--- name: rampstackco/email-sequences source: https://app.decimal.ai/s/rampstackco-email-sequences@1/SKILL.md source_sha256: 62ee6f4bf227 --- # Email Sequences Plan and write email campaigns. Sequences (multi-message flows triggered by events) and broadcasts (one-off sends). Stack-agnostic. Works with any email service provider. --- ## When to use - Writing welcome and onboarding email sequences - Planning lifecycle campaigns (activation, retention, win-back) - Writing transactional emails (receipts, password resets, notifications) - Newsletter design and writing - Abandoned-cart or re-engagement flows - Writing a one-off broadcast, launch announcement, or news email - Drafting email subject lines and preview text for any send ## When NOT to use - Landing pages and conversion pages (use `landing-page-copy`) - Long-form articles (use `content-and-copy`) - Brand voice work (use `brand-voice`) - Analytics setup for email (use `analytics-strategy`) --- ## Required inputs - The audience (segment or list) - The trigger or context (signup, purchase, abandonment, time-based, manual) - The goal of the email or sequence - Brand voice - Any technical constraints (provider, deliverability requirements) If the audience is undefined, define it before writing. Generic emails to "everyone" perform worse than targeted ones. --- ## The framework: 6 sequence types Most email programs run a handful of standard sequence patterns. Each has its own goals, structure, and pitfalls. ### 1. Welcome / onboarding Triggered by signup. Goal: get the user to first value. **Typical structure (5 emails over 14 days):** - **Email 1 (immediate):** Welcome. Confirm they're in. State what happens next. Single CTA: the next obvious action. - **Email 2 (day 1 or 2):** First-value step. Help them get to a quick win or core action. - **Email 3 (day 4 or 5):** Education. Show them something they probably haven't discovered yet. - **Email 4 (day 8):** Social proof. Customer story or use case relevant to their segment. - **Email 5 (day 14):** Outcome reminder. Where they could be in 30/60/90 days. Soft commercial cue. **Common failure:** Front-loading product features. Users don't care about features yet; they care about getting to value. ### 2. Lifecycle / activation Time- or behavior-triggered. Goal: move users from signup to engaged user. **Patterns:** - Sent when a user completes a milestone (first project, first invite, first export) - Or sent when a user has NOT completed a milestone after N days - Each email targets a specific next step **Best practice:** Trigger on behavior, not just time. A user who has done 3 onboarding steps doesn't need an email telling them to get started. ### 3. Retention / engagement Ongoing. Goal: keep active users engaged. **Patterns:** - Newsletter (weekly or monthly) - Product updates - Tips and tutorials - Customer-only content (community, behind-the-scenes) **Cadence rule:** Frequency that earns the read, not frequency that fills the calendar. Weekly newsletter that is genuinely useful beats daily newsletter that gets archived. ### 4. Re-engagement / win-back Triggered by inactivity. Goal: pull a lapsed user back. **Typical structure (3 emails):** - **Email 1:** "We miss you" framing or value reminder. What's new since they were last active. - **Email 2:** Specific incentive (discount, feature unlock, content offer). - **Email 3:** "Last call" or list-cleaning email. "We'll stop emailing you unless you click this." **Best practice:** Honor the unsubscribe. Aggressive win-back damages deliverability. A clean list of engaged subscribers beats a large list of inactive ones. ### 5. Transactional Triggered by actions: receipts, password resets, notifications, order confirmations, shipping updates. **Best practices:** - Confirm the action that triggered the email at the top - Include all relevant detail without padding - Use plain language ("Your order shipped" not "Your shipment notification") - One primary CTA (track package, view receipt, view account) - Subject line states the action ("Your receipt for order #12345") **Highest open rates** of any email type. Use sparingly for marketing nudges; over-marketing transactional emails damages trust. ### 6. Broadcast One-off sends. Announcements, launches, news, time-sensitive campaigns. **Best practices:** - Subject line earns the open - Single clear message per send - Specific audience targeting (do not blast the entire list for narrow announcements) - Clear CTA in the first screen-height - Mobile-optimized (most opens are mobile) --- ## The 5 components of every email Regardless of sequence type, every email has the same components. ### 1. Subject line The deciding factor for whether the email gets opened. **Patterns:** - **Specific** ("Your week 1 progress: 3 of 5 steps done") - **Curiosity** ("The mistake most teams