email-sequences

Files (2)

• SKILL.md
• sequence-templates.md · references/

SKILL.md (first lines)

> **Note:** Examples below use fictional brands (Acme, Lumi, Helm). Replace with your own brand context.

# Email Sequences

You build automated email flows that move people from stranger to customer. Each email earns the right to send the next one by delivering genuine value. No "just checking in" — every email has a job.

## On Activation

1. Read `brand/voice-profile.md` — emails are the most intimate channel, voice matters most here
2. Read `brand/audience.md` — understand awareness level, sophistication, pain points
3. Read `brand/positioning.md` — know the product angle and differentiation
4. If brand files don't exist, ask: What do you sell? Who's receiving these? What action do you want them to take?
5. Check `marketing/emails/` for existing sequences — avoid overlap

---

## Brand Integration

Brand files shape every email in the sequence:

- **voice-profile.md** → Tone across all emails. If voice is friendly/casual, open with 'Hey {{first_name}}!' and use contractions. If professional/formal, use 'Good morning {{first_name}},' and complete sentences. Voice consistency across a 7-email sequence is what builds trust.
- **audience.md** → Pain points drive email hooks. Each email should reference a specific pain from the persona, not generic benefits. If audience is time-starved founders, lead with efficiency. If audience is creative professionals, lead with inspiration.
- **positioning.md** → The unique angle appears in every CTA and subject line. Don't sell features — sell the positioning angle consistently across all emails.

---

## Sequence Types

| Type | Trigger | Goal | Length | Timing |
|------|---------|------|--------|--------|
| **Welcome** | New subscriber | Build trust, set expectations, deliver first value | 5-7 emails | Days 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 14 |
| **Nurture** | Post-welcome or lead magnet | Educate, build authority, warm up for offer | 5-10 emails | Every 2-3 days |
| **Launch** | Product launch or promotion | Create urgency, overcome objections, convert | 6-8 emails | Days -3, -1, 0, 0+6hr, 1, 3, 5, 7 |
| **Onboarding** | New customer/user | Activate, reduce churn, drive first success | 5-7 emails | Days 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, 30 |
| **Re-engagement** | Inactive subscriber | Win back or clean list | 3-4 emails | Days 0, 3, 7, 14 |

**If the user's need doesn't fit a type above**, build a custom sequence: identify the trigger event, define the goal, pick an email count (3-7), and assign each email a single purpose from this palette: DELIVER, STORY, VALUE, PROOF, BRIDGE, PITCH, OBJECTION, CHECK-IN, BREAKUP. Space emails 2-3 days apart by default. The blueprints below are templates, not constraints — mix and match purposes to fit the situation.

---

## Email Anatomy

Every email has these components:

```yaml
---
sequence: welcome
position: 1
subject: "Your subject line here"
preview: "Preview text that complements (not repeats) the subject"
from_name: "First Name from Company"
send_delay: "0 days"  # relative to trigger
segment: all | engaged | inactive
personalization_tokens: ["first_name", "company"]
ab_test: null | { variant_b_subject: "Alternative subject" }
---
```

### Subject Lines

**The subject line gets the open. Nothing else matters if this fails.**

**Formulas that work:**

| Formula | Example | When to Use |
|---------|---------|-------------|
| Direct benefit | "Your 5-step content calendar" | Delivering promised value |
| Curiosity gap | "The email mistake I made for 3 years" | Nurture sequences |
| Personal question | "Quick question about your launch" | Re-engagement, sales |
| How-to | "How to write emails people actually read" | Educational content |
| Number + result | "3 tweaks that doubled our open rate" | Data-driven audiences |
| Story tease | "The worst marketing advice I ever got" | Storytelling brands |

**Rules:**
- 30-50 characters (6-10 words) — shorter is almost always better
- No ALL CAPS, no excessive punctuation, no emoji unless brand uses them
- Preview text adds context, never repeats the subject
- Personalization in subject only if natural ("{{first_name}}, quick question")

### Body Copy

**Structure every email the same way the reader processes it:**

1. **Hook** (first line) — Reason to keep reading. Personal, specific, unexpected.
2. **Context** (2-3 sentences) — Set up the value. Story, observation, or problem statement.
3. **Value** (core content) — The insight, tip, framework, or story. This is why they opened.
4. **Bridge** (1 sentence) — Connect the value to your CTA.
5. **CTA** (1 clear action) — One link, one ask. Button or text link.
6. **PS** (optional) — Second hook, social proof, or alternative CTA. Most-read line after the subject.

**Rules:**
- One CTA per email. One.
- Write at a 5th-grade reading level. Short sentences. Short paragraphs.
- 150-300 words for nurture. 300-500 for launch. Under 150 for re-engagement.
- Plain text outperforms HTML for most B2B. Light formatting for B2C.
- "Reply to this email" is the highest-trust CTA you can use early in a sequence.

---

## Sequence Blueprints

### Welcome Sequence (5-7 emails)

```
Email 1 (Day 0): DELIVER
- Subject: "Here's your [lead magnet / what they signed up for]"
- Body: Deliver the thing. One quick-start tip. Set expectations for what's coming.
- CTA: Download / access the resource

Email 2 (Day 1): STORY
- Subject: "Why I built [product/brand]"
- Body: Origin story. The problem you experienced. Why you care.
- CTA: Reply and tell me about your situation

Email 3 (Day 3): VALUE
- Subject: "The #1 mistake with [topic]"
- Body: Teach something genuinely useful. Quick win they can implement today.
- CTA: Try this technique / read more

From MoizIbnYousaf/marketing-cli, MIT.

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