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The Real AI Side Hustle · Free companion resource

Prompt Library.

The prompts from the book — verbatim from the "Try This Right Now" blocks and inline method descriptions — plus a few companion-only extras marked Companion extra. These are the actual prompts I use, genericized where needed.

Copy any prompt, swap in your own detail where you see [SWAP: …], and run it.

Research & Niche Validation

01

Find a niche worth building

You don't have a niche yet, or the one you have feels too broad. This is the step before keyword research — pull candidate niches out of what you actually know, then narrow them.

Paste into · Claude.ai (free tier) or ChatGPT Companion extra
I want to build a content website that earns affiliate income, and I'd rather write about something I actually know or care about. Here's what I'm into and have real experience with: [SWAP: hobbies, work experience, things you research constantly, problems you've solved]. Give me 8–10 specific niche ideas from that — narrow enough that a small site could rank, with everyday products or services people actually buy. For each, note who'd read it and why they'd be in a buying mood. Then tell me which 2–3 you'd start with and why.
02

Check that the niche can actually make money

You've got a niche but aren't sure it can earn. Before you build anything, confirm real products and affiliate programs exist around it.

Paste into · Claude.ai (free tier) or ChatGPT Companion extra
I'm considering a content site about [SWAP: your niche]. Map out how it could realistically make money: the kinds of products people buy, which affiliate programs or networks usually cover them (Amazon Associates plus any niche-specific ones), rough commission ranges, and any non-affiliate angles. Be honest about whether the money here looks thin or solid, and what the buyer intent really is.
03

Find keyword clusters for your niche

You've picked a narrowed niche from your interest list. Before you check a keyword tool, ask Claude to tell you what to search for — so you're not guessing at keyword phrases yourself.

Paste into · Claude.ai (free tier) or ChatGPT Chapter 6
I'm thinking about building a content website about [SWAP: your narrowed niche]. Give me 5 or 6 clusters of keywords I could check in a keyword research tool — the kind real buyers and researchers actually type. Mix in "best [thing]," "top [thing] under $[X]," "[thing] for beginners," "[thing] vs [thing]," and "how to [do thing]" phrasings. Group them by intent — just learning, comparing options, or ready to buy — and keep them specific, not broad.
04

Analyze your keyword research results (the Screenshot Loop)

You've run the keyword clusters in Mangools KWFinder or Google Keyword Planner and screenshotted the results. Paste the screenshot into Claude and ask this — it reads the screenshot and gives you a viability read without you having to interpret the numbers yourself.

Paste into · Claude.ai (reads images) or ChatGPT Chapter 6
Based on these search volumes and difficulty scores, does this niche look viable for a new affiliate site? Summarize the opportunity.

Attach the keyword tool screenshot before sending.

Build Your Site

05

Write your Lovable build prompt (metaprompt)

You're ready to build your site but you don't know what to type into Lovable. Use this with Claude first — Claude writes the build prompt, then you paste that into Lovable. You never face the blank box.

Paste into · Claude.ai (free tier) Chapter 7
I want you to provide me with a comprehensive prompt to feed into Lovable to build an affiliate marketing website about [SWAP: your niche]. It should have a world-class design and be built for SEO, GEO, and AEO optimizations and AI citations.

Then paste what Claude gives you into Lovable.

06

Add legal pages to your site

Your site has real content but no legal pages yet. Run this inside Lovable — it scaffolds all three required pages in one go.

Paste into · Lovable Chapter 7
Add a privacy policy, terms of service, and affiliate disclosure page to this site.
07

Wire up llms.txt for AI citations (set-and-forget)

After your site is built and you're adding content. This creates the Lovable Skill that keeps your llms.txt and llms-full.txt current automatically — so AI engines can find and cite your content without you maintaining those files by hand.

Paste into · Lovable Chapter 7
Create a skill so that whenever I add new content, it gets added to llms.txt and llms-full.txt.
08

Unstick yourself on any Lovable step

Anytime you're not sure what to click or do next in Lovable. The tool built your site — it knows its own interface better than any printed walkthrough. Swap in whatever you're trying to do.

Paste into · Lovable Chapter 7
What steps do I need to take to [SWAP: the specific thing you're trying to do] in Lovable?

Site Optimization

09

Generate your own SEO/GEO audit prompt (metaprompt)

Your site is live and you want to audit it against current SEO, GEO, and AI-citation best practices — but you're not an SEO expert. Use this to have Claude write the audit question, then paste that question back into Claude aimed at your site.

