# Email marketing Human Guide

## What This Is For
Build and run a full email marketing channel — list building, deliverability, segmentation, newsletter strategy, campaign types, A/B testing, and email design. It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for email marketing: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return.

Use this as a human-readable version of the Email marketing agent skill. It is meant for marketers, operators, founders, and other non-coders who want the workflow without reading agent-specific implementation instructions.

## When To Use This
- Use this when you need a repeatable process for email marketing.
- Use this when the task needs judgment, examples, constraints, or a clear output format rather than a one-off prompt.
- Use this when you want to hand an AI assistant enough context to produce a usable marketing artifact.

## When Not To Use This
- Do not use this when you only need a quick factual answer.
- Do not use this when the work depends on private data you cannot share with the assistant.
- Do not use this as a replacement for legal, compliance, financial, or medical review.

## What You Need Before Starting
- The goal or business outcome you want.
- The audience, customer segment, or market context.
- Any source material the assistant should respect, such as notes, briefs, examples, URLs, or brand guidance.
- Constraints such as tone, length, channel, deadline, region, or approval requirements.
- A clear definition of what a good final answer should look like.

## Step-By-Step Workflow
1. State the job clearly: "Use the Email marketing guide to help me with..."
2. Add context: audience, goal, offer, channel, source material, and constraints.
3. Ask the assistant to identify missing inputs before producing the final output.
4. Have the assistant follow the skill-specific guidance below.
5. Review the result against the final checklist and ask for revisions where needed.

## Skill-Specific Guidance
- The brand owns the relationship (no algorithm between you and the subscriber)
- Reach is predictable (you send to X people, X people receive it)
- ROI is highest of any digital channel (avg $36 for every $1 spent)
- Audience is opted in and warm (they chose to hear from you)
- **Business type** — DTC, SaaS, service, content brand, B2B?
- **Current list size and platform** — Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Kit, Beehiiv, Substack?
- **Current email types** — what emails are being sent now?
- **Open rate and click rate** — current benchmarks?
- **Primary goal** — list growth, revenue, engagement, or deliverability fix?
- **Audience** — who are the subscribers? What do they care about?
- Pop-up (trigger at 60% scroll or 30-second delay — not immediately)
- Dedicated landing page (for paid traffic)

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: Before You Start, Email Is the Most Valuable Owned Channel, Information to Gather, Output: Email Marketing Strategy, 01 — LIST BUILDING STRATEGY, 02 — PLATFORM SELECTION, 03 — EMAIL TYPES AND CALENDAR, 04 — EMAIL DESIGN SYSTEM, 05 — SEGMENTATION STRATEGY, 06 — DELIVERABILITY.

Use these questions to steer the work:
- What is the intended audience or buyer?
- What source material must be preserved?
- What should the assistant optimize for: clarity, persuasion, accuracy, speed, creativity, or conversion?
- What examples represent the desired quality bar?
- What should the assistant avoid?

## Common Mistakes
- Check if `.agents/brand-context.md` exists. Read it. Email marketing must reflect the brand's voice and serve the defined audience. The tone, frequency, and content all flow from brand positioning.
- Never buy or import lists — it destroys deliverability
- **Image-to-text ratio**: Don't go all images — spam filters penalize it
- | Non-buyers | On list but never bought | Conversion focus, social proof, offer |
- Use a list verification tool (ZeroBounce, NeverBounce) before major campaigns

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Email marketing human guide.

My goal:
[Describe the business outcome]

Audience:
[Describe who this is for]

Context and source material:
[Paste notes, examples, links, or existing copy]

Constraints:
[Tone, length, channel, timeline, must-include items, must-avoid items]

Before producing the final output, ask me for any missing information that would materially improve the result.
```

## Final Checklist
- [ ] The output matches the original goal.
- [ ] The audience and context are reflected in the answer.
- [ ] Important constraints and source material were preserved.
- [ ] The assistant made the relevant decisions explicit.
- [ ] The final artifact is ready to use, review, or hand to the next person.

## Source
This guide was generated from the arnabbagxd/brand-building-skills skill entry for `email-marketing`.

## Source Skill Notes
These notes preserve the nuance from the original skill. Use them as supporting reference when the workflow above feels too generic.

# Email Marketing

You are an email marketing strategist. Your job is to build a high-performing email channel — growing the list, earning high open rates, and driving consistent revenue from a brand's most valuable owned asset.

## Before You Start

Check if `.agents/brand-context.md` exists. Read it. Email marketing must reflect the brand's voice and serve the defined audience. The tone, frequency, and content all flow from brand positioning.

---

## Email Is the Most Valuable Owned Channel

Email is the only channel where:
- The brand owns the relationship (no algorithm between you and the subscriber)
- Reach is predictable (you send to X people, X people receive it)
- ROI is highest of any digital channel (avg $36 for every $1 spent)
- Audience is opted in and warm (they chose to hear from you)

The goal of email marketing: build a list of engaged subscribers and convert that engagement into revenue, loyalty, and brand advocacy over time.

---

## Information to Gather

1. **Business type** — DTC, SaaS, service, content brand, B2B?
2. **Current list size and platform** — Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Kit, Beehiiv, Substack?
3. **Current email types** — what emails are being sent now?
4. **Open rate and click rate** — current benchmarks?
5. **Primary goal** — list growth, revenue, engagement, or deliverability fix?
6. **Audience** — who are the subscribers? What do they care about?

---

## Output: Email Marketing Strategy

---

### 01 — LIST BUILDING STRATEGY

A list is only as valuable as its quality. Build with intent.

**Lead magnet strategy** (primary list builder):
Offer something specific and immediately useful in exchange for an email address.

| Lead magnet type | Best for | Examples |
|-----------------|----------|---------|
| Discount/offer | E-commerce | "10% off your first order" |
| Free guide/PDF | B2B, content brands | "The [topic] Playbook" |
| Quiz/assessment | Any | "Find your perfect [product]" |
| Free tool/template | SaaS, B2B | "Free [specific] calculator" |
| Waitlist | Pre-launch | "Get early access" |
| Newsletter value prop | Content brands | "Join 50K+ readers" |

**Opt-in placement:**
- Pop-up (trigger at 60% scroll or 30-second delay — not immediately)
- Website header bar
- Dedicated landing page (for paid traffic)
- Checkout opt-in ("Save your details + get updates")
- Blog post CTAs (inline + end-of-post)
- Social media bio link and profile

**List hygiene from day one:**
- Double opt-in (confirmation email) improves deliverability and quality
- Remove hard bounces immediately
- Suppress unsubscribes permanently
- Never buy or import lists — it destroys deliverability

---

### 02 — PLATFORM SELECTION

| Platform | Best for | Price range |
|----------|----------|-------------|
| Klaviyo | E-commerce, DTC — best in class for flows | $45–$700+/month |
| Kit (formerly ConvertKit) | Creators, newsletters, content brands | $29–$119+/month |
| Mailchimp | Small businesses, simplicity | Free–$350+/month |
| Beehiiv | Newsletter-first brands, monetization | Free–$99+/month |
| Substack | Public newsletter with built-in discovery | Free (takes 10% of paid subs) |
| HubSpot | B2B, CRM integration | $50–$800+/month |
| Brevo (Sendinblue) | Budget option, transactional focus | Free–$65+/month |