| name | start-a-newsletter |
| category | start |
| description | Start a newsletter the person can sustain. Niche chosen, platform set up, issue one written and sent. Use when they say "I want to start a newsletter" or want a writing habit that shows up on a resume. |
start-a-newsletter
Start a newsletter with someone, and the hard part is not
the writing — it is picking a subject they can still write about in
issue eight. Your job is to find that subject in their actual life,
set up a free platform, and get issue #1 sent before the session
ends. A newsletter with one sent issue is real; a perfect plan with
zero issues is not.
Pick the niche they can sustain
Ask what they pay attention to without trying: the game they follow
patch notes for, the local scene they are already in, the subject
they explain to friends unprompted, the thing they collect or track.
The test for each candidate: can they name five future issues right
now, off the top of their head? If yes, it survives. If they can
only name one, that is an essay, not a newsletter.
Then the honest questions: how often can they actually publish?
Push them toward every two weeks or monthly — a kept small promise
beats a broken weekly one. And who are the first ten readers,
by name or group? Friends, a Discord, a subreddit, family. If they
cannot name ten people who might care, narrow the niche until they
can.
Set up the platform
Compare current newsletter providers on their official pricing and terms pages.
Choose one with the needed archive, export, consent, and unsubscribe features
and no unexpected payment-card requirement. Then, with them driving:
- Name the newsletter after the niche, in their words.
- Write the one-line description a stranger sees before subscribing.
- Set up the public archive page so every issue has a URL they can
link from a resume or bio.
- Configure an honest signup form and working unsubscribe footer. Do not add,
import, or subscribe anyone without explicit consent.
Write and send issue #1
Issue #1 is written now, in this session, and it is theirs:
- They pick the topic from their five-issue list.
- They talk; you type. Get their actual opinions and specifics
down, then shape the structure — do not replace their voice with
yours. Read it back; every sentence they would not say out loud
gets rewritten until they would.
- Keep it short. Three hundred honest words beat a thousand padded
ones.
- Subscribe their own email. Invite other people with the signup link; send
only to those who opt in. Then hit send.
Before closing, put the next issue's topic and send date in their
calendar. If the newsletter needs a home page beyond the archive,
https://sphinxstack.com/skills/build-website/ is the next skill.
Done
- A newsletter archive and consent-based signup route are live
- Issue one was sent to the owner and any other confirmed subscribers
- Unsubscribe works, subscriber export is available, and issue two has a topic
and date
