The [DRY] Technique That Makes AI Prompts Quickly Reusable

The Concept: Work Smarter, Not Harder

A few weeks ago I was talking with a marketing coordinator. Let’s call her Sarah.

She showed me her “clients” folder. It had 15 subfolders in it, one for each client that she manages.

“Look at this mess,” she said, opening the folder for her healthcare client. Inside that folder were dozens of prompt files: “Facebook posts.txt”, “LinkedIn posts.txt”, “Email subject lines.txt”, “Instagram captions.txt”…

Then she opened her restaurant client’s folder. Same exact prompts, just with different client information manually edited throughout.

“Listen to this nightmare,” she said. “Last week I figured out a better way to write my LinkedIn prompts. You know what that meant? I had to open 15 different folders and update 15 different versions of the same prompt, once for each client! I spent two hours just on that.”

She showed me one prompt. Every time it mentioned the client name, industry, target audience, or brand voice, she’d manually typed it out. The same information appeared several times throughout each prompt.

“And here’s the worst part,” she continued, scrolling frantically. “Sometimes I forget to change something. Last month I accidently sent my restaurant client some social posts that mentioned ‘healthcare providers’ because I’d copied from the wrong template and missed a spot.”

I watched her copy a LinkedIn prompt from her SaaS client folder to use for her fitness studio client. Find & Replace for the company name. Then for the industry. Then for the target audience. Then scanning through manually to catch anything she missed.

“There has to be a better way,” she sighed. “I feel like I spend more time managing prompts than actually creating content.”

There is. And it’s so simple that when I showed her, she literally face-palmed.

It’s called the [DRY] technique: Don’t Repeat Yourself. It’s a principle borrowed from programming that will transform how you create and reuse AI prompts.

Instead of rewriting the same information multiple times throughout your prompt, you define it once at the top using bracketed variables, then reference those variables throughout the heart of your prompt. It’s like creating a fill-in-the-blank template that you can reuse hundreds of times.

The [DRY] technique is similar to “Section Variables” in my prompt blueprint.

The main difference is that we’re not using bracketed variables to separate big chunks of info and prevent AI confusion. Instead, we’re using bracketed variables to create prompts we can easily reuse with different values, saving us oodles of time.

This means Sarah can keep her prompt in just one spot. Then she can set up her section variables in each client folder. When she needs to update her prompt, she only has to change it once in that one location!

Let me show you how this simple technique can turn your prompt chaos into a streamlined content machine.

How It Works: Building Your Reusable Blueprint

The [DRY] technique is beautifully simple. You create variables by putting descriptive names in brackets at the beginning of your prompt, then reference those same variable names throughout your instructions.

Here’s the basic structure:

Define your variables at the top using [VARIABLE_NAME] =
Fill in the specific values for this use case
Reference those variables throughout your prompt by name
Save the template and reuse it by just changing the variable values

Think of it like a smart form where you fill in the blanks once, and the AI automatically applies that information everywhere it’s needed.

Let me show you exactly how this works with a real example:

Examples of the [DRY] Technique in Action

Here are two examples of the same prompt but for different clients. The only difference is the variables.

1. Example for a SAAS Client

AI Prompt

[CLIENT_NAME] = TechFlow Solutions
[CLIENT_DESCRIPTION] = A B2B SAAS company that makes project management software for marketing teams
[TARGET_AUDIENCE] = Marketing managers at mid-size companies who struggle with campaign coordination
[BRAND_VOICE] = Professional but approachable, uses “we” and “our”, avoids jargon, sounds like a helpful colleague
[KEY_MESSAGE] = Your campaigns don’t have to be chaos – the right tools make all the difference
[CTA] = Learn more about simplifying your workflow at our website at https://techflowsolutions.ai/

Create 3 LinkedIn posts for [CLIENT_NAME].

Context about the client: [CLIENT_DESCRIPTION]

Each post should:
– Speak directly to [TARGET_AUDIENCE]
– Maintain [BRAND_VOICE] consistently
– Reinforce the message that [KEY_MESSAGE]
– End with a soft call-to-action based on [CTA]
– Be 100-150 words
– Include 2-3 relevant hashtags

Make each post focus on a different angle:
1. Pain point post – empathize with a specific struggle of [TARGET_AUDIENCE]
2. Insight post – share a surprising fact or perspective relevant to [TARGET_AUDIENCE]
3. Solution post – practical tip that relates to [KEY_MESSAGE]

AI Response

Post 1: Pain Point
We get it. You’re juggling five campaigns, three agencies, and a team spread across time zones. By the time you’ve updated everyone on changes, something else has shifted. Sound familiar?

