# Newsletter creator Human Guide

## What This Is For
Structured frameworks for creating compelling internal and external newsletters with consistent quality, effective curation, and audience-appropriate tone. 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 creator 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 creator.
- 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 creator 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
- [Marketing](../marketing/SKILL.md)
- [Document Skills: DOCX](../document-skills/docx/SKILL.md)
- [Email Systems](../email-systems/SKILL.md)
- [Product Management](../product-management/SKILL.md)
- Your own document + simple changes
- Legal, academic, business, or government docs
- `word/document.xml` - Main document contents
- `word/comments.xml` - Comments referenced in document.xml
- `word/media/` - Embedded images and media files
- Tracked changes use `<w:ins>` (insertions) and `<w:del>` (deletions) tags
- Create a JavaScript/TypeScript file using Document, Paragraph, TextRun components (You can assume all dependencies are installed, but if not, refer to the dependencies section below)
- Export as .docx using Packer.toBuffer()

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: Newsletter Structure, Standard Newsletter Sections, Internal vs External Newsletter Differences, Content Curation Methodology, Curation Workflow, Content Scoring Matrix, Tone and Voice Guidelines, Voice Framework by Audience, Annotation Style Guide, Layout and Formatting Best Practices.

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
- Avoid: Corporate jargon, overly formal language, spin
- Avoid: Self-promotion overload, clickbait, assumptions
- Use **"Redlining workflow"** (required)
- This workflow allows you to plan comprehensive tracked changes using markdown before implementing them in OOXML. **CRITICAL**: For complete tracked changes, you must implement ALL changes systematically.
- **DO NOT use markdown line numbers** - they don't map to XML structure
- **IMPORTANT**: When generating code for DOCX operations:
- Avoid verbose variable names and redundant operations
- Avoid unnecessary print statements

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Newsletter creator 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 travisjneuman/.claude skill entry for `newsletter-creator`.

## 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 Creator

Structured frameworks for creating compelling internal and external newsletters with consistent quality, effective curation, and audience-appropriate tone.

## Newsletter Structure

### Standard Newsletter Sections

```
NEWSLETTER LAYOUT:

1. HEADER
   - Newsletter name / brand
   - Edition number and date
   - Tagline or theme for this edition

2. TL;DR / HIGHLIGHTS (above the fold)
   - 3-5 bullet summary of key items
   - Designed for scanners who won't read the full email
   - Each bullet links to the corresponding section

3. FEATURED STORY (1 item)
   - Primary content piece
   - 150-250 words with a clear takeaway
   - Supporting image or graphic
   - CTA: read more, watch, try

4. NEWS & UPDATES (3-5 items)
   - Brief summaries (50-100 words each)
   - Consistent format: headline, summary, link
   - Categorized if applicable

5. CURATED CONTENT (3-5 items)
   - Third-party articles, tools, or resources
   - Brief annotation explaining relevance
   - Source attribution

6. SPOTLIGHT SECTION (1 item, rotating)
   - Team member spotlight, customer story, tool tip
   - Rotates theme each edition
   - Personal and engaging

7. UPCOMING EVENTS / DATES
   - Relevant events, webinars, deadlines
   - Calendar format or simple list

8. FOOTER
   - Unsubscribe / manage preferences
   - Social media links
   - Feedback prompt ("Reply with your thoughts")
   - Archives link
```

### Internal vs External Newsletter Differences

| Element | Internal Newsletter | External Newsletter |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Tone** | Casual, transparent, team-oriented | Professional, value-driven |
| **Content** | Company updates, wins, culture | Industry insights, product updates |
| **Frequency** | Weekly or biweekly | Weekly, biweekly, or monthly |
| **Length** | 500-800 words | 300-600 words |
| **CTA** | Participate, recognize, feedback | Read more, try feature, register |
| **Metrics** | Open rate, survey feedback | Open rate, CTR, conversions |
| **Personalization** | By team or department | By segment or interest |

## Content Curation Methodology

### Curation Workflow

```
WEEKLY CURATION PROCESS:

COLLECT (ongoing throughout week):
- Save articles to curation tool (Pocket, Raindrop, Notion)
- Tag with categories and relevance score
- Note key quotes or takeaways
- Track sources for diversity

EVALUATE (1 day before send):
- Review all saved items