# Cold email kickoff Human Guide ## What This Is For Single "start here" orchestrator for new cold email operators. 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 Cold email kickoff 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 cold email kickoff. - 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 Cold email kickoff 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 - First-time cold email operator on this repo - New client/business being onboarded (fresh `profiles//` directory) - Experienced operator starting a new campaign for a new business - Anyone who asks "where do I start?" - A populated `profiles//client-profile.yaml` (from `/icp-onboarding`) - A `profiles//lead-magnets.md` with the chosen free offer - A `profiles//campaign-strategy.md` with 15-25 campaign ideas - A consolidated `profiles//campaign-plan.md` — a single-page summary you can show stakeholders - An interactive menu pointing at the right next skill based on your infrastructure status - **"Do you already have sending domains + inboxes set up on Smartlead?"** (yes / no / not sure) - **"At least 20 inboxes that have been warming for 2+ weeks?"** (yes / no) - **"Do you have API keys for Smartlead + Prospeo + MillionVerifier in your `.env`?"** (yes / partial / no) ## Decision Points And Nuance The original skill emphasizes: When to use, What this skill produces, Flow, Step 1 (asked FIRST): Infrastructure status, Step 2: Load or create the business profile, Step 3: Ensure lead magnet is chosen, Step 4: Generate campaign strategy, Step 5: Synthesize campaign-plan.md, Business, ICP. 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 - [C] I want to build my list FIRST (warning: risky — without warmed inboxes, you can't send safely) - **Don't re-run `/icp-onboarding` blindly.** If a profile exists, ASK before overwriting. - **Don't auto-invoke `/zapmail-domain-setup-public`.** It spends real money. Always confirm first. - **Don't skip the 2-week warmup warning.** Make it loud if the user picks option [C] of the no-infra menu. - **Or:** go set up `/cold-email-weekly-rhythm` on your calendar now so you don't forget the weekly ops once live. - `/icp-prompt-builder` (required step inside Prospeo skill) → qualify on a 50-sample before scaling - `/icp-prompt-builder` (required) → qualify a 50-sample (filter out chains, single-locations, 3-star places) ## Copy-And-Paste Prompt ```text Use the Cold email kickoff 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 growthenginenowoslawski/coldoutboundskills skill entry for `cold-email-kickoff`. ## Source Skill Notes These notes preserve the nuance from the original skill. Use them as supporting reference when the workflow above feels too generic. # Cold Email Kickoff The single entry point for a fresh user. Replaces "stare at 29 skills and guess which to run first." ## When to use - First-time cold email operator on this repo - New client/business being onboarded (fresh `profiles//` directory) - Experienced operator starting a new campaign for a new business - Anyone who asks "where do I start?" ## What this skill produces - A populated `profiles//client-profile.yaml` (from `/icp-onboarding`) - A `profiles//lead-magnets.md` with the chosen free offer - A `profiles//campaign-strategy.md` with 15-25 campaign ideas - A consolidated `profiles//campaign-plan.md` — a single-page summary you can show stakeholders - An interactive menu pointing at the right next skill based on your infrastructure status ## Flow ### Step 1 (asked FIRST): Infrastructure status Before touching any business context, ask: 1. **"Do you already have sending domains + inboxes set up on Smartlead?"** (yes / no / not sure) 2. **"At least 20 inboxes that have been warming for 2+ weeks?"** (yes / no) 3. **"Do you have API keys for Smartlead + Prospeo + MillionVerifier in your `.env`?"** (yes / partial / no) These answers determine the next-step menu at Step 6. Save them as `infrastructure_status` in the profile. ### Step 2: Load or create the business profile Check for `profiles//client-profile.yaml`: - **Exists** → load it. Ask: "Use this existing profile (answer: `use`) or start fresh (answer: `new`)?" - **Doesn't exist** → invoke `/icp-onboarding`. This scrapes the user's website first, then interviews them. Produces the profile. ### Step 3: Ensure lead magnet is chosen Check the loaded/created profile for a `lead_magnet` field: - **Empty** → invoke `/lead-magnet-brainstorm`. It asks 4 intake questions, scores 10 magnet archetypes, picks a top 2-3, updates the profile. - **Already set** → confirm with the user: "Using `` as your free offer. OK?" — if they want to change it, re-invoke `/lead-magnet-brainstorm`. ### Step 4: Generate campaign strategy Invoke `/campaign-strategy`. It takes the profile + website + any case studies it can scrape and produces 15-25 campaign ideas ranging from broad to niche, with AI personalization + value-prop + campaign-overview per idea. Saved to `profiles//campaign-strategy.md`. ### Step 5: Synthesize campaign-plan.md Pull from all three artifacts above. Write `profiles//campaign-plan.md`: ```markdown # Campaign Plan — Generated: YYYY-MM-DD ## Business Website: ## ICP - Titles: - Industries: - Headcount: X-Y - Geography: - Hard filters: - Excluded industries: ## Offer & Lead Magnet - Primary CTA: - Free hook: - Delivery: ## Top 3 Recommended Campaigns (from /campaign-strategy) 1. **** — 2. **** — 3. **** —