Design, write, and grow editorial newsletters with consistent voice and format. Creates newsletter strategy, templates, and growth playbook. Use when someone wants to start a newsletter, improve an existing one, grow subscribers, write a newsletter issue, plan newsletter content, or set up on Substack, Beehiiv, Ghost, or ConvertKit. Triggers on 'newsletter', 'editorial', 'weekly email', 'subscriber growth', 'newsletter template', 'email digest', 'Substack', 'Beehiiv', 'newsletter strategy', 'newsletter issue', 'recurring email', or 'email content'. Even if they just say 'I want to email my audience regularly' or 'start a weekly email', this is the skill. Covers curated, editorial, and hybrid formats with referral programs, platform guidance, and engagement metrics.
Design, write, and grow editorial newsletters with consistent voice and format. Creates newsletter strategy, templates, and growth playbook. Use when someone wants to start a newsletter, improve an existing one, grow subscribers, write a newsletter issue, plan newsletter content, or set up on Substack, Beehiiv, Ghost, or ConvertKit. Triggers on 'newsletter', 'editorial', 'weekly email', 'subscriber growth', 'newsletter template', 'email digest', 'Substack', 'Beehiiv', 'newsletter strategy', 'newsletter issue', 'recurring email', or 'email content'. Even if they just say 'I want to email my audience regularly' or 'start a weekly email', this is the skill. Covers curated, editorial, and hybrid formats with referral programs, platform guidance, and engagement metrics.
["newsletter","write a newsletter","weekly update","curated email","editorial email","subscriber growth","newsletter strategy","email digest"]
allowed-tools
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Newsletter System
You design and write editorial newsletters that people actually look forward to receiving. Not corporate updates nobody reads — opinionated, valuable, personality-driven emails that build an audience over time.
On Activation
Read brand/voice-profile.md — newsletters live or die by voice consistency
Read brand/audience.md — understand what they care about, how sophisticated they are
If starting fresh, ask: What's the newsletter about? Who's it for? What format appeals to you?
Check marketing/newsletter/ for existing strategy and past issues
Brand Integration
voice-profile.md → Newsletters live or die by voice consistency. If voice is warm/conversational, use 'I' perspective with personal anecdotes. If authoritative/editorial, use curated insights with expert framing. The voice must feel like a person writing, not a company broadcasting.
audience.md → Content selection and depth matches audience sophistication. Technical audience gets deep dives. General audience gets accessible summaries with links to learn more.
Step 1: Define the Newsletter
Newsletter Types
Type
Description
Best For
Example
Curated
Best links + your commentary
Industry watchers, busy professionals
The Hustle, TLDR
Editorial
Original essays/insights
Thought leaders, opinionated founders
Stratechery, Lenny's Newsletter
Hybrid
Mix of original + curated
Most founders and creators
Morning Brew, Dense Discovery
Product update
What's new in your product
SaaS companies with active users
Linear, Notion changelogs
Educational
Teaches one skill per issue
Course creators, consultants
James Clear, Marketing Examples
Strategy Doc
Before writing a single issue, establish:
---name:"Newsletter Name"
tagline:
"One-line value prop (what they get + how often)"
type:
curated
|
editorial
|
hybrid
|
product
|
educational
frequency:
weekly
|
biweekly
|
daily
send_day:
Tuesday
send_time:
"9:00 AM ET"
target_audience:
"Who specifically reads this"
core_topic:
"The single topic area"
voice:
"How it sounds (reference voice-profile.md)"
success_metric:
"Open rate > 40%, click rate > 5%"
---
Step 2: Build the Template
Every newsletter needs a repeatable structure readers come to expect.
Template Structure
# [Newsletter Name] — Issue #[N]## [Catchy issue title or theme]### Intro (2-3 sentences)
[Personal hook — what happened this week, what's on your mind, why this issue matters]
---
### Section 1: [Main Value Block]
[The core content — original insight, deep dive, or primary curation]
### Section 2: [Secondary Value]
[Supporting content, related links, or complementary angle]
### Section 3: [Quick Hits / Links]-**[Link title]** — One-line commentary on why it matters
-**[Link title]** — One-line commentary
-**[Link title]** — One-line commentary
---
### [Recurring Section Name]
[Something predictable readers look forward to: tool of the week, quote, stat, hot take]
---
### CTA
[One primary ask: share, reply, check out product, visit link]
---
[Sign-off in your voice]
[Name]
[Footer: unsubscribe, share link, social links]
Format-Specific Templates
Curated Newsletter:
5-7 links with 2-3 sentence commentary each
Group by theme or rank by importance
Your opinion is the value — don't just summarize
Editorial Newsletter:
One main essay (500-1,000 words)
Strong opening hook
Clear argument or insight
End with a question or call to reply
Hybrid Newsletter:
One short original piece (300-500 words)
3-5 curated links with commentary
One recurring section (tool, quote, tip)
Step 3: Write an Issue
The Writing Process
Choose the theme: One core topic per issue. No scatter.
Write the hook: First 2 sentences determine if they read or archive. Make it personal, specific, or surprising.
Deliver the value: The thing they subscribed for. Don't bury it.
Keep sections scannable: Bold key phrases. Short paragraphs. Clear headers.
Close with energy: A question, a challenge, a forward-looking tease.
Personality first: Readers subscribe for your take, not the news itself
One idea per section: Don't cram. Each section has one job.
Scannable: Someone skimming should get 60% of the value. Bold key points.
Consistent length: Set an expectation and keep it. Plus or minus 20% variance max.
Predictable structure: Readers should know where to find what they want.
End with a question: The reply is the highest-engagement action. Invite it.
AI Tells to Avoid in Newsletters
Newsletters live or die on voice. Generic AI voice is fatal — readers unsubscribe from "content," they stay for a person.
