ChatGPT for Pub Owners: 5 Prompts That Handle the Marketing You Never Have Time For | AI Alchemist
ChatGPT for Pub Owners:
5 Prompts That Handle the Marketing You Never Have Time For
You know you should be posting on Facebook. You know that unanswered TripAdvisor review is costing you bookings. You know a monthly email to your regulars would fill midweek tables. But it’s Sunday night, the kitchen’s just closed, and you have exactly zero minutes for marketing. These five prompts change that.
Running a pub is one of the most demanding small businesses in Britain. You are simultaneously the HR department, the general manager, the head chef’s support team, the maintenance crew, and the face of the place — seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year.
Marketing is the thing that keeps slipping. Not because you don’t understand its importance — you know perfectly well that the pub down the road with the active Facebook page and the prompt review replies is getting bookings you should be getting. It slips because there are only so many hours and most of them are already spoken for.
The five prompts below are built on the CRAFT Method — a five-part structure that gives ChatGPT enough information about your pub to produce content that sounds local, warm, and genuinely like you — not a marketing agency that has never visited the place. Each takes under two minutes. None require any technical knowledge whatsoever.
- Weekly Facebook & Instagram posts
- Event announcements (quiz, live music, specials)
- Replies to Google & TripAdvisor reviews
- Seasonal promotions (Christmas, Mothers’ Day, etc.)
- Monthly email to regulars
- Job ads for bar staff
- A rushed Facebook post written at 11pm
- Ignoring the TripAdvisor review for another week
- Meaning to send an email but never quite getting round to it
- A week of social posts in 3 minutes
- A professional review reply in 60 seconds
- A seasonal promo email in 4 minutes
- A job ad in 5 minutes
- A regulars newsletter in 5 minutes
Before you start: what you need
Go to chat.openai.com and create a free account. Two minutes, no payment card required. That’s genuinely all you need. If you can write a text message, you can use ChatGPT.
Prompt 1 — The Weekly Events Post
Your pub has things happening this week. A quiz night. Live music on Saturday. A Sunday roast that’s worth driving for. A guest ale that arrived on Tuesday. None of it is getting on Facebook because writing posts takes time you don’t have, and every time you sit down to do it you end up writing something that sounds flat and corporate.
This prompt takes your events list — however rough — and produces warm, engaging social posts that sound like the landlord wrote them, not a content agency that’s never set foot in the place.
You are the landlord of a traditional British pub writing social media posts for this week. My pub: [Pub name], in [town/village]. [One sentence describing the character of the pub — e.g. "a proper locals’ pub with a real fire, hand-pulled ales, and a Sunday roast that regulars drive 20 miles for" OR "a lively community pub in the centre of town known for live music and a great beer garden"]. This week’s events and specials: - [Event 1 — e.g. "Quiz Night, Thursday 8pm, free entry, cash prize"] - [Event 2 — e.g. "Live music: The Acoustic Sessions, Saturday from 7pm"] - [Event 3 — e.g. "Sunday Roast — book early, last two Sundays sold out"] - [Any specials — e.g. "New guest ale on: Timothy Taylor’s Boltmaker"] - [Anything else — e.g. "Bank holiday Monday we’re open from noon"] Write 3 separate Facebook/Instagram posts for this week. Each should: - Sound warm, local, and genuinely enthusiastic — like a landlord who loves their pub - Be under 80 words each - Use natural language, not corporate marketing speak - Include a clear call to action (book a table, come in, see you Thursday, etc.) - Use 1 or 2 relevant emojis where natural Do NOT use hashtags unless I ask. Keep it feeling like a person, not a brand.
Prompt 2 — The Review Reply
A two-star Google review arrived three weeks ago. The customer complained that the service was slow on a Saturday evening (it was your busiest night of the year, you were two staff down, and the kitchen was rammed). You’ve read it eleven times and still haven’t replied because every time you sit down to write something, it either comes out too defensive or too apologetic.
An unanswered negative review looks worse than the review itself to anyone researching your pub. This prompt drafts a reply that is professional, empathetic, and protects your reputation — in under 60 seconds.
You are a pub landlord writing a professional, warm response to a customer review. My pub: [Pub name], [town] Review platform: [Google / TripAdvisor / Facebook] Star rating given: [1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5] stars What the review said: [Paste or summarise the review — e.g. "Said the service was slow and they waited 25 minutes for food on a Saturday night. Also said the beer was good but the staff seemed stressed."] What actually happened (optional): [e.g. "We were fully booked and two members of staff called in sick that evening"] Is this review fair? [Broadly fair / Partially fair / Unfair / Completely false] Write a professional reply of around 80 words that: - Thanks the customer for their feedback - Acknowledges their experience genuinely without being defensive - Gives brief context if appropriate without making excuses - States what you are doing or have done to address it - Invites them to come back and give you another chance - Ends warmly If the review is unfair or false, be factually accurate but do NOT be aggressive or dismissive. Keep the moral high ground. Tone: warm, professional, confident. Written by a landlord who genuinely cares about their pub.
Prompt 3 — The Seasonal Promotion
Christmas party bookings. Mother’s Day lunch. The bank holiday weekend. Valentine’s evening. Every one of these is a revenue opportunity that requires getting the word out early enough to capture bookings before people make other plans. Most pubs either don’t promote them until it’s too late, or they promote them with a post that sounds like a terms and conditions notice.