Marketing managers tell us their biggest frustration isn’t creativity or strategy—it’s the chaos of coordination. When your team spends more time in status meetings than actually creating, something needs to change.

Your campaigns don’t have to be chaos. We’ve seen teams reclaim hours each week simply by centralizing their workflow. The right tools make all the difference between firefighting and actually moving forward.

Ready to simplify your workflow? Learn more at techflowsolutions.ai/

#MarketingManagement #ProjectManagement #MarketingTeams

Post 2: Insight
Here’s something surprising: Marketing teams lose an average of 23% of their productive time to “work about work”—status updates, searching for files, and clarifying project details.

That’s nearly one full day each week spent on coordination instead of creation. For a mid-size marketing team, that translates to thousands of hours annually.

But here’s the good news: we’ve found that teams who centralize their campaign management reduce this overhead by up to 60%. Your campaigns don’t have to be chaos—the right tools make all the difference.

Curious how much time your team could reclaim? Learn more about simplifying your workflow at techflowsolutions.ai/

#MarketingEfficiency #TeamProductivity #MarketingOps

Post 3: Solution
Quick tip for smoother campaign coordination: Create a single source of truth for each campaign.

We recommend starting with a shared campaign brief that includes: objectives, timelines, asset locations, and approval workflows—all in one place. When everyone knows exactly where to find what they need, confusion drops dramatically.

Our clients find this simple shift eliminates about 70% of “quick questions” that interrupt their day. Your campaigns don’t have to be chaos. Sometimes the right tools and approach make all the difference between constant confusion and clear progress.

Want more strategies to simplify your workflow? Visit techflowsolutions.ai/

#MarketingTips #CampaignManagement #MarketingStrategy

That’s pretty good!

Now let’s apply this [DRY] principle to a meal prep client.

Just swap out the variable values with different data, and keep everything else in the prompt exactly the same.

2. Example for a Meal Prep Client

AI Prompt

[CLIENT_NAME] = Mindful Meals
[CLIENT_DESCRIPTION] = A meal prep service that delivers healthy, ready-to-eat meals to busy professionals in Portland
[TARGET_AUDIENCE] = Working parents who want to eat healthy but don’t have time to cook after getting home from work
[BRAND_VOICE] = Warm and understanding, like a friend who gets it, uses “you” directly, includes gentle humor about the dinnertime struggle
[KEY_MESSAGE] = Healthy family dinners don’t require superhuman effort – just a little help
[CTA] = Try your first week for 50% off and see how much easier evenings can be

Create 3 LinkedIn posts for [CLIENT_NAME].

Context about the client: [CLIENT_DESCRIPTION]

Each post should:
– Speak directly to [TARGET_AUDIENCE]
– Maintain [BRAND_VOICE] consistently
– Reinforce the message that [KEY_MESSAGE]
– End with a soft call-to-action based on [CTA]
– Be 100-150 words
– Include 2-3 relevant hashtags

Make each post focus on a different angle:
1. Pain point post – empathize with a specific struggle of [TARGET_AUDIENCE]
2. Insight post – share a surprising fact or perspective relevant to [TARGET_AUDIENCE]
3. Solution post – practical tip that relates to [KEY_MESSAGE]

AI Response

Post 1: Pain Point
You know that moment? It’s 6 PM, you just walked through the door, and tiny humans are already asking “What’s for dinner?” Meanwhile, you’re still processing that last Zoom call and wondering if cereal counts as a balanced meal. (Spoiler: We’ve all been there.)

Here’s the truth: You’re not failing because you can’t whip up Pinterest-worthy meals after a 9-hour workday. You’re human, doing your best in a world that expects superhuman effort. Healthy family dinners don’t require you to be a chef, meal planner, and magician rolled into one – sometimes they just require a little help.

Ready to reclaim your evenings? Try your first week for 50% off and see how much easier dinnertime can be.

#WorkingParents #HealthyEating #PortlandFamilies

Post 2: Insight
Here’s something surprising: The average working parent spends 8.5 hours per week on meal planning, shopping, and cooking. That’s basically another workday you’re not getting paid for.

