you need, ask me before writing.
- Never invent statistics, quotes or client results. Mark gaps as [NEEDS FACT].
- Before replying, check: does every slide earn its place, and does anything sound like it could be on anyone's account?
Start a new chat inside the project each time, so the Brief loads automatically. Then use only this.
Build a carousel on this topic: [TOPIC]
The one thing the reader should do or believe afterwards: [OUTCOME]
My own example, story or detail to use: [YOUR_REAL_EXAMPLE]
Facts I can vouch for: [FACTS_OR_NONE]
Slide count this time: [NUMBER_OR_USE_DEFAULT]
Follow the output format in the project instructions. If anything above is missing or too thin to carry a slide, ask me first.
The "own example" line matters most. A topic alone gets you the average of everything written on that topic.
Run this second, in the same chat, on the draft you just received.
Act as a sceptical editor who has read a thousand carousels like this one.
Review the draft above slide by slide.
1. Mark each slide KEEP, SHARPEN or CUT, with a one-line reason.
2. For every SHARPEN slide, rewrite it using a specific detail from my example [YOUR_REAL_EXAMPLE] or from my swipe file.
3. Flag any sentence that could appear unchanged on a competitor's account, any rhetorical question, and any phrase from my banned list.
4. Return the revised slide table only, then a list of slides where you needed a fact I did not give you.
Do not add claims I did not supply.
Claude's design spec is a plan: layout, hierarchy, where the accent colour goes, what each slide shows. Build the slides yourself in the design tool you already use, with your fonts and logo, and paste in the copy. Instagram's help centre says a single post can hold up to 20 photos and videos; every slide in a carousel shares one aspect ratio, and 1080 × 1350 pixels (4:5 portrait) is the commonly recommended size, but that figure comes from third-party guides, so confirm it against the current Instagram app before you export.
Read slide 1 on its own. If you cannot tell whose account it is from the words alone, the Brief needs sharper voice samples. Then count the slides that contain something only you could have said. If it is under half, your example line was too thin.