# Newsletter voice Human Guide

## What This Is For
The moment this skill is triggered, check the project root for voice.md and about-me.md. 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 Newsletter voice 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 newsletter voice.
- 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 Newsletter voice 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
- What the first 3 sentences do (specific result, cultural observation, claim, scene, question)
- Length of the opening section before the first structural break
- Credibility move (how the author establishes authority early)
- Value promise (what the reader is told they will get)
- Named framework or free prose
- Numbered steps, methods, or continuous argument
- Examples and evidence patterns
- Specific numbers per issue (count them)
- Source attribution style (linked, named, uncredited)
- Example-to-abstraction ratio
- Limitation or failure acknowledgements
- Header usage (frequency, hierarchy)

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: Prerequisites check, Step 1. Check for samples, Step 2a. Sample-based analysis, Step 2b. Archetype selection, Step 3. Write newsletter-voice.md, Source, Audience and purpose, Voice principles, Opening formula, Section flow.

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
- Then stop. Do not continue until both files exist.
- Closing moves the author never uses
- Topics the author never touches
- [Headers, lists, bold, italic, code blocks, visual markers. What to use, what to avoid. Drawn from samples or archetype defaults.]
- [How issues end. Forward-looking statement versus summary. Signoff phrase if a consistent one exists across samples (do not invent one).]
- What this newsletter never does
- Fill every section from the samples (or tuned archetype defaults). No generic filler. If the samples do not cover something, say "no clear pattern across samples" rather than guessing.
- Do not invent voice signals. Work only from samples or archetype defaults tuned to voice.md.

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Newsletter voice 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 charlie947/social-media-skills skill entry for `newsletter-voice`.

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

# Newsletter Voice

## Prerequisites check

The moment this skill is triggered, check the project root for voice.md and about-me.md.

If either file is missing, tell the user:

> Newsletter voice sits on top of your general voice profile. Run voice-builder first (upload the skill or say "build my voice"), then come back here once about-me.md and voice.md are in the project.

Then stop. Do not continue until both files exist.

If both files exist, read them fully, then go straight to Step 1.

## Step 1. Check for samples

Ask the user in chat:

> Do you have 2 to 3 past newsletter issues I can learn from?
>
> Yes: paste them here (one per message or all at once)
> No: type "archetype" and I will build from a template tuned to your voice

Wait for response.

If the user pastes 2 or more newsletters, go to Step 2a.
If the user types "archetype", go to Step 2b.
If the user pastes 1 newsletter, ask for at least one more. If they only have one, offer: "One sample is not enough for pattern detection. Want me to switch to archetype mode and use your one newsletter as a reference point?"

## Step 2a. Sample-based analysis

Read every newsletter fully. Look for patterns across issues, not one-off quirks. Extract:

**Opening formula**
- What the first 3 sentences do (specific result, cultural observation, claim, scene, question)
- Length of the opening section before the first structural break
- Credibility move (how the author establishes authority early)
- Value promise (what the reader is told they will get)

**Section structure**
- Problem or contrast setup
- Named framework or free prose
- Numbered steps, methods, or continuous argument
- Examples and evidence patterns
- Bonus or extension section
- Closing formula and signoff

**Data philosophy**
- Specific numbers per issue (count them)
- Source attribution style (linked, named, uncredited)
- Example-to-abstraction ratio
- Limitation or failure acknowledgements

**Formatting**
- Header usage (frequency, hierarchy)
- List usage (numbered, bulleted, arrows)
- Bold and italic usage
- Prompt, code block, or blockquote formatting
- Visual markers (arrows, checkmarks, emojis if any)

**Length**
- Word count range across samples
- Section word counts

**Voice markers unique to newsletter format**
- Pro tips or callouts (frequency, format)
- Forward-looking closings
- Signoff phrase if consistent across samples
- Meta-transparency (does the author reflect on the process or ask for feedback)

**Absence signals**
- Words, constructions, or structures absent from every sample
- Closing moves the author never uses
- Topics the author never touches

Then go to Step 3.

## Step 2b. Archetype selection

Call the AskUserQuestion tool with a single question: