email-sequence

Overview

What the email-sequence skill does

The email-sequence skill turns your agent into an email lifecycle specialist. It’s designed for planning, writing, and improving multi-email flows such as welcome sequences, lead nurture campaigns, re-engagement programs, onboarding series, and post-purchase journeys.

Instead of producing disconnected one-off emails, this skill guides the agent to design an entire sequence that:

• Aligns with a clear lifecycle goal (activation, demo bookings, upgrades, reactivation, etc.)
• Maps emails to specific steps in the customer journey
• Uses a proven copy structure (hook → context → value → CTA → sign-off)
• Follows core principles like one email, one job and value before ask

The result is a coherent email funnel with timing, segmentation, and messaging that work together.

Who this skill is for

Use the email-sequence skill if you:

• Own lifecycle or retention marketing for a product or SaaS
• Run lead-generation funnels and need nurture campaigns after sign-up or downloads
• Manage newsletters but want structured series (welcome, re-engagement, onboarding) around them
• Are a founder or marketer trying to set up your first automated email flows

This skill is not for:

• One-off cold outreach campaigns (use the cold-email skill instead)
• In-app onboarding flows or UX walkthroughs (use onboarding-cro)
• Generic brand strategy work that doesn’t involve email sequences

Problems the email-sequence skill solves

Teams typically struggle with lifecycle email because:

• Emails are written one at a time without a clear end-to-end journey
• There’s confusion about how many emails to send, in what order, and with what cadence
• Copy feels generic and misaligned with user behavior or stage
• There’s no consistent structure for subject lines, body copy, and CTAs

The email-sequence skill addresses these issues by:

• Forcing an initial assessment: sequence type, audience, and goals before writing
• Referencing detailed email types for different lifecycle stages
• Using copy guidelines to keep each email concise, scannable, and mobile-friendly
• Providing sequence templates for common flows like welcome, nurture, and win-back
• Encouraging testing and iteration based on clear metrics

How to Use

Installation and setup

To add the email-sequence skill to your agent project, install it from the marketingskills repository:

npx skills add https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills --skill email-sequence

After installation:

1. Open skills/email-sequence/SKILL.md to understand the core workflow and expectations.
2. Review the references/ folder for reusable frameworks:
   • references/copy-guidelines.md
   • references/email-types.md
   • references/sequence-templates.md
3. (Optional) Check evals/evals.json to see example prompts and what “good” output looks like for this skill.

There is no additional runtime configuration required; the main setup task is making sure your product and audience context are available to the agent.

Required context for good results

For best performance, provide:

• Product context: What your product does, who it serves, key value props
• Audience details: Segment, stage in the funnel, key pains, objections
• Trigger and entry point: What action puts people into this sequence (sign-up, download, purchase, inactivity, etc.)
• Primary goal: What success looks like (activation step, demo booked, upgrade, reactivation)
• Time constraints: Trial length, key dates, or campaign windows

If your repo uses a product marketing context file like .agents/product-marketing-context.md (or .claude/product-marketing-context.md in older setups), keep it up to date. The skill is designed to read that file first and only ask for missing information.

Core workflow: from idea to finished sequence

The email-sequence skill follows a structured workflow outlined in SKILL.md:

1. Initial assessment

   • Identify sequence type (welcome/onboarding, lead nurture, re-engagement, post-purchase, event-based, educational, or sales).
   • Clarify audience context: who they are, what triggered the sequence, what they already know, and how they currently relate to your brand.
   • Define goals: e.g., reach “aha moment” in a trial, get a demo booked, drive a second purchase, or revive inactive users.

2. Sequence architecture

   • Decide how many emails you need and over what timeframe.
   • Map each email to a clear step in the user journey.
   • Choose the right email types using references/email-types.md as a checklist (onboarding, retention, billing, usage, win-back, campaigns).

3. Per-email planning
   For each email, the skill encourages you to specify:

   • Job of the email (single primary objective)
   • Timing/delay after the previous email or trigger
   • Target segment or conditions
   • Key message and objection to handle, if any
   • Primary CTA

4. Writing the copy
   The skill leans heavily on references/copy-guidelines.md to keep emails clear and effective:

   • Structure: hook → context → value → CTA → sign-off
   • Formatting: short paragraphs, whitespace, bullets, mobile-first layout
   • Tone: conversational, human, and aligned with your brand
   • Length ranges based on email type (transactional vs. educational vs. story-driven)
   • CTA design: one primary action per email, with strong, outcome-focused button text when appropriate

5. Optimization and testing
   Using the built-in guidelines, you can:

   • Identify what to test (subject lines, send times, CTAs, angles)
   • Decide which metrics to track (opens, clicks, activation, demo bookings, upgrades, reactivations)
   • Iterate subject lines and copy while preserving the underlying sequence structure

Example use cases

Here are typical prompts and outcomes the email-sequence skill is built to handle, as illustrated in evals/evals.json and the references:

• Welcome / trial activation sequence

  • Scenario: 14-day free trial for a SaaS tool.
  • The skill will design a 5–7 email welcome series that:
    • Aligns each email with a specific milestone (e.g., create first project, invite a team member).
    • Includes timing between emails to match the trial window.
    • Uses a consistent copy structure and subject line approach.

