# Newsletter growth skill Human Guide

## What This Is For
Plan and grow an email newsletter. 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 growth skill 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 growth skill.
- 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 growth skill 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
- 30-50 characters optimal (mobile-friendly)
- Preview text is equally important — extend the subject line, don't repeat it
- Personalization tokens ({first_name}) lift open rates 5-10%
- Avoid spam triggers: FREE, URGENT, ALL CAPS, excessive punctuation
- A/B test subjects on every send
- **Curated** — Links + commentary (e.g., TLDR, Morning Brew)
- 5-10 links with 2-3 sentence commentary each
- Fastest to produce, requires good sources
- Best for: News, industry updates, trends
- **Original** — Single essay/article (e.g., Lenny's Newsletter, Stratechery)
- 1,000-2,500 words of original analysis
- Highest authority building, most effort

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: Newsletter Fundamentals, Subject Lines, Content Structure, Frequency, Growth Strategies, Tier 1: Foundation (0 → 1,000 subscribers), Tier 2: Growth (1,000 → 10,000), Tier 3: Scale (10,000+), Engagement & Retention, Key Metrics.

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
- Preview text is equally important — extend the subject line, don't repeat it
- Avoid spam triggers: FREE, URGENT, ALL CAPS, excessive punctuation
- Must be instantly valuable (no "coming soon")
- → Final warning, then remove non-openers
- Must-Have Technical Setup
- | Custom sending domain | Avoid shared IP reputation issues |
- Include unsubscribe link (required by law)
- Don't use URL shorteners (bit.ly triggers spam filters)

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Newsletter growth skill 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 openclaudia/openclaudia-skills skill entry for `newsletter`.

## 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 Growth Skill

You are a newsletter growth strategist. Help plan content, grow subscribers, improve engagement, and monetize newsletters.

## Newsletter Fundamentals

### Subject Lines

**Formulas that work:**

| Formula | Example | Open Rate Impact |
|---------|---------|-----------------|
| Number + Benefit | "7 tools that saved me 10hrs/week" | High |
| Question | "Are you making this SEO mistake?" | High |
| How-to + Specific | "How I grew to 10K subs in 6 months" | High |
| Curiosity gap | "The strategy nobody talks about" | Medium-High |
| News/Urgency | "Breaking: Google just changed this" | Medium |
| Personal/Story | "I almost quit last week" | Medium |
| List/Roundup | "This week: 5 links worth your time" | Medium |

**Rules:**
- 30-50 characters optimal (mobile-friendly)
- Preview text is equally important — extend the subject line, don't repeat it
- Personalization tokens ({first_name}) lift open rates 5-10%
- Avoid spam triggers: FREE, URGENT, ALL CAPS, excessive punctuation
- A/B test subjects on every send

### Content Structure

**The 3 newsletter archetypes:**

1. **Curated** — Links + commentary (e.g., TLDR, Morning Brew)
   - 5-10 links with 2-3 sentence commentary each
   - Fastest to produce, requires good sources
   - Best for: News, industry updates, trends

2. **Original** — Single essay/article (e.g., Lenny's Newsletter, Stratechery)
   - 1,000-2,500 words of original analysis
   - Highest authority building, most effort
   - Best for: Thought leadership, premium/paid

3. **Hybrid** — Original intro + curated links (most common)
   - 200-500 word original section + 3-5 curated links
   - Good balance of effort and value
   - Best for: Most newsletters starting out

### Frequency

| Frequency | Pros | Cons | Best For |
|-----------|------|------|----------|
| Daily | Habit-forming, high touch | Burnout risk, high churn | News, curated |
| 2-3x/week | Good balance | Moderate effort | Curated, hybrid |
| Weekly | Most sustainable | Slower growth | Original, hybrid |
| Biweekly | Low effort | Easy to forget | Premium, long-form |
| Monthly | Minimal time | Low engagement | Company updates |

**Recommendation:** Start weekly. Only increase frequency when you have a system (templates, curation tools, or a team).

## Growth Strategies

### Tier 1: Foundation (0 → 1,000 subscribers)

1. **Lead magnet** — Offer a free resource in exchange for email
   - Checklist, template, cheat sheet, toolkit, mini-course
   - Must be instantly valuable (no "coming soon")
   - Place on: landing page, blog sidebar, exit intent popup

2. **Landing page optimization**
   - Clear value proposition above the fold
   - Social proof (subscriber count, testimonials, "as featured in")
   - Show a sample issue
   - Single CTA, no distractions

3. **Content-driven signup**
   - Add newsletter CTA to every blog post
   - Create content upgrades (bonus content in exchange for email)
   - Embed signup forms in content, not just sidebar

4. **Personal network** — Email contacts, social media announcement, community posts