How I Built This “Creator Desk Essentials” Section with ChatGPT 5.1 (And How You Can Too)
Some people decorate their desks with plants and candles. I decorate mine with tools — keyboards, mice, hubs, lights, and a little wall of blues albums playing on loop in the background. I wanted a way to show all of that on my blog in a way that looked professional, stayed AdSense-friendly, and could be reused across posts without rebuilding it from scratch every time.
The result is the block you see below: a tidy grid of creator gear cards plus a “Listen to Our Blues Albums” section with three embedded YouTube playlists. All of it was generated, refined, and iterated with ChatGPT 5.1 Thinking.
This post walks through the whole process step-by-step and then gives you the exact prompt you can paste into ChatGPT 5.1 to build your own reusable gear + media section.
Step 1: Decide What This Block Should Actually Do
Before I asked the AI to write a single line of HTML, I got clear on the job of this block:
- Show my core creator tools in a clean grid with short, friendly descriptions.
- Use my Amazon affiliate links for each product.
- Embed three full blues albums from YouTube in a dark “listening corner” section.
- Stay readable, fast, and easy to paste straight into Blogger’s HTML editor, just like my other long-form posts. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}
In other words: this isn’t just decoration. It’s a mini landing page that lives inside a blog article, supports the story, and quietly helps pay for coffee.
Step 2: Give ChatGPT the Raw Ingredients
Next, I gathered everything ChatGPT 5.1 would need:
- The product names.
- One-sentence descriptions in my own voice.
- The Amazon links for each item.
- The three YouTube URLs for my blues albums.
Then I told ChatGPT what I wanted the finished structure to look like: a <section> for “Creator Desk Essentials,” a set of <article> cards for each product, and another <section> for the embedded albums. This is very similar to the way I structure other narrative posts that mix story, teaching, and embedded media. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}
Step 3: Let ChatGPT Build the HTML Block
Here’s the cleaned-up version of the block ChatGPT 5.1 produced for me. I pasted this straight into Blogger’s HTML view:
Logitech MX Keys S
Slim, quiet, reliable keys with smart backlighting—my default typing surface for long writing sessions.
Check price →Logitech MX Master 3S (Bluetooth Edition)
Comfort sculpted, scroll wheel that flies, and multi-device switching that just works.
See details →Elgato Stream Deck +
Physical knobs + keys for macros, audio levels, and scene switching—editing and live controls at your fingertips.
View on Amazon →BenQ ScreenBar Halo 2 LED Monitor Light
Even illumination without glare, so the cross-hatching (and spreadsheets) stay crisp into the late hours.
Buy now →Anker USB-C Hub (7-in-1)
USB-C lifeline: HDMI, SD, and the ports modern laptops forgot. Toss-in-bag reliable.
Get the hub →🎸 Listen to Our Blues Albums
Three full albums — hit play below or open on YouTube.
Everything above came from a single, well-structured prompt plus a little back-and-forth editing to keep the language in my usual light, conversational style. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
Step 4: (Optional) Feed Transcripts In Automatically
If you want to go beyond gear cards and album embeds and turn full YouTube or podcast transcripts into blog posts, you can bolt on a tiny Python helper. I use a script that reads an .srt subtitle file, turns it into clean JSON, and hands that payload straight to a ChatGPT project as "payload_type": "srt.cues". It tracks the number of cues, total duration, and even saves JSON/CSV artifacts for later. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}
Once the transcript is in that standard format, ChatGPT 5.1 can summarize, restructure, and expand it into a 1,400-word blog post like this one — then drop your Creator Desk block and Blues Albums block right into the middle.
Step 5: Use This Prompt with ChatGPT 5.1 Thinking
Here’s the exact prompt you can paste into ChatGPT 5.1. Swap in your own gear list, links, and album or playlist URLs:
You are an AI blogging assistant for a creator who uses Blogger, YouTube, and Amazon affiliates. Task: 1. Create a reusable HTML block for a blog post that has: - A <section aria-label="Creator Desk Essentials" class="grid gear"> containing one <article class="card"> per product. - Each card must include: * <h3>Product name</h3> * <p>One-sentence friendly description in a light, witty tone. * <a class="cta"> link that uses the provided Amazon URL, with rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" and target="_blank". - A second <section> that features 2–3 embedded YouTube albums or playlists. * Dark background, rounded corners, responsive <iframe> with style="width:100%;aspect-ratio:16/9;border:none;display:block;". 2. Use this voice: - Conversational, clear, and friendly (about 5th-grade reading level). - Short sentences, light humor, and practical details. - Same general feel as a “Deep Dive AI” blog post. 3. Output requirements: - Return ONLY valid HTML, no explanation text. - Do NOT use <html> or <body> tags, just the two main <section> blocks. - Keep everything AdSense-friendly. Here is my gear list with Amazon links: - PRODUCT NAME — short description — AMAZON_URL - (add more lines here…) Here are my album/playlist YouTube URLs with titles: - TITLE — YOUTUBE_EMBED_URL - (add more…) Generate the final HTML.You can add a second call asking ChatGPT to “wrap this inside a 1,400-word blog post that explains the workflow step-by-step,” which is essentially how this article was born. That’s the same pattern I use when I turn transcripts into finished stories: AI helps structure and draft, I bring the taste, tone, and final passes. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}
Step 6: Make It Your Own
This is the fun part. Once you have your first block working, you can:
- Create a “Travel Rig Essentials” version for your mobile setup.
- Swap blues albums for podcast playlists, beat tapes, or lo-fi focus mixes.
- Build variations for different series on your blog so they all share the same visual backbone.
The goal isn’t to become a full-time developer. It’s to let AI handle the fussy HTML while you stay focused on what only you can bring: the stories, the taste, and the voice your readers come back for.
Try It Yourself (and Come Hang Out)
If you use this prompt to build your own creator desk block, you’ve just taken one of those tiny, low-stress “evolution upgrades” that make your creative life easier week after week. Save the snippet, reuse it, and tweak it as you go.
When you’re ready for a break, you can:
- Watch more Deep Dive AI content on YouTube.
- Listen to the Deep Dive AI Podcast on Spotify while your new HTML does its job in the background.
Then come back to ChatGPT 5.1, paste in your next idea, and let your desk — and your blog — keep leveling up, one smart block at a time.
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Thanks for supporting the gear, the music, and the experiments.
Comments
Post a Comment