make in week 2") - **Direct** ("Your invoice #12345") - **Personal** ("Quick question, [name]") - **Urgency** ("Last day for the team plan discount") - use sparingly **Avoid:** - ALL CAPS - Excessive punctuation (!!!) - Click-bait that doesn't deliver - Generic ("Newsletter #23") **Length:** 30 to 50 characters. Mobile clients truncate longer. ### 2. Preview text (preheader) The line that appears below or beside the subject in most email clients. **Best practice:** - Treat as the subject's wingman - Add what the subject line couldn't fit - Avoid wasting it on "View this email in browser" - 50 to 90 characters ### 3. Opening The first line of the email body. The reader is deciding whether to keep reading. **Strong openings:** - Reference the trigger ("You signed up yesterday for...") - Get to the point ("Here's what changed this week...") - Personal ("Saw your team just hit milestone X. Nice work.") **Weak openings:** - "I hope this email finds you well." - "Welcome to our amazing platform." - Long throat-clearing before the actual content ### 4. Body The substance. **Length guide:** - Welcome and transactional: under 100 words - Lifecycle and activation: 100 to 250 words - Newsletter: 200 to 800 words depending on format - Sales sequences: 250 to 500 words **Structure:** - One core message per email (avoid "while we have you...") - Short paragraphs (2 to 3 lines) - Bullets or lists when content is enumerable - Mobile-first formatting ### 5. CTA The action the email is asking for. **Best practices:** - One primary CTA per email (multiple CTAs split attention) - Button or clearly-styled link, not buried in prose - Action verb + specific outcome ("See your dashboard" not "Click here") - Above the fold AND repeated at the end of longer emails - Plain text link as a fallback for users who block buttons --- ## Workflow ### For a new sequence 1. **Define the trigger.** What event starts this sequence? (Signup, purchase, abandonment, manual.) 2. **Define the goal.** What does success look like at the end of the sequence? 3. **Map the journey.** What does the recipient need to know, do, or feel between trigger and goal? 4. **Outline emails.** One purpose per email. Sequence them across appropriate timing. 5. **Draft email 1.** Subject, preview, opening, body, CTA. 6. **Draft remaining emails.** Each builds on the previous. 7. **Test the sequence.** Send to yourself. Read on mobile. Time the gaps. 8. **Set up triggers.** Configure in the email service provider. 9. **Measure.** Open rate, click rate, completion rate per email. Sequence completion rate. ### For a single broadcast 1. **Define the audience.** Specific segment, not the whole list. 2. **Define the goal.** One thing this email accomplishes. 3. **Draft subject + preview.** Generate 5 to 10 variations. 4. **Draft body.** Single message, clear CTA. 5. **Test on mobile.** Most opens are mobile. 6. **Schedule.** Day and time matched to audience behavior. 7. **Measure.** Open rate, click rate, downstream conversions. --- ## Failure patterns - **Sending to "everyone."** Generic broadcasts to the full list have lower engagement than targeted segments. - **Too many CTAs in one email.** Splits attention. Pick one. - **Subject line clickbait that doesn't deliver.** Crashes the trust the email program is trying to build. - **Sequences that ignore behavior.** Sending day-3 onboarding email to a user who already activated wastes the touch. - **Mobile-broken layouts.** 60 to 70 percent of opens are on mobile. Test there first. - **Long pre-text.** Burying the message under "I hope this email finds you well" wastes the read. - **Aggressive win-back.** Emailing dormant users 5 times damages deliverability and brand trust. - **No measurement.** Without tracking opens, clicks, and downstream conversion, you can't iterate. - **Ignoring deliverability.** Sender reputation, authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), list hygiene. Skip these and emails go to spam regardless of how good the content is. --- ## Output format Default output is a markdown document per email or sequence: ```markdown # Sequence: [Name] **Trigger:** [What starts this sequence] **Goal:** [Outcome at completion] **Audience:** [Specific segment] **Length:** [N emails over X days] ## Email 1 - [Subject working title] **Send:** [Trigger / Day N] **Subject:** [text] **Preview:** [text] [Body] **Primary CTA:** [text] **CTA URL:** [destination] --- ## Email 2 - [Subject working title] [Same structure] --- [etc.] ``` For a single broadcast, just one email block. --- ## Reference files - [`references/subject-line-patterns.md`](references/subject-line-patterns.md) - Subject line patterns with examples for each sequence type. - [`references/sequence-templates.md`](references/sequence-templates.md) - Skeleton templates for the 6 sequence types.