Hey [First Name] —

Welcome to your first official
issue of The Russ Report.

I want to take just a second
before we dive in to say something
I genuinely mean.

The fact that you are here —
reading this — tells me something
important about you.

You are someone who takes action.

Most people talk about learning
new things. Most people say they
want something different.

But you actually did something.

You subscribed. You read the emails.
And now you are here ready to learn.

That matters.

And I am not going to waste
a single second of your time.

Let's get into it.

THIS WEEK'S LESSON:

The Beginner's Guide to Claude —
What It Is, How to Use It, and
5 Things to Try Right Now

WHAT IS CLAUDE?

Claude is an AI assistant built
by a company called Anthropic.

Think of it as the smartest most
patient person you have ever had
a conversation with.

Someone who has read virtually
everything ever written.

Someone who never gets tired,
never gets frustrated, and never
makes you feel stupid for asking
a basic question.

Someone available to you 24 hours
a day 7 days a week completely
on demand.

That is Claude.

And the best part?

You do not need a tech degree
to use it.

You do not need to know how
to code.

You do not need any special
background whatsoever.

If you can type a sentence
you can use Claude.

HOW TO ACCESS CLAUDE:

Step 1 — Go to claude.ai
Step 2 — Create a free account
Step 3 — Start typing

That is genuinely it.

The free plan gives you real
access to a genuinely powerful
version of Claude.

When you are ready to go deeper
the Pro plan costs around $20
per month and gives you access
to the most powerful version
available.

But start free.

Get comfortable first.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING
TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT CLAUDE:

Claude is only as useful as
the instructions you give it.

In AI terms those instructions
are called prompts.

A prompt is simply what you
type into Claude to tell it
what you need.

The better your prompt the
better your result.

Think of it like giving directions
to someone who genuinely wants
to help you.

The more specific and clear
your directions the better
they can help.

Vague directions get vague results.
Clear specific directions get
genuinely useful results.

Here is a simple example.

Vague prompt:
"Write something about AI."

Clear specific prompt:
"Write a simple 200 word
explanation of what AI is
for someone who has never
used it before. Use plain
everyday language and no
technical jargon."

See the difference?

The second prompt tells Claude:

That is good prompting.

And good prompting is a skill
anyone can learn with a little
practice.

THE 3 PARTS OF A GREAT PROMPT:

After testing hundreds of prompts
I have found that the best ones
almost always have 3 parts.

Part 1 — The Role
Tell Claude who to be.
"Act as a plain English teacher."
"Act as a helpful marketing advisor."
"Act as a patient beginner's guide."

Part 2 — The Task
Tell Claude exactly what to do.
"Write a simple explanation of..."
"Help me think through..."
"Create a step by step guide for..."

Part 3 — The Context
Give Claude the details it needs.
"My audience is complete beginners."
"Keep it under 200 words."
"Use simple everyday language."

Put all three together and
your prompts go from average
to genuinely powerful almost immediately.

5 THINGS TO TRY IN CLAUDE
RIGHT NOW:

Here are 5 practical prompts
you can copy and paste into
Claude today.

Try each one and see what
comes back.

Prompt 1 — Explain anything simply:

"Act as a plain English teacher.
Explain [topic] to me like I am
completely new to it. Use simple
everyday language and give me
one practical example I can
relate to."

Replace [topic] with anything
you want to understand better.

Prompt 2 — Write an email:

"Act as a clear and professional
writer. Write a short friendly
email to [person] asking [what
you need]. Keep it under 150 words
and make it warm and direct."

Prompt 3 — Solve a problem:

"I have a problem I need help
thinking through. Here is the
situation: [describe your problem].
What are 3 practical ways I could
approach this? Give me simple
actionable suggestions."

Prompt 4 — Learn something faster:

"Act as an expert teacher.
I want to learn about [topic].
Give me the 5 most important
things a complete beginner
needs to understand first.
Keep each one simple and clear."

Prompt 5 — Get feedback on your writing:

"Please review what I have written
below and give me honest feedback.
Tell me what is working well and
what could be clearer or stronger.
Here is my writing: [paste your writing]"

Those 5 prompts alone can
genuinely change how you work
every single day.

Save them. Use them.
Come back to them often.

ONE THING I WANT YOU TO REMEMBER:

Claude is a tool.

A genuinely powerful one.

But like any tool it gets
better the more you use it.

Do not worry about using it
perfectly right away.

Just start using it.

Every time you use it you
will get a little better
at prompting.

Every time you get a little
better at prompting you will
get more useful results.

Every time you get more useful
results you will find new ways
to apply it.

That is the whole game.

Start simple. Stay consistent.
Keep learning.

THIS WEEK'S ACTION STEP:

Do this one thing before
next week's issue arrives.

Go to claude.ai.
Create your free account
if you have not already.
Pick one of the 5 prompts above.
Try it.

That is it.

One prompt. One try.

Just get in there and start
a conversation with Claude.

Do not overthink it.
Do not worry about doing
it perfectly.

Just start.

And then hit reply and tell
me what happened.

What did you try?
What came back?
What surprised you?

I read every reply personally
and I genuinely want to know
how it goes for you.

COMING NEXT WEEK:

Issue 002 is called:

"How I Use Claude to Write
a Week of Content in About
an Hour — The Exact Process
I Use Every Single Week"

If you create any kind of
content — social posts, emails,
newsletters, anything —
next week's issue is going
to save you a serious amount
of time.

You do not want to miss it.

That is it for Issue 001
[First Name].

Simple. Practical. Honest.

That is what every single
issue of The Russ Report
is going to be.

Every week. Without fail.

I will see you next [DAY].

— Russ

P.S. If you found this issue
useful please forward it to
one person who could use it.

Growing this newsletter one
genuinely helpful issue at
a time is the whole plan.

And you sharing it with someone
who needs it is the most powerful
way to help make that happen.

Thank you.