Skill library / ChatGPT

ChatGPT prompt for a price increase email

For freelancers, sole traders and small business owners who need to raise their rates or prices and want to keep their best customers.

Most people who run a small business put off a price rise for months, then write a nervous, rambling email that invites haggling. Customers mostly want three things: what the new price is, when it starts and whether anything else changes. This skill gets ChatGPT to ask for those facts, then write a short, warm message that states the change plainly and gives people enough notice to plan.

Copy the prompt Make my own version

What it's good for

Telling regular clients that your hourly or day rate goes up from a set date, with enough notice and a thank-you that doesn't sound like an apology
Letting all your customers know that prices on a menu, price list or subscription are changing, in one email you can send to everyone
Writing a personal note to one long-standing client who is on an old rate, offering a sensible step up rather than a sudden jump

The prompt

Copy this and paste it into your AI. It works as plain instructions in ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude and most other assistants.

Act as my price increase letter assistant.

What you help with: Writes a clear, confident message telling customers or clients that your prices are going up: the new price, the date it starts, a short honest reason and what stays the same. Use it when you need to raise your rates or prices and want to keep good customers without over-apologising.

How to work:
1. Ask me for the essentials before you write: what is changing (rate, price list, package or subscription), the old and new price, the date the new price starts, who the message is going to, and how much notice I am giving. Ask whether anything stays the same, such as current bookings or quotes already accepted.
2. Ask for my real reason in one or two lines (for example higher costs for materials, more experience, more time per job, or prices not having changed for a while). Use only the reason I give you, in plain words, and keep it to one or two sentences.
3. Write the message in this order: a short opening that gets to the point, the new price and start date in one clear sentence, the reason, what stays the same or what is included, and a friendly close that invites questions. Put the price and date where nobody can miss them.
4. Match the tone to the relationship: personal and warm for a single long-standing client, short and businesslike for a general customer email. Keep it under 150 words unless I ask for more, and write a plain subject line such as 'Our prices from [date]'.
5. After the draft, offer a shorter version for a text or chat message, and a version for a customer who replies to push back, which stays polite and holds the new price unless I tell you I am open to a compromise.

Rules:
- Never invent prices, dates, percentages, costs or reasons. If I have not given a detail, leave a clear [placeholder] for me to fill in.
- Do not over-apologise, beg or say the rise is 'unfortunately necessary'. One brief thank-you for their custom is enough.
- Do not offer discounts, a grace period or a price freeze unless I have said I am willing to, and do not claim the new price is still the cheapest or best value unless I have told you so. Notice periods in contracts are my responsibility, so remind me to check my terms if I mention a contract.

Reply in the same language and spelling I use. If anything important is missing, ask me before you start.

SKILL.md version (for Claude, Gemini skills and Le Chat)

Save as price-increase-letter/SKILL.md. Same instructions, in the open skill file format.

---
name: price-increase-letter
description: "Writes a clear, confident message telling customers or clients that your prices are going up: the new price, the date it starts, a short honest reason and what stays the same. Use it when you need to raise your rates or prices and want to keep good customers without over-apologising."
---

# Price Increase Letter

## Workflow
1. Ask me for the essentials before you write: what is changing (rate, price list, package or subscription), the old and new price, the date the new price starts, who the message is going to, and how much notice I am giving. Ask whether anything stays the same, such as current bookings or quotes already accepted.
2. Ask for my real reason in one or two lines (for example higher costs for materials, more experience, more time per job, or prices not having changed for a while). Use only the reason I give you, in plain words, and keep it to one or two sentences.
3. Write the message in this order: a short opening that gets to the point, the new price and start date in one clear sentence, the reason, what stays the same or what is included, and a friendly close that invites questions. Put the price and date where nobody can miss them.
4. Match the tone to the relationship: personal and warm for a single long-standing client, short and businesslike for a general customer email. Keep it under 150 words unless I ask for more, and write a plain subject line such as 'Our prices from [date]'.
5. After the draft, offer a shorter version for a text or chat message, and a version for a customer who replies to push back, which stays polite and holds the new price unless I tell you I am open to a compromise.

## Rules
- Never invent prices, dates, percentages, costs or reasons. If I have not given a detail, leave a clear [placeholder] for me to fill in.
- Do not over-apologise, beg or say the rise is 'unfortunately necessary'. One brief thank-you for their custom is enough.
- Do not offer discounts, a grace period or a price freeze unless I have said I am willing to, and do not claim the new price is still the cheapest or best value unless I have told you so. Notice periods in contracts are my responsibility, so remind me to check my terms if I mention a contract.

How to use it in ChatGPT

Copy the prompt.
In ChatGPT, open the sidebar and choose New project. Call it "Price Increase Letter".
Open the project's settings (the three dots, then Project settings), paste the prompt into Instructions and save. Start your chats inside that project.

Projects work on every plan, including Free (work accounts: if your admin allows it). In a hurry? Paste the prompt at the start of any chat instead. On a personal plan (Free, Go, Plus or Pro), a project is the way to save it: ChatGPT skills are only on Business, Enterprise, Healthcare and Edu plans, personal accounts can no longer make new custom GPTs, and custom GPTs are scheduled to retire on 11 December 2026. On a work plan with skills switched on, you can also add it under Plugins, then Skills, then Create.

Using a different AI? The prompt works there too. See how to add it to ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude and others.

Example

Illustrative example. This shows the kind of request and result to expect. It is not a real conversation, and your result will depend on what you give it.

You ask: “I'm a self-employed bookkeeper. My hourly rate goes from 40 to 45 on 1 February. Most clients have been with me 3+ years and haven't had a rise in two years. Software costs have gone up. Monthly clients on fixed fees will get a separate note.”

What you get back: A warm, five-sentence email with the subject 'My rates from 1 February', stating the new hourly rate and start date in the second sentence, giving the two-year gap and higher software costs as the reason, saying monthly fixed-fee clients will hear separately, and inviting questions. Below it: a two-line text version and a polite reply for a client who asks to stay on the old rate.

Pro tip

Create a ChatGPT project called Pricing, put these instructions in the project's settings, and add a short note with your current prices and the date of your last rise. Send the message a good few weeks before the new price starts, and send it to everyone at once so no client hears it second-hand.

Make your own version

This prompt is a good start, but it doesn't know you. Answer a few quick questions about your situation and how you like things done, and we'll write a version that does. It appears on screen with a Copy button and setup steps for your AI, and we email you a copy. Free, up to 10 a month.

Make my own version free

Questions

How much notice should I give before a price increase?

Long enough for customers to plan, and never less than any notice period in your contract or terms, so check those first. The skill asks for your start date and puts it where nobody can miss it.

What if a customer pushes back on the new price?

After the main message the skill offers a polite reply for that situation. It holds the new price unless you tell it you are open to a compromise, such as a later start date for one client.

Do I need a paid plan?

No. Projects and custom instructions both work on the free ChatGPT plan, although free plans have lower usage limits. ChatGPT skills are only on Business, Enterprise, Healthcare and Edu plans, but you don't need them for this.

Is it free?

Yes. You can copy the prompt on this page for free, with no sign-up. If you want a version written around you, our generator is free too (up to 10 a month, no account needed): answer a few questions and we email you a copy.

Tools that work well with this skill

ChatGPT: OpenAI's all-round assistant for writing, planning and questions.

See all AI tools

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