This prompt writes seasonal promotion content — a social post, an email, or both — that creates genuine excitement and drives bookings.
You are a pub landlord writing promotional content for an upcoming seasonal event or offer. My pub: [Pub name], [town]. [One sentence character description as before] The event or promotion: - What: [e.g. "Christmas party nights" / "Mother’s Day Sunday lunch" / "Bank holiday weekend live music"] - Date(s): [e.g. "Every Friday in December" / "Sunday 30 March" / "Friday 23 — Monday 26 May"] - What’s included: [e.g. "3-course set menu £32pp, Christmas cracker and table decorations, live music from 8pm" / "Traditional Sunday roast with a complimentary glass of prosecco for Mum, booking essential"] - Price (if applicable): £[X] per person / [free entry] - How to book: [Phone number / email / walk in] - Booking deadline or urgency: [e.g. "Last 8 tables remaining" / "Bookings already filling up fast" / "Book by 30 November"] Write: 1. A Facebook/Instagram post (under 100 words, warm and exciting) 2. A short email to send to our mailing list (under 150 words, personal and direct) Both should sound like the landlord writing to people they know, not a hospitality marketing team. Create genuine excitement. Be specific about what’s on offer. End with a clear, easy booking instruction.
Prompt 4 — The Bar Staff Job Ad
You need someone reliable behind the bar. Someone who can pour a pint properly, handle a busy Saturday night without falling apart, and actually turn up when they say they will. You post something on Indeed that says “bar staff wanted, experience preferred, competitive hourly rate” and you get twelve applications from people who have never pulled a pint and four who don’t reply when you try to arrange an interview.
A job ad is marketing. It has to make the right person want to work for you and make the wrong person self-select out. This prompt writes one that does both.
You are a pub landlord writing a job advertisement to attract a reliable bar team member. My pub: [Pub name], [town/village]. [Brief description — e.g. "a busy community pub serving around 300 covers on a weekend, known for cask ales and home-cooked food, open 7 days"]. Role: [e.g. "Part-time bar and floor staff" / "Full-time experienced bartender" / "Weekend bar staff — Friday, Saturday, Sunday"] What I can offer: - Pay: £[X] per hour - Hours: [e.g. "15–20 hours per week, mostly evenings and weekends"] - Benefits: [e.g. "staff meals, friendly team, regular hours, potential to take on more responsibility"] - Start date: [e.g. "as soon as possible"] What I need: - [Key requirements — e.g. "Previous bar experience preferred but not essential. Must be reliable, friendly, confident with customers, and comfortable in a busy environment. Over 18. Own transport useful as we’re not on a bus route."] Write a job ad of around 160 words for posting on Indeed, Facebook, or in a local window. It should: - Sound like a real person runs this pub and cares about who joins the team - Describe what makes working here good, honestly - Be direct about what we need (and weed out time-wasters) - End with a clear, simple way to apply (e.g. "Message us on Facebook, email [address], or pop in for a chat")
Prompt 5 — The Regulars Newsletter
Your regulars are your best marketing asset. They come back. They bring people with them. They defend you on TripAdvisor without being asked. A monthly email that lands in their inbox — warm, informal, telling them what’s coming up — keeps them engaged and fills midweek sessions that would otherwise be quiet.
Most pubs never send one because sitting down to write it always gets bumped to tomorrow. This prompt produces a warm, ready-to-send monthly newsletter in under five minutes from a handful of bullet points.
You are a pub landlord writing a monthly email newsletter to your regulars mailing list. My pub: [Pub name], [town]. [One sentence character description] Month: [e.g. "June 2026"] This month’s content: - What’s on: [List upcoming events — quiz nights, live music dates, special menus, etc.] - Food update (if any): [e.g. "New summer menu launching this month" / "Our chef’s special this month is..."] - Drink news (if any): [e.g. "New guest ales arriving weekly" / "Our rosé wine is now on draught"] - Any personal news from the pub: [e.g. "We’re celebrating our 10th anniversary this month" / "We’ve just had the beer garden done up" / "Nothing specific this month"] - Any special offer for subscribers: [e.g. "Show this email for a free bag of crisps with your first pint this month" — optional] Write a warm, friendly monthly newsletter email of around 180 words. It should: - Open like a personal note from the landlord, not a corporate newsletter - Cover the key content in a natural, conversational way - Feel like it was written specifically for people who already love the pub - End with a warm sign-off from [Landlord’s first name] and the team Tone: warm, informal, genuinely personal. Like a note from a friend who happens to run a great pub.
Why these prompts work: the CRAFT Method
The reason most pub owners get disappointing results from ChatGPT is simple: they give it vague instructions. Type “write a post for my pub” and you get something that could describe any pub anywhere. It sounds generic because it has no specific information to work with.
Every prompt above is built on the CRAFT Method — a five-part structure that gives ChatGPT the specific context it needs to produce something that genuinely sounds like your pub.
Start this week
The best place to start is Prompt 1. Right now, think about what’s happening in your pub this week — quiz night, live music, a special on the menu, a guest ale — and jot it down in bullet points. Open chat.openai.com, paste in the prompt with your pub details and this week’s events, and see what comes back in 90 seconds.
Most pub owners who try it sit back and think: that’s actually better than anything I’ve been posting, and it took me two minutes. Then they run all five prompts in the same session and have their marketing sorted for the week before the kitchen opens for lunch.