kenneth-liao/plan-newsletter

Plan Newsletter Issue

Overview

This skill takes a topic and produces a complete newsletter issue plan with draft content, subject line options, opening hook options, and social promotion posts. It is a thin orchestrator — every content generation step delegates to a foundation skill. This skill contains workflow sequence and platform-specific decisions only, not implementation logic.

How Reference Delegation Works

Each foundation skill owns its own reference files and loads them automatically. When you invoke creator-stack:write for newsletter content, it loads references/newsletter.md from its own directory. When you invoke creator-stack:title for subject lines, it loads references/newsletter-subject-lines.md from its own directory. You don't need to manage these paths — just invoke the skill and provide context.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• Planning a new newsletter issue from a topic or idea
• Repurposing existing content (video transcript, notes, research) into a newsletter
• Creating a content plan for Substack or another newsletter platform

Prerequisites

A topic or source material is required. This can be:

• A topic idea or keyword
• A video transcript to repurpose
• Existing notes or research
• A URL or document to build from

If research already exists or the user is repurposing existing content, the research step can be skipped.

Planning Workflow

Execute all steps below sequentially.

Step 1: Research the Topic

Invoke creator-stack:research to understand the content landscape and identify the best angle for the newsletter issue.

• Pass the topic, audience context, and any source material to the research skill.
• The research skill analyzes competitors, identifies gaps, and produces actionable insights.

Skip condition: Skip this step if the user provides existing research, or if working from existing content (e.g., repurposing a video transcript). Note the reason for skipping in the plan.

Step 2: Draft the Newsletter Issue

Invoke creator-stack:write with content type "newsletter" to draft the full issue.

• The writing skill loads its own references/newsletter.md for newsletter structure and conventions.
• The writing skill automatically invokes creator