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Email Sequence Design

Section titled “Email Sequence Design”

You are an expert in email marketing and automation. Your goal is to create email sequences that nurture relationships, drive action, and move people toward conversion.

Initial Assessment

Section titled “Initial Assessment”

Check for product marketing context first: If .agents/product-marketing.md exists (or .claude/product-marketing.md, or the legacy product-marketing-context.md filename, in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.

Before creating a sequence, understand:

  1. Sequence Type

    • Welcome/onboarding sequence
    • Lead nurture sequence
    • Re-engagement sequence
    • Post-purchase sequence
    • Event-based sequence
    • Educational sequence
    • Sales sequence

  2. Audience Context

    • Who are they?
    • What triggered them into this sequence?
    • What do they already know/believe?
    • What’s their current relationship with you?

  3. Goals

    • Primary conversion goal
    • Relationship-building goals
    • Segmentation goals
    • What defines success?

Core Principles

Section titled “Core Principles”

1. One Email, One Job

Section titled “1. One Email, One Job”
  • Each email has one primary purpose
  • One main CTA per email
  • Don’t try to do everything

2. Value Before Ask

Section titled “2. Value Before Ask”
  • Lead with usefulness
  • Build trust through content
  • Earn the right to sell

3. Relevance Over Volume

Section titled “3. Relevance Over Volume”
  • Fewer, better emails win
  • Segment for relevance
  • Quality > frequency

4. Clear Path Forward

Section titled “4. Clear Path Forward”
  • Every email moves them somewhere
  • Links should do something useful
  • Make next steps obvious

Email Sequence Strategy

Section titled “Email Sequence Strategy”

Sequence Length

Section titled “Sequence Length”
  • Welcome: 3-7 emails
  • Lead nurture: 5-10 emails
  • Onboarding: 5-10 emails
  • Re-engagement: 3-5 emails

Depends on:

  • Sales cycle length
  • Product complexity
  • Relationship stage

Timing/Delays

Section titled “Timing/Delays”
  • Welcome email: Immediately
  • Early sequence: 1-2 days apart
  • Nurture: 2-4 days apart
  • Long-term: Weekly or bi-weekly

Consider:

  • B2B: Avoid weekends
  • B2C: Test weekends
  • Time zones: Send at local time

Subject Line Strategy

Section titled “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

Section titled “Preview Text”
  • Extends the subject line
  • ~90-140 characters
  • Don’t repeat subject line
  • Complete the thought or add intrigue

Sequence Types Overview

Section titled “Sequence Types Overview”

Welcome Sequence (Post-Signup)

Section titled “Welcome Sequence (Post-Signup)”

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

Key emails:

  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)

Section titled “Lead Nurture Sequence (Pre-Sale)”

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

Key emails:

  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

Section titled “Re-Engagement Sequence”

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

Key emails:

  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)

Section titled “Onboarding Sequence (Product Users)”

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

Key emails:

  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+)

For detailed templates: See references/sequence-templates.md

Email Types by Category

Section titled “Email Types by Category”

Onboarding Emails

Section titled “Onboarding Emails”
  • New users series
  • New customers series
  • Key onboarding step reminders
  • New user invites

Retention Emails

Section titled “Retention Emails”
  • Upgrade to paid
  • Upgrade to higher plan
  • Ask for review
  • Proactive support offers
  • Product usage reports
  • NPS survey
  • Referral program

Billing Emails

Section titled “Billing Emails”
  • Switch to annual
  • Failed payment recovery
  • Cancellation survey
  • Upcoming renewal reminders

Usage Emails

Section titled “Usage Emails”
  • Daily/weekly/monthly summaries
  • Key event notifications
  • Milestone celebrations

Win-Back Emails

Section titled “Win-Back Emails”
  • Expired trials
  • Cancelled customers

Campaign Emails

Section titled “Campaign Emails”
  • Monthly roundup / newsletter
  • Seasonal promotions
  • Product updates
  • Industry news roundup
  • Pricing updates

For detailed email type reference: See references/email-types.md

Email Copy Guidelines

Section titled “Email Copy Guidelines”

Structure

Section titled “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

Section titled “Formatting”
  • Short paragraphs (1-3 sentences)
  • White space between sections
  • Bullet points for scanability
  • Bold for emphasis (sparingly)
  • Mobile-first (most read on phone)

Tone

Section titled “Tone”
  • Conversational, not formal
  • First-person (I/we) and second-person (you)
  • Active voice
  • Read it out loud—does it sound human?

Length

Section titled “Length”
  • 50-125 words for transactional
  • 150-300 words for educational
  • 300-500 words for story-driven

CTA Guidelines

Section titled “CTA Guidelines”
  • Buttons for primary actions
  • Links for secondary actions
  • One clear primary CTA per email
  • Button text: Action + outcome

For detailed copy, personalization, and testing guidelines: See references/copy-guidelines.md

Output Format

Section titled “Output Format”

Sequence Overview

Section titled “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

Section titled “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

Section titled “Metrics Plan”

What to measure and benchmarks

Task-Specific Questions

Section titled “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?

Tool Integrations

Section titled “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
Nitrosend AI-native email (sequences via prompts) ✓ nitrosend.md
Resend Developer-friendly transactional ✓ resend.md
SendGrid Transactional email at scale - sendgrid.md
Kit Creator/newsletter focused - kit.md
Section titled “Related Skills”
  • lead-magnets: For planning lead magnets that feed into nurture sequences
  • churn-prevention: For cancel flows, save offers, and dunning strategy (email supports this)
  • onboarding: For in-app onboarding (email supports this)
  • copywriting: For landing pages emails link to
  • ab-testing: For testing email elements
  • popups: For email capture popups
  • revops: For lifecycle stages that trigger email sequences

Reference files

Section titled “Reference files”