How to use specific instructions?
|Specific instructions are writing rules that you give to the MagicPost post generator, such as "open with a question" or "never use hashtags". MagicPost has two kinds: an instruction for the post you are about to generate, and saved instructions that apply to every generation in Standard mode. Specific instructions belong to the post generator, which is included in Creator, Agency, and Team and in the free trial, and not in the Growth plan.
In a MagicPost organization, AI post generation also depends on the seat of each member: a member whose seat type does not include AI generation cannot generate posts. See how to manage seats.
Where specific instructions are
Specific instructions are in the Advanced options section of the MagicPost generator. Open New post in the sidebar, select the Generator tab, open Advanced options and click the Specific instructions line. A window named Instructions opens. For an overview of the MagicPost generator, see the AI LinkedIn post generator page of the MagicPost site.
The switch at the end of the Specific instructions line turns your own instructions and the rules from your documents on or off at once. When you hover over the line, a pin lets you move it right under the topic field (Pin under the topic).
What the Instructions window contains
Opened from the MagicPost generator, the Instructions window contains the five parts below. Opened from the Knowledge base, the window has no field for one post and no Brand guidelines.
Use my instructions. The main switch. When it is off, your instructions and the rules from your documents stop applying to your generations. Brand guidelines have their own switch and keep applying until that switch is turned off.
Specific instruction for this post. An optional text field for a rule that concerns the post you are about to generate.
My saved instructions. Your library of rules. Each saved instruction has its own switch.
One block per document of your MagicPost knowledge base that contains writing rules, named after the file, with a switch for that file.
Brand guidelines. Shown to members of an organization that has active guidelines.
Give an instruction for one post
In the MagicPost generator, open Advanced options and click Specific instructions.
Check that Use my instructions is on.
Type your rule in Specific instruction for this post.
Click Done, then Generate a post.
MagicPost does not empty the Specific instruction for this post field once the post is generated. The instruction keeps applying to your next generations until you delete it from the field or reload the page. This field is not saved to your account, so reloading the page resets it.
To keep an instruction for later, click the bookmark icon in the field (Save to my instructions) and confirm. MagicPost adds the instruction to the top of your saved instructions, switched off, so that it does not apply twice to the current post. Switch it on when you want to reuse it.
Save instructions that apply to every Standard generation
In the Instructions window, go to My saved instructions and click New.
Type the instruction and click Add.
Use the switch of each instruction to turn it on or off. Disable all and Enable all act on the whole list.
Hover over an instruction to edit it or delete it. Deleting an instruction cannot be undone.
A saved instruction that is switched on applies to every post that the MagicPost generator writes in Standard mode, on top of your writing settings. It is not limited to the post on screen. If a post comes out with an unexpected constraint, check this list first.
Specific instructions in Templates mode
In Templates mode, the MagicPost generator only applies the Specific instruction for this post. MagicPost does not apply saved instructions, rules from documents or brand guidelines to a post generated from a template. The Specific instructions line and the Instructions window look the same in Standard mode and in Templates mode, so nothing on screen signals this limit.
To give a writing rule to a post generated from a MagicPost template, type the rule in Specific instruction for this post before you generate. See how to generate a post from a template.
Rules from documents and brand guidelines
When MagicPost finds writing rules in a document of your knowledge base, it lists them in the Instructions window under the name of the file. The switch of that block turns the rules of the file off while the file itself stays in use. See how to use the knowledge base.
MagicPost applies a capped number of document rules per generation and skips duplicates. With many documents in the knowledge base, not every rule listed in the Instructions window is used.
Brand guidelines are writing rules set by an organization for the AI generations of its members. A member only sees an on/off switch, not the content of the guidelines. An administrator of a team organization also sees a Manage organization guidelines link, which opens the AI guidelines tab of the organization Settings. The block is absent when the organization has no active guidelines.
The Brand guidelines switch is independent of Use my instructions in MagicPost. Turning your own instructions off does not turn the brand guidelines of your organization off, and the other way round.
Instructions in the Knowledge base
Saved instructions and the rules from your documents can also be managed from the MagicPost Knowledge base. Once you have at least one saved instruction or one rule from a document, the How you write card shows an Instructions line, with a switch that turns your instructions on or off in the generator.
Clicking the Instructions line of the MagicPost Knowledge base opens the Instructions window with three parts: the main switch Use my instructions, My saved instructions and the rules from your documents. The Specific instruction for this post field and Brand guidelines are not in the window opened from the Knowledge base. Both are only available from the MagicPost generator.
How to write an instruction
One rule per instruction. "End with a question to the reader" is easier to switch on and off than a paragraph of mixed rules.
Describe the result. Write "Short paragraphs of one or two sentences" rather than "make it readable".
Do not contradict your settings. Avoid an instruction that asks for a long post while the Length setting is on Very short.
FAQ
Why does an old instruction still apply to my new posts?
Because it is still active. Open Specific instructions and check two places: the Specific instruction for this post field, which MagicPost does not empty after a generation (reloading the page resets it), and My saved instructions, where every instruction that is switched on applies to every Standard generation.
Do my saved instructions apply in Templates mode?
No. In Templates mode, MagicPost does not apply saved instructions, rules from documents or brand guidelines. Only the Specific instruction for this post applies to a post generated from a template. Saved instructions apply to posts generated in Standard mode.
How do I generate one post without any of my instructions?
Turn off the switch at the end of the Specific instructions line, or Use my instructions in the window. Your saved instructions stay in the list and apply again when you turn the switch back on. In a MagicPost organization with brand guidelines, also turn off the Brand guidelines switch: it is separate from the main switch.
What is the difference between specific instructions and the instruction of the URL or File source?
The Instruction for the AI field of the URL and File sources says what to take from the content, for example which part to focus on. Specific instructions say how the post is written. Both can be used in the same generation.
The Specific instructions line shows "None active". What does it mean?
It means that the switch is on but none of your own instructions applies: the field for this post is empty and no saved instruction is switched on. Rules from your documents and brand guidelines are not counted in this MagicPost label and can still apply. Add an instruction or switch one on.
Need help?
Reach out via the in-app chat, or book a 30-minute onboarding call: https://cal.com/magicpost/book-a-call