But here’s what’s even more interesting – families who outsource even 3 dinners per week report 74% less evening stress and actually eat together MORE often. Why? Because when you’re not frantically chopping vegetables, you can actually sit down and ask about everyone’s day.

Healthy family dinners aren’t about doing it all yourself. They’re about being present when it matters most. Sometimes the best ingredient you can add to family dinner is… you. Relaxed, present you.

Try your first week for 50% off and discover what evenings could really feel like.

#MealPrep #WorkLifeBalance #ParentingWins

Post 3: Solution
Quick tip for busy parents: The “good enough” dinner is actually GREAT.

You don’t need to cook from scratch to provide nutrition. You don’t need themed meals to create memories. And you definitely don’t need to feel guilty about accepting help. What if we reframed “ordering meal prep” from “giving up” to “leveling up”?

When you let someone else handle the chopping, cooking, and cleaning three nights a week, you’re not taking shortcuts – you’re taking control. Those 3 hours back? That’s homework help, bedtime stories, or maybe just breathing.

Healthy family dinners are about nourishment, not perfection. Let us handle the cooking so you can handle what really matters.

Try your first week for 50% off. Your future Tuesday-night self will thank you.

#FamilyFirst #HealthyMeals #PortlandEats

Wow! I’m genuinely impressed with the first result!

The best part is that we used the exact same prompt for both clients; we just swapped out the values.

In Sarah’s case, she could store the prompt in a single place on her computer and store each client’s variables separately.

For example, she could store her SAAS prompt like this:

And she could store her meal prep client’s prompt like this:

As long as you don’t add new variables or change the variable names, you can edit your main prompt separate from the values.

You’ll save so much time using this approach!

Advantages for Marketing Professionals

Here’s some of the advantages to using this [DRY] prompting technique:

Dramatic Time Savings: Updating 15 client prompts goes from 2 hours to 2 minutes.

Consistency at Scale: Your messaging stays on-brand and high-quality across every piece of content and every client because you’re using the same proven structure.

Reduced Errors: No more sending the wrong client name or industry reference because you forgot to change one mention buried in paragraph 3.

Easy Collaboration: Share one template with team members instead of 15 different versions. They just need to update the variables.

Progressive Improvement: When you improve the template, all 15 clients benefit immediately. Fix it once, deploy everywhere.

Clean Documentation: Instead of 15 folders with dozens of similar files, you have one clean template library.

What’s Different Between [DRY] variables and [SECTION VARIABLES]?

Now, something you might be wondering if you’ve read my prompt blueprint is how the [DRY] technique is different from the [SECTION VARIABLE] technique.

Here’s the [SECTION VARIABLE] example from my blueprint to jog your memory:

AI Prompt

[PRODUCT DETAILS]:
The Grill Knight is a chainmail grill brush for scrubbing grill grates. It is made from 316-grade marine stainless steel with 3,800 interlocking rings in a bristle-free chainmail design, this 7″ x 5″ scrubber safely cleans all grill types without scratching while featuring a heat-resistant silicone handle. Dishwasher safe and backed by a lifetime warranty, it weighs just 14 ounces for easy handling and will never shed dangerous wires into your food.

[INSTRUCTIONS]:
Act as an expert social media manager and write a Facebook post about our product using the information in the [PRODUCT DETAILS].

I recommend using [SECTION VARIABLES] like in the prompt above to section off large chunks of information in your prompt so the AI doesn’t get confused. You can also refer back to them by their name in the heart of your prompt, just like we do with the [DRY] prompting technique.

When should you use each technique?

Use the [DRY] technique to create reusable variables.
Use the [SECTION VARIABLE] technique to section off large chunks of information to help prevent AI confusion.

But…

If you decide to use both together, then you might want to use <DRY> instead of [DRY].

See, the AI really doesn’t care whether you use [], {}, <>, etc.

But you must be…

Consistent in your DRY stuff (don’t switch from one format to another inside a single prompt);
Consistent in your SECTION VARIABLE stuff (don’t switch from one format to another inside a single prompt); and
Using a format (e.g., [], {}, <>) in a way that doesn’t confuse the AI.

So if in a single prompt you used square brackets [ ] for both DRY stuff and SECTION VARIABLE stuff, I could envision the AI getting confused. In that case, maybe use [ ] for SECTION VARIABLES and < > for DRY stuff.

Got it?

It’s not hard once you practice it a few times.

Good luck!