# Newsletter copy Human Guide

## What This Is For
Generate newsletter sponsorship copy with 2-3 ready-to-paste variants, tracking URLs via link-creator, and placement-spec compliance. 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 copy 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 copy.
- 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 copy 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
- An ICP campaign produces angle cards
- `/newsletter-copy` pulls the subgroup-relevant card and writes 2-3 newsletter-length variants
- `/link-creator` provides the Dub tracking URL for each variant
- `/copy-editing` polishes before send to partner
- Paid ad copy → generated within the ICP campaign
- General copy review → `/copy-editing`
- **Gather inputs**: newsletter name, placement date(s), placement type, campaign goal
- **Pull partner performance from Dub** (see Phase 0.5 below), required when the partner has ≥1 shipped placement. Drives angle selection.
- **Load messaging**: pull ICP messaging from your product context
- **Check specs**: verify character limits and placement constraints
- **Generate variants**: write 2-3 copy variants per placement, leaning into proven winners and avoiding recently-shipped angles
- **Create a unique Dub link per placement** (see Tracking Standards below), one short link per date, tagged with the partner, in the Sponsorships folder

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: Pre-flight reminders, Integration with an upstream ICP campaign, When NOT to use, Process, File Organization, Rules, Required Inputs, Placement Specs, Phase 0: Silent Context Load, Phase 0.5: Performance Pre-Flight (REQUIRED).

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
- **Pull partner performance from Dub** (see Phase 0.5 below), required when the partner has ≥1 shipped placement. Drives angle selection.
- **Generate variants**: write 2-3 copy variants per placement, leaning into proven winners and avoiding recently-shipped angles
- **Never merge multiple send dates into one file.** If you're drafting two placements on the same day, write two separate files so each has its own Dub link, compliance check, and sign-off trail.
- **`_archive/`** inside a partner folder = superseded drafts, deprecated messaging. Keep for reference, never ship from here.
- | Field | Required | Description |
- Phase 0.5: Performance Pre-Flight (REQUIRED)
- **Anomalies** (a placement with near-zero clicks usually means it didn't ship, not that the angle failed, flag, don't penalize).
- **Recently-shipped angles** (last 30 days). Avoid these to prevent fatigue on overlapping subscriber bases.

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Newsletter copy 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 Marketing Engineering Podcast skill entry for `wispr-flow-newsletter-copy`.

## 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 Copy Generator

Generate newsletter sponsorship copy briefs with ready-to-paste variants optimized for conversion. This skill produces complete copy briefs including multiple variants, tracking URLs, and placement specs.

> Adapt the paths, domains, and IDs below to your own setup. This is the anchor of a sponsorship waterfall: it ingests a deal, researches the audience and prior performance, writes copy on proven best practices, then hands off to link-creator for tracked links and to copy-editing / writing for the final voice pass.

## Pre-flight reminders

Before generating copy, check the per-user state file for `reminders` whose `surface_when` matches today AND whose `surface_trigger` includes `newsletter-copy invocation`. If one matches, surface it at the top of the output and list the pending placements whose submit-by dates are within 7 days.

## Integration with an upstream ICP campaign

When a newsletter placement targets an ICP that already has a campaign package, read the campaign's `messaging/approved-angles.md` before writing. The newsletter copy becomes a short-form render of the anchor angle for the most relevant subgroup.

Handoff flow:

- An ICP campaign produces angle cards
- `/newsletter-copy` pulls the subgroup-relevant card and writes 2-3 newsletter-length variants
- `/link-creator` provides the Dub tracking URL for each variant
- `/copy-editing` polishes before send to partner
- `/writing` final voice pass

## When NOT to use

- Paid ad copy → generated within the ICP campaign
- General copy review → `/copy-editing`

## Process

1. **Gather inputs**: newsletter name, placement date(s), placement type, campaign goal
2. **Pull partner performance from Dub** (see Phase 0.5 below), required when the partner has ≥1 shipped placement. Drives angle selection.
3. **Load messaging**: pull ICP messaging from your product context
4. **Check specs**: verify character limits and placement constraints
5. **Generate variants**: write 2-3 copy variants per placement, leaning into proven winners and avoiding recently-shipped angles
6. **Create a unique Dub link per placement** (see Tracking Standards below), one short link per date, tagged with the partner, in the Sponsorships folder
7. **Deliver brief**: complete brief using assets/copy-brief-template.md, with the performance-analysis table at the top so rationale is transparent
8. **Save the brief** to `sponsorships/copy/{partner-slug}/YYYY-MM-DD-{publication}-{placement}.md` (one file per send date, see File Organization below)

## File Organization

Every sponsorship brief lives under `sponsorships/copy/`.

### Rules

- **One folder per partner.** Folder name is the lowercase-hyphenated partner slug.
- **One file per placement.** File name is `YYYY-MM-DD-{publication}-{placement}.md`.
  - `YYYY-MM-DD` = send date
  - `{publication}` = specific show/newsletter (for example, `flagship`, `ai`, `tech`, `dev`, `founders`, `pm`)
  - `{placement}` = ad unit (for example, `primary`, `secondary`, `quicklinks`, `takeover`, `midroll`)
- **Never merge multiple send dates into one file.** If you're drafting two placements on the same day, write two separate files so each has its own Dub link, compliance check, and sign-off trail.
- **`_library/`** inside a partner folder = multi-placement planning docs (quarterly plans, master briefs). Overviews, not the final copy that ships.
- **`_archive/`** inside a partner folder = superseded drafts, deprecated messaging. Keep for reference, never ship from here.
- **New partner?** Create the folder using the partner slug and note any quirks in a partner-specific README (for example, a partner with multiple publications under one brand).

## Required Inputs

| Field | Required | Description |
|-------|----------|-------------|
| Newsletter Name | Yes | The specific newsletter and publication |
| Placement Type | Yes | Primary, Secondary, Subject Line |
| Campaign Goal | Optional | Awareness, Trial Signups, Upgrades |
| ICP | Optional | Will infer from newsletter audience |

## Placement Specs

| Placement | Char Limit | Purpose |
|-----------|------------|---------|
| Subject Line | ≤45 chars | Inbox hook (rarely available) |
| Preheader | 50-90 chars | Preview text |
| Primary | 150-250 words | Main ad unit (most common) |
| Secondary | 100-125 words | Shorter placement |

## Phase 0: Silent Context Load

Before generating any copy, silently read your shared product context. Extract:
- `company.icps`, use for audience matching per newsletter
- `company.messaging.value_props`, use as proof points and angle sources
- `company.messaging.differentiators`, use when claims need backing

If these fields are still unpopulated, proceed and infer the ICP from the newsletter audience. Flag at the end.