Write Emails

---
name: write-emails
description: Write email — the subject, preheader, first line, body, and P.S., one job and one CTA per email. Loads one reference for the email's kind. TRIGGER when a piece is an email (a single broadcast, a lifecycle sequence, or a launch sequence). DO NOT TRIGGER for a page (the write-page skills), a paid ad (write-ads), an organic feed post (write-social-posts), or the standalone opening line of another piece (write-hooks, write-leads).
---

# Write Emails

One Process: one job per email, one CTA per email — the subject earns the open or the email does not exist, and the body is built to one ask.

Write under the plan's Reader.md, Brief.md, and Proof.md, and the product's Voice.md, which names the WHO speaking (founder, company, or champion); every send speaks in that voice. Never assume an offer mechanism the owner has not approved, and never invent a number, result, or deadline.

A launch or lifecycle sequence is ONE deliverable, not one per send: it has one folder, one Reader.md carrying the awareness arc across the sends, and one draft file per email inside `drafts/`. Hold that arc across the sends — the per-piece Reader rule is per deliverable, so a sequence reads one Reader.md, never one per email.

## 1. Load the reference for this email's kind

Brief.md names the kind; load exactly one:
- One-off send (newsletter, announcement, broadcast) → [references/broadcast.md](references/broadcast.md)
- Lifecycle series triggered by behavior (onboarding, trial-ending, failed payment, win-back, expansion) → [references/sequence.md](references/sequence.md)
- Launch-window series → [references/launch.md](references/launch.md)

## 2. Write the subject and preheader as a pair

The subject is the headline — front-load the ask, one reader, one action (write-headlines craft applies to the line). The preheader is the subject's partner: the preview line beside it in the inbox, the most-read text after the subject. Never echo the subject or leak "view in browser" — the subject opens the loop, the preheader widens it. Roughly 40-90 characters; never leave it blank.

## 3. Write one idea, built to one ask

Open with the reason the email exists, no warm-up. One thought per paragraph, the CTA on its own line, so a reader skimming only the bolded path still knows what to do. Every sentence earns the next; cut the one that does not. The P.S. gets read — spend it on the one thing that matters (restate the ask, name the deadline, or land the core benefit), never a sign-off.

Plain text beats a template — a personal-feel, plain-text email lands better in the inbox and earns more replies. On the early sends, ask for a reply; a reply trains deliverability and opens a conversation.

## 4. Hold the bar

Fifth-grade words, one read. No metaphors, no metaphorical verbs. Be specific — every figure traces to a fact or graded source. Punctuate for consumption. Never narrate the reader — reference the reader only through a first-person carried question, a subordinate time clause of visit-proven behavior, a generic subject, or the approved possessives. Express any plan, figure, or grid a visual carries better as a design requirement, never a prose list.

## 5. Deliver options on the subject

Give 2-3 distinct subject-and-preheader pairs, each labeled with the angle it plays to. Record the picked pair in the piece's `options/` file and carry it into the draft, so the option the owner picks is the one the draft ships.

Verification: one reference is loaded; the email carries one job and one CTA; the preheader extends the subject rather than echoing it; no unpermitted fact appears.