email-plan

Email Plan -- Email Marketing Strategy Generator

Overview

This sub-skill generates a complete email marketing strategy tailored to your business type, including:

• Email platform recommendations
• Domain authentication checklist
• List building strategy
• Segmentation plan
• Automation sequence priorities
• Content calendar template
• KPI targets and benchmarks
• 90-day implementation roadmap

Usage

Invoked by /email plan from the main email skill.

Workflow

1. Detect Business Type

First, check if email-profile.md exists and contains business type. If not, analyze context signals:

Business Type Detection:

• Local Business: Physical location, appointments, service area, reviews, foot traffic
• SaaS: Software product, trials, subscriptions, feature usage, onboarding
• E-commerce: Product catalog, shopping cart, inventory, shipping, order fulfillment
• Creator/Newsletter: Content creation, audience building, paid subscriptions, courses
• Agency: Client services, proposals, case studies, retainers, project-based

If unclear, ask: "What type of business is this strategy for? (local-business, saas, ecommerce, creator, agency)"

2. Load Industry Template

Based on business type, load the appropriate template from:

• assets/local-business.md
• assets/saas.md
• assets/ecommerce.md
• assets/creator.md
• assets/agency.md
• assets/generic.md (fallback)

3. Generate Strategy

Create a comprehensive strategy document with these sections:

Strategy Sections

Executive Summary

2-3 sentence overview of the strategy, highlighting:

• Business type and primary email marketing goal
• Key strategic focus areas
• Expected timeline to see results

1. Email Program Foundation

Platform Recommendation:

Based on business size, budget, and needs:

| Business Size | Recommended Platform | Monthly Cost | Best For | |---------------|---------------------|--------------|----------| | Solo/startup (<1K subscribers) | Kit.com or MailerLite | $0-29 | Creators, solopreneurs | | Small (1-5 staff, 1K-10K) | Mailchimp or MailerLite | $13-45 | Local businesses, agencies | | Medium (5-50 staff, 10K-50K) | ActiveCampaign or Klaviyo | $49-150 | SaaS, ecommerce | | Large (50+ staff, 50K+) | HubSpot or Salesforce | $800+ | Enterprise SaaS, large ecommerce |

Industry-Specific Platforms:

• E-commerce: Klaviyo (product recommendations, revenue attribution)
• SaaS: Customer.io or Intercom (behavioral triggers, in-app messaging)
• Creators: Kit.com/ConvertKit or Beehiiv (monetization tools, referral programs)
• Agencies: HubSpot (CRM integration, sales pipeline)

Domain Authentication Checklist:

Before sending any emails, verify these DNS records are configured:

• [ ] SPF Record: Authorizes sending servers
• [ ] DKIM Record: Cryptographic email signature
• [ ] DMARC Record: Enforcement policy for SPF/DKIM failures
• [ ] Custom Sending Domain: Use mail.yourdomain.com instead of platform domain
• [ ] Verification: Run /email audit <domain> to confirm setup

List Building Strategy:

3-5 methods specific to business type (from industry template):

Example for local business:

1. QR code on receipts → signup landing page
2. Sign-up prompt at checkout (iPad/tablet)
3. WiFi login portal → email capture
4. Google Business Profile → newsletter CTA
5. In-store signage with incentive (10% off next visit)

Example for SaaS:

1. Free trial signup (automatic list add)
2. Content marketing lead magnets (guides, templates)
3. Webinar registrations
4. Product updates blog → email subscription
5. Referral program

Consent and Compliance:

• US: CAN-SPAM compliant (physical address, unsubscribe link)
• EU/UK: GDPR compliant (explicit opt-in, data processing agreement)
• Canada: CASL compliant (express consent, unsubscribe)
• Australia: Spam Act compliant (consent, identify, unsubscribe)

Load compliance requirements from ../../references/compliance.md based on region.

2. Segmentation Plan

Define 3-5 core segments with:

• Segment Name
• Criteria (behavioral, demographic, engagement)
• Estimated Size (% of list)
• Email Frequency (emails per week/month)
• Content Type (educational, promotional, transactional)

Example Segmentation Table:

| Segment | Criteria | Est. Size | Frequency | Content Type | |---------|----------|-----------|-----------|--------------| | New Customers | First 30 days after signup | 15% | 3/week | Onboarding, educational | | Repeat Customers | 2+ purchases | 25% | 2/week | Loyalty, cross-sell | | VIP | Top 20% by spend | 20% | 2/week | Exclusive offers, early access | | At-risk | 60-90 days no activity | 20% | 1/week | Win-back, incentives | | Lapsed | 90+ days no activity | 20% | 1/month | Re-engagement, surveys |

Load industry-specific segments from template.

3. Automation Sequence Priorities

Rank automation sequences to build, based on business type and impact.

Format:

| Priority | Sequence Name | Trigger | # Emails | Purpose | |----------|---------------|---------|----------|---------| | 1 | Welcome Series | List signup | 3-5 | Introduce brand, set expectations | | 2 | [Industry-specific] | [Trigger] | [Count] | [Goal] | | 3 | [Industry-specific] | [Trigger] | [Count] | [Goal] |

Industry-Specific Priorities:

Local Business:

1. Welcome Series → introduce business, set expectations
2. Review Request → post-visit review ask (timing varies by industry)
3. Appointment Reminder → reduce no-shows
4. Birthday/Loyalty → reward program, special offers
5. Re-engagement → win back lapsed customers

SaaS:

1. Onboarding/Feature Adoption → drive activation, reduce time-to-value
2. Trial-to-Paid → convert trials with education + urgency
3. Feature Announcement → drive usage of new capabilities
4. NPS/Feedback → gather insights, reduce churn risk
5. Churn Prevention → detect at-risk users, intervention

E-commerce:

1. Abandoned Cart → recover lost revenue (3-email series)
2. Welcome + First Purchase → convert new subscribers
3. Post-Purchase → build loyalty, request review
4. Win-Back → re-engage dormant customers
5. Cross-Sell/Upsell → product recommendations

Creator/Newsletter:

1. Welcome → introduce yourself, set content expectations
2. Content Drip → best-of archive, value demonstration
3. Monetization → product/course launch sequence
4. Re-engagement → win back dormant subscribers
5. Referral → incentivize word-of-mouth growth

Agency:

1. Welcome/Credibility → establish expertise, showcase work
2. Case Study Drip → demonstrate results over time
3. Proposal Follow-up → nurture leads post-proposal
4. Client Onboarding → set expectations, gather info
5. Quarterly Business Review → retain clients, upsell

4. Content Calendar

Monthly email cadence template based on industry best practices.

Standard Cadence:

| Frequency | Email Type | Purpose | |-----------|----------|---------| | Weekly | Value Email | Educational, tips, insights (80/20 rule) | | Weekly | Promotional Email | Offers, announcements, product updates | | Monthly | Newsletter Roundup | Month recap, top content, community highlights | | Quarterly | Survey/Feedback | NPS, product feedback, preferences | | Seasonal | Holiday Campaigns | Holiday-specific promotions, greetings |

Industry-Specific Adjustments:

• E-commerce: 3-4 emails/week (higher tolerance for promotional content)
• SaaS: 1-2 emails/week (focus on feature adoption, education)
• Local Business: 1-2 emails/week max (avoid overwhelming small local audience)
• Creator: 1-3 emails/week (consistency is key, content-driven)
• Agency: 1 email/week (thought leadership, case studies)

Content Mix by Business Type:

Load from industry template (e.g., local business: 40% tips, 30% promotions, 20% news, 10% community).

5. KPI Targets

Set realistic benchmarks based on business type and industry averages.

Load benchmarks from