Email Sequence Design

Initial Assessment

Product context: If .agents/product-marketing-context.md exists (or .claude/product-marketing-context.md in older setups), read it first and tailor output to it; only ask for what it doesn't cover.

Establish:

1. Sequence Type — welcome/onboarding, lead nurture, re-engagement, post-purchase, event-based, educational, or sales
2. Audience Context — who they are, what triggered them into this sequence, what they already know/believe, current relationship with you
3. Goals — primary conversion goal, relationship-building goals, segmentation goals, what defines success

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Core Principles

1. One Email, One Job

One primary purpose and one main CTA per email — don't try to do everything.

2. Value Before Ask

Lead with usefulness, build trust through content, earn the right to sell.

3. Relevance Over Volume

Fewer, better emails win. Segment for relevance. Quality > frequency.

4. Clear Path Forward

Every email moves them somewhere. Links should do something useful. Make next steps obvious.

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Email Sequence Strategy

Sequence Length

Welcome 3-7 emails; lead nurture 5-10; onboarding 5-10; re-engagement 3-5 — scaled by sales cycle length, product complexity, and relationship stage.

Timing/Delays

Welcome email immediately; early sequence 1-2 days apart; nurture 2-4 days apart; long-term weekly or bi-weekly. B2B: avoid weekends. B2C: test weekends. Send at local time.

Subject Line Strategy

Clear > clever. Specific > vague. Benefit or curiosity-driven. 40-60 characters ideal. Test emoji (they're polarizing).

Patterns that work:

• Question: "Still struggling with X?"
• How-to: "How to [achieve outcome] in [timeframe]"
• Number: "3 ways to [benefit]"
• Direct: "[First name], your [thing] is ready"
• Story tease: "The mistake I made with [topic]"

Preview Text

Extends the subject line, ~90-140 characters. Don't repeat the subject — complete the thought or add intrigue.

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Sequence Types Overview

Welcome Sequence (Post-Signup)

Length: 5-7 emails over 12-14 days. Goal: Activate, build trust, convert.

1. Welcome + deliver promised value (immediate)
2. Quick win (day 1-2)
3. Story/Why (day 3-4)
4. Social proof (day 5-6)
5. Overcome objection (day 7-8)
6. Core feature highlight (day 9-11)
7. Conversion (day 12-14)

Lead Nurture Sequence (Pre-Sale)

Length: 6-8 emails over 2-3 weeks. Goal: Build trust, demonstrate expertise, convert.

1. Deliver lead magnet + intro (immediate)
2. Expand on topic (day 2-3)
3. Problem deep-dive (day 4-5)
4. Solution framework (day 6-8)
5. Case study (day 9-11)
6. Differentiation (day 12-14)
7. Objection handler (day 15-18)
8. Direct offer (day 19-21)

Re-Engagement Sequence

Length: 3-4 emails over 2 weeks. Trigger: 30-60 days of inactivity. Goal: Win back or clean list.

1. Check-in (genuine concern)
2. Value reminder (what's new)
3. Incentive (special offer)
4. Last chance (stay or unsubscribe)

Onboarding Sequence (Product Users)

Length: 5-7 emails over 14 days. Goal: Activate, drive to aha moment, upgrade. Coordinate with in-app onboarding — email supports, doesn't duplicate.

1. Welcome + first step (immediate)
2. Getting started help (day 1)
3. Feature highlight (day 2-3)
4. Success story (day 4-5)
5. Check-in (day 7)
6. Advanced tip (day 10-12)
7. Upgrade/expand (day 14+)

Detailed templates: references/sequence-templates.md

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Email Types by Category

• Onboarding: new users series, new customers series, key onboarding step reminders, new user invites
• Retention: upgrade to paid, upgrade to higher plan, ask for review, proactive support offers, product usage reports, NPS survey, referral program
• Billing: switch to annual, failed payment recovery, cancellation survey, upcoming renewal reminders
• Usage: daily/weekly/monthly summaries, key event notifications, milestone celebrations
• Win-Back: expired trials, cancelled customers
• Campaign: monthly roundup / newsletter, seasonal promotions, product updates, industry news roundup, pricing updates

Detailed email type reference: references/email-types.md

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Email Copy Guidelines

Structure

1. Hook: first line grabs attention
2. Context: why this matters to them
3. Value: the useful content
4. CTA: what to do next
5. Sign-off: human, warm close

Formatting

Short paragraphs (1-3 sentences), white space between sections, bullets for scanability, bold sparingly, mobile-first (most read on phone).

Tone

Conversational, not formal. First-person (I/we) and second-person (you). Active voice. Read it out loud — does it sound human?

Length

50-125 words transactional; 150-300 educational; 300-500 story-driven.

CTA Guidelines

Buttons for primary actions, links for secondary. One clear primary CTA per email. Button text: action + outcome.

Detailed copy, personalization, and testing guidelines: references/copy-guidelines.md

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Output Format

Sequence Overview

Sequence Name: [Name]
Trigger: [What starts the sequence]
Goal: [Primary conversion goal]
Length: [Number of emails]
Timing: [Delay between emails]
Exit Conditions: [When they leave the sequence]

For Each Email

Email [#]: [Name/Purpose]
Send: [Timing]
Subject: [Subject line]
Preview: [Preview text]
Body: [Full copy]
CTA: [Button text] → [Link destination]
Segment/Conditions: [If applicable]

Metrics Plan

What to measure and benchmarks.

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Task-Specific Questions

1. What triggers entry to this sequence?
2. What's the primary goal/conversion action?
3. What do they already know about you?
4. What other emails are they receiving?
5. What's your current email performance?

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Tool Integrations

For implementation, see the tools registry. Key email tools:

Tool	Best For	MCP	Guide
Customer.io	Behavior-based automation	-	customer-io.md
Mailchimp	SMB email marketing	✓	mailchimp.md
Resend	Developer-friendly transactional	✓	resend.md
SendGrid	Transactional email at scale	-	sendgrid.md
Kit	Creator/newsletter focused	-	kit.md

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Related Skills

• churn-prevention: For cancel flows, save offers, and dunning strategy (email supports this)
• onboarding-cro: For in-app onboarding (email supports this)
• copywriting: For landing pages emails link to
• ab-test-setup: For testing email elements
• popup-cro: For email capture popups
• revops: For lifecycle stages that trigger email sequences