M1: Your First Project — Claude with Memory

Level: Free Duration: ~15 minutes You need: A free claude.ai account

What you'll accomplish

• Create your first Claude Project — a "folder with memory" where Claude remembers who your client is, their tone, and what rules to follow.
• Write your first custom instructions in XML format: the DNA that Claude loads every time you open that Project.
• Upload 2–3 files to the Knowledge Base (brand guide, old posts, client FAQ) so Claude responds with your material — not guesswork.
• Give the Project its first real task and watch it respond with the right tone from message one, with zero re-explaining.

Before you start

Before touching claude.ai, prep three things. Takes 5 minutes, saves you 30.

1. A claude.ai account (free plan is fine for this module).
2. Pick a real or fictional client to practice with. Example: "Bloom Creative — a sustainable skincare brand based in Toronto, vegan products, audience women 25–40".
3. Gather 2–3 files about that client: brand guide, previous posts, FAQ, or meeting notes.

Formats Claude reads well: PDF, DOCX, TXT, CSV, HTML. On the free plan, each file can be up to 30 MB, and you can have up to 5 Projects open at once.

Why Projects change everything

If you've used Claude or ChatGPT before, you know the feeling: you open a chat, explain the full context. Next day you open a new one and Claude remembers nothing. You burn 20 minutes reloading context before getting a single useful line. Multiply that by 3 clients and 5 days a week: 5 hours a week wasted explaining the same thing over and over.

A Project breaks that cycle. It's a "folder with memory" inside claude.ai with three things inside:

• Custom instructions — the "always do X, never do Y" that Claude loads at the start of every conversation inside the Project.
• Knowledge Base — the files you upload. On paid plans, RAG is active and the context window expands significantly.
• Independent chats — each conversation starts from the same foundation but stays separate.

Step by step

1. Create your first Project

> claude.ai → Left sidebar → Projects → [+ New Project]
> Name: "Bloom Creative — Social Media"
> [Create Project]

2. Custom instructions: the Project's DNA

<role>
You are a senior copywriter specializing in natural skincare and wellness brands.
You work for Bloom Creative, an artisan brand from Toronto with vegan products.
Audience: women 25–40 in North America and Europe.
</role>

<brand_voice>
- Warm but professional: speak directly to "you", never formal or stiff.
- Educational, not salesy.
- Emoji: max 2 per post, never at the start.
</brand_voice>

<constraints>
- Never promise "guaranteed results" or "100% effective".
- Do not mention prices in Instagram captions.
</constraints>

<output_format>
3 numbered variants. Each caption: max 150 words, strong hook on the first line, clear CTA at the end. 5 relevant hashtags at the bottom.
</output_format>

3. Knowledge Base: upload the context

What to upload: brand guide, previous posts, client FAQ, product list.

What NOT to upload: sensitive personal data, passwords, massive irrelevant PDFs.

4. Test the Project with a real task

Open a chat inside the Project and ask for something concrete.

Mini-exercise (10 minutes)

1. Choose a client (real or fictional).
2. Create a Project with a clear name.
3. Write custom instructions using <role>, <brand_voice>, <constraints>, and <output_format>.
4. Upload 2–3 relevant files.
5. Ask for your first real deliverable.

Resources

• Anthropic — What are projects?
• Anthropic — Use XML tags in prompts

Up next

M2 — XML-prompting + Skills. You'll learn how to structure requests like a developer (no code required) and install your first Skill.