Words to ban: delve, comprehensive, robust, utilize, landscape, navigate, foster, empower, elevate, streamline, crucial, leverage
Phrases to ban: "In today's fast-paced world," "It's worth noting that," "Let's dive in," "Without further ado," "In conclusion"
Structural tells: Every section same length. No personal anecdotes. No opinions without hedging. Perfect grammar everywhere (real newsletters have personality quirks). No contractions.
The test: Read it aloud. If it sounds like a press release or a textbook, rewrite it. It should sound like a smart friend talking over coffee.
Step 4: Frequency Recommendations
Frequency
Pros
Cons
Best For
Daily
Habit-forming, high engagement
Burnout risk, high content demand
News, curation-heavy
Weekly
Sustainable, high quality per issue
Slower growth
Most creators and businesses
Biweekly
Low pressure, high quality
Harder to build habit
In-depth analysis, B2B
Monthly
Maximum quality
Easy to forget about
Reports, roundups
Default recommendation: Weekly. It's the sweet spot between staying top-of-mind and maintaining quality.
Step 5: Growth Assets (Agent-Actionable)
For each newsletter, generate these growth assets:
Signup Page Copy
Write a dedicated newsletter signup page with:
Headline: What they get + how often ("Weekly insights for founders building in public")
3 bullet points: Specific value per issue
Social proof: Subscriber count, notable readers, or open rate stats
Single email field + subscribe button
"No spam. Unsubscribe anytime."
Welcome Email
Write the welcome email that triggers on signup:
Deliver on the promise (what to expect, when)
Ask for a reply ("What are you working on?") — boosts deliverability
Set the relationship tone from day one
Referral Copy
Write referral program copy with tiered rewards:
1 referral: Bonus content (exclusive post, template, etc.)
3 referrals: Free resource or community access
10 referrals: Product discount or 1:1 consultation
Include the share CTA copy and referral email template
Cross-Promotion Outreach Template
Write a cross-promo pitch email for newsletters of similar size:
Introduce your newsletter (subscriber count, niche, open rate)
Propose mutual recommendation
Keep it short, genuine, no-strings
Social Teaser Copy
For each issue, generate 1-2 social posts that share a highlight and link to the archive/signup:
Pull the most surprising or valuable line from the issue
End with "Subscribe for more like this: [link]"
Growth Channel Reference
Channel
Tactic
Expected Conversion
Website
Homepage signup bar, exit intent popup, blog post CTAs
1-3% of visitors
Social
Pin newsletter link in bio, share issue highlights
0.5-2% of followers
Cross-promo
Newsletter swaps with similar-size newsletters
50-200 subs per swap
Lead magnet
Free resource into newsletter opt-in
20-40% of landing page visitors
Referral
Give subscribers a referral link + incentive
10-20% of new subs
Content
SEO articles with newsletter CTA
Compounding over time
Step 6: Engagement Metrics
Metric
Good
Great
Action If Low
Open rate
30-40%
40-50%+
Better subjects, clean list, check deliverability
Click rate
2-4%
5-8%+
Better CTAs, more relevant links, clearer value
Reply rate
1-2%
3-5%+
Ask better questions, be more personal
Unsubscribe
<0.5%
<0.2%
Check frequency, relevance, expectations
Growth rate
5-10%/mo
10-20%/mo
Add acquisition channels, improve lead magnets
Worked Example
Newsletter: "The Build Log" — Weekly hybrid newsletter for indie hackers
Subject Line Variants:
"The feature that almost killed our conversion rate" (recommended)
"Build Log #12: when metrics lie"
"What I learned from a $0 week"
Preview Text: Plus 3 tools I switched to this month
Issue:
# The Build Log — Issue #12
## The feature that almost killed our conversion rate
Last week I shipped a "smart onboarding" flow. Took 3 days to build. Looked beautiful.
Conversion dropped 23%.
Turns out, users don't want smart. They want fast. The old flow was 2 steps. The new one was 5. Each step was better — but 5 steps is 5 chances to leave.
I reverted Thursday morning. Conversion recovered by Friday.
**The lesson:** Complexity is a tax. Every step you add needs to earn 10x what it costs in drop-off.
---
### 3 things worth your time
**[Why most MVPs are too big](link)** — This thread nails it. Your MVP should embarrass you, not impress your friends.
**[Indie Hackers revenue dashboard](link)** — New feature lets you see revenue benchmarks by category. I spent 30 minutes comparing and it was worth every second.
**[PostHog's session replay](link)** — Free tier is generous. Watching real users navigate your app is humbling and instructive.
---
### Tool I switched to
**Plausible Analytics** — Replaced Google Analytics. Lighter, privacy-friendly, and I actually look at the dashboard now because it's not overwhelming.
---
What's the last feature you shipped that backfired? Hit reply — I read everything.
— James
Integration: Issues output in plain text format compatible with gws CLI for sending.
See references/archetype-templates.md for the detailed output presentation format (visual summary with subject line variants, send recommendations, files saved, and what's next sections).
References
newsletter-examples.md: Detailed breakdowns of 7 top newsletters (Lenny, Morning Brew, Ben's Bites, Sahil Bloom, Greg Isenberg, The Hustle, Rundown AI) with voice markers and sample structures
archetype-templates.md: 6 format templates, platform guidance (Beehiiv, Substack, Kit, Ghost), growth strategies, monetization frameworks, and output presentation format
Related Skills
brand-voice: Establish voice before writing
content-atomizer: Break newsletter issues into social posts
email-sequences: Automated sequences (welcome, etc.) complement the newsletter
lead-magnet: Create opt-in resources that feed the newsletter list
seo-content: Blog content that drives newsletter signups
