# Email newsletter Human Guide

## What This Is For
Drafts and designs a complete HTML email newsletter from a topic or content brief. 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 newsletter 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 newsletter.
- 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 newsletter 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
- Visual character (from question 13, or inferred from tone + format if skipped)
- ONE unmissable element -- identify before Step 3
- Educational / formal tone: Editorial
- Metrics-heavy content (stats, benchmarks, reports): Technical/data-forward
- Product launches, events, campaigns: Bold/campaign
- **Header**: Issue number + date. No copy needed.
- **Hero headline**: 8 words max, outcome-focused, no starting with "I/We/Our"
- **Hero hook**: 1-2 sentences, problem or curiosity gap, pulls reader in
- **Intro**: 2-3 sentences, personal or contextual, not corporate-speak, contractions OK
- **Main content**: 250-400 words, scannable -- use **bold phrases** for key points, short paragraphs (1-3 lines), no walls of text, no bullet overload
- **Stat callout**: One stat or quote, 20 words max, punchy
- **Product CTA**: 2-3 sentences, value-forward, not "Check out our product" -- tell them what changes for them

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: Step 1: Brief Intake, Step 2: Complete Intake, Step 2.5: Design Direction (internal -- not shown to user), Step 3: Structure Design, Step 4: Content Draft, Step 5: HTML Generation, Step 6: Platform Tuning, Step 7: Self-QA, Step 8: Subject Line Presentation, Step 9: Save Files + Present Summary.

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
- Never ask the user for design direction separately -- derive it from their answers.
- Do not use em dashes. Do not use: "powerful", "seamless", "game-changing", "leverage", "innovative", "unlock", "transform", "elevate", "cutting-edge", "robust".
- Required on every `<td>` with a background color:
- The attribute handles Outlook. The style handles everything else. Never use just one.
- Email's table constraints don't limit design ambition. Push within them:
- CTA callout card: `#D8F90A` (the ONLY bright element -- never dilute)
- Check the generated HTML before output. Fix every issue found -- do not skip.
- Save the HTML to a file first -- do not dump it in the chat.

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Email newsletter 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 varnan-tech/opendirectory skill entry for `email-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.

# Email Newsletter

Draft and design a complete HTML email newsletter from a topic or content brief. Output is paste-ready for Loops, Mailchimp, Beehiiv, Resend, or any standard email platform.

---

**Critical rule:** Table-based HTML with inline styles only. No CSS classes, no flexbox, no grid, no `<style>` blocks. Every element gets `style=""` directly. This is not optional -- email clients strip everything else.

---

## Step 1: Brief Intake

Need three things to start. If all three present in the message: skip to Step 2.

If any missing, ask exactly:

> "To get started, I need three things:
> 1. **Topic** -- what is this newsletter about?
> 2. **Audience** -- who is reading? (role, company size, how they know you)
> 3. **Primary CTA** -- what one action do you want readers to take?"

Wait for all three before continuing.

---

## Step 2: Complete Intake

Ask all questions in one message, grouped by category. User can skip any -- defaults apply.

> "A few questions before I draft -- answer what you know, skip the rest:
>
> **Content**
> 1. **Length** -- brief (300 words, punchy) / standard (500-700) / deep dive (800+ words)?
> 2. **Format** -- editorial article / numbered breakdown / personal story / data report?
> 3. **Issue context** -- one-time send / part of weekly series / monthly digest?
> 4. **CTA URL** -- what's the actual link? (or I'll use a placeholder)
>
> **Brand**
> 5. **Company / brand name** -- for header and footer
> 6. **Tagline** -- one-line description (optional, for footer)
> 7. **City & country** -- for footer (e.g. "San Francisco, US")
> 8. **Primary brand color** -- hex? (e.g. #856FE6)
> 9. **Secondary accent** -- keep default yellow-green (#D8F90A) / use brand color / something else?
>
> **Design**
> 10. **Background** -- dark (editorial/SaaS) / light (clean/corporate) / custom hex?
> 11. **Display font** -- editorial serif (Instrument Serif) / clean modern sans / system fonts only?
> 12. **Button style** -- pill (very rounded) / softly rounded / sharp corners?
> 13. **Visual style** -- editorial / technical+data / warm+founder / bold+campaign?
>
> **Platform & Technical**
> 14. **Platform** -- Loops / Mailchimp / Beehiiv / Resend / other?
> 15. **Tone** -- educational / conversational / bold+direct / formal / playful?
> 16. **Personalization** -- none / first name / first name + company?
> 17. **Subject line** -- have one / want 3 options?
> 18. **Secondary sections** -- sponsor block / product callout / event / quick links / none?
> 19. **Plain-text version** -- yes (recommended) / no?"

**Defaults if skipped:**

| Question | Default |
|---|---|
| Length | standard (500-700 words) |
| Format | editorial article |
| Issue context | one-time send |
| CTA URL | `[CTA_URL]` placeholder |
| Company name | `[YOUR BRAND]` placeholder |
| Tagline | none |
| City & country | `[CITY, COUNTRY]` placeholder |
| Brand color | none (use `#D8F90A` for all accents) |
| Secondary accent | `#D8F90A` (yellow-green default) |
| Background | dark |
| Display font | Instrument Serif (editorial serif) |
| Button style | pill |
| Visual style | editorial |
| Platform | generic |
| Tone | conversational |
| Personalization | none |
| Subject line | generate 3 options |
| Secondary sections | none |