• Lead nurture sequence after a content download

  • Scenario: Users download a report or guide (e.g., “State of DevOps 2024”).
  • The skill will:
    • Deliver the asset and then build a multi-email nurture path.
    • Move readers from education to problem-awareness to solution-fit.
    • End with clear CTAs like “book a demo” or “start a trial.”

• Re-engagement or win-back sequence

  • Scenario: Inactive users, expired trials, or cancelled customers.
  • The skill can:
    • Identify relevant email types from references/email-types.md.
    • Use references/sequence-templates.md to plan timing and narrative.
    • Address common objections and highlight new or underused value.

How to work with the reference files

• references/copy-guidelines.md
  Use this whenever you want to refine tone, structure, or length. It’s especially useful for:

  • Rewriting existing emails to improve clarity and conversion.
  • Making sure your emails are scannable and optimized for mobile.

• references/email-types.md
  Treat this as your lifecycle map. It helps you:

  • Audit which sequences you already have vs. missing.
  • Choose the right combination of onboarding, retention, win-back, and campaign emails for a given goal.

• references/sequence-templates.md
  Start here for fast drafting:

  • Copy the relevant template (welcome, lead nurture, re-engagement, or onboarding) into your working doc.
  • Customize subjects, goals, and CTAs for your product.
  • Use the timing guidance (e.g., immediate, Day 1–2, Day 3–4) as a default cadence.

FAQ

When should I use the email-sequence skill instead of writing a single email?

Use the email-sequence skill whenever you’re dealing with any multi-email automated flow, including:

• Welcome or onboarding series after sign-up
• Lead nurturing after a download, webinar, or event
• Re-engagement or win-back campaigns
• Post-purchase or upsell sequences
• Educational series or product tours by email

If you only need one transactional or announcement email and have no follow-ups planned, the skill may be more structure than you need.

Is email-sequence a good fit for cold outreach?

No. The email-sequence skill is designed around lifecycle and triggered emails where the recipient has an existing relationship with you (e.g., signed up, downloaded, purchased, or used your product).

For cold outbound sequences, use the dedicated cold-email skill, which is optimized for prospecting, list-based outreach, and objection handling in outbound contexts.

How many emails will email-sequence create by default?

The exact number depends on your goal and constraints, but the references suggest:

• Welcome / onboarding: typically 5–7 emails over ~14 days
• Lead nurture: often 4–8 emails over 1–3 weeks
• Re-engagement: shorter, focused series (e.g., 3–5 emails)

The skill will adjust based on the information you give it about trial length, sales cycle, or campaign timing.

What structure will my emails follow?

By default, the skill applies the structure from references/copy-guidelines.md:

• Hook
• Context
• Value
• CTA
• Sign-off

It also encourages:

• One clear primary CTA per email
• Short, scannable paragraphs and bullet points
• Subject lines that support the email’s single job

Does email-sequence handle subject lines and timing?

Yes. The evaluation examples in evals/evals.json expect:

• Subject lines for each email
• Timing or delays between sends (e.g., immediate, Day 1, Day 3)
• Mapping of each email to a stage in the journey (e.g., signup, aha moment, conversion)

When you provide adequate context, the skill will design both the cadence and the message for each email.

What information should I provide in my prompt for best results?

Include:

• Sequence type (welcome, nurture, re-engagement, onboarding, etc.)
• Trigger event (e.g., signed up for 14-day trial, downloaded a report)
• Primary goal and key milestone(s)
• Who the audience is and what they care about
• Any non-negotiable constraints (max number of emails, total timeframe)

If your project already has a .agents/product-marketing-context.md file with this information, the skill is designed to read it first, reducing how much you need to repeat.

Can I use email-sequence to audit existing email flows?

Yes. While the skill is built for creation, the underlying references in references/email-types.md and references/copy-guidelines.md work well for audits. You can:

• Compare your current emails against the recommended types and structures.
• Identify gaps (missing onboarding touchpoints, no win-back series, etc.).
• Rewrite underperforming emails using the hook → context → value → CTA framework.

When is email-sequence not a good fit?

Consider another skill or approach if:

• You only need one simple transactional email (e.g., password reset).
• You’re designing in-app prompts or tours rather than emails (use onboarding-cro).
• Your main focus is social media, blog strategy, or SEO without an email component.

For any situation involving a connected series of emails that should move someone from point A to point B, the email-sequence skill is purpose-built to help.