Paste into · Claude.ai (free tier) Chapter 5
I run a small content website about [SWAP: your topic], built on [SWAP: WordPress / Next.js / Lovable]. I'm not an SEO expert. Write me a comprehensive prompt I can give you that will have you audit my website for current SEO, GEO, and AEO best practices — including AI citation readiness — and give me a prioritized list of fixes with instructions I can follow.

Then copy what Claude gives you, paste it back into Claude, and point it at your site.

10

Make one article AI-citable (per-article GEO)

You want a specific article pulled into AI answers (ChatGPT, Google's AI overviews, Perplexity), not just ranked in blue links. Run it on a draft.

Paste into · Claude.ai (free tier) or ChatGPT Companion extra
Here's a draft article about [SWAP: topic]. Restructure it so AI search engines can quote it cleanly: a direct, self-contained answer to the main question near the top, clear question-style headings, short factual statements an engine can lift, a brief FAQ, and any comparisons as a simple table. Keep my voice and the honest recommendation — don't make it robotic. Then tell me what you changed and why.

Paste or attach the draft before sending.

Content Creation

11

Turn your niche into a content plan (topic clusters)

Your site exists and you're ready to write, but you don't know what articles to make or in what order. Get a clustered plan instead of writing random posts.

Paste into · Claude.ai (free tier) or ChatGPT Companion extra
I'm building a content site about [SWAP: your niche]. Give me a content plan organized into topic clusters: a few pillar topics, and under each the specific articles I'd write — a mix of buyer-intent pieces ("best [thing]," comparisons, "[thing] under $[X]") and helpful informational pieces that earn trust and AI citations. Order them so I publish the ones most likely to earn first. Keep titles specific and natural, not keyword-stuffed.
12

Build your content Skill (the interview method — metaprompt)

You're ready to start writing articles and want to build the reusable writing tool from Chapter 8. This prompt builds the Skill for you — you don't hand-write it, you let Claude do the heavy lifting. Swap in your niche and run it.

Paste into · Claude.ai (free tier) or ChatGPT Chapter 8
Help me build a reusable content skill for writing articles about [SWAP: your niche]. Before it writes anything, it should interview me with four to six questions about my real, firsthand experience with the specific topic. It should write in a warm, plain, confident voice, lead with the recommendation, and avoid these AI tells: heavy em-dash use, "whether you're… or…," "dive into," "elevate," "curated," "unlock," "it's worth noting," and tidy lists of three. Ask me the questions one at a time.

After it builds the Skill, answer its questions for one real product or topic you know. That first article — your experience, Claude's structure — is the whole method.

13

Write an honest "best of" / comparison article

You're writing a roundup or comparison — the format that earns most affiliate income. Use it alongside your content Skill when a piece needs a clear buyer's-guide structure.

Paste into · Claude.ai (free tier) or ChatGPT Companion extra
Help me write an honest "best [SWAP: category]" article. First, interview me about what I actually know — which I've used, what I'd genuinely recommend and for whom. Then structure it as a buyer's guide: a quick top pick up front, then a handful of options with who each is best for, honest trade-offs, and the one thing that would make someone choose it. Lead with the recommendation, no fluff, and don't pretend everything is great. Ask me the questions one at a time.

Measure & Iterate

14

Read your analytics and decide what's next

A few weeks of traffic in, staring at the dashboard wondering what it means. Screenshot it and let Claude turn the numbers into a next move — the Screenshot Loop, applied to your results.

Paste into · Claude.ai (reads images) or ChatGPT Companion extra
Here's a screenshot of my site's [SWAP: Google Analytics / Search Console] for the last [SWAP: 30 / 90] days. In plain language: what's actually working, what isn't, which pages are worth doubling down on, and the two or three concrete things I should do next. Don't just describe the numbers — tell me what to do.

Attach the screenshot before sending.

How these prompts work together.

These prompts follow the book's sequence — pick, validate, build, optimize, write, measure:

  1. 1 Pick a niche and confirm it can earn → brainstorm from what you know, then sanity-check the money.
  2. 2 Validate demand → keyword clusters, then the Screenshot Loop on the results.
  3. 3 Build your site → metaprompt into Lovable, add legal pages and llms.txt, troubleshoot as you go.
  4. 4 Optimize → audit the whole site against SEO/GEO/AEO, then make individual articles AI-citable.
  5. 5 Plan and write → cluster your topics, build the interview Skill, write the honest "best of."
  6. 6 Measure and iterate → read your analytics and decide the next move.

The meta-pattern running through all of them: ask Claude to write the hard part, then use what it gives you. You never have to stare at a blank box.

From The Real AI Side Hustle by Charles McQuain · charlesmcquain.dev/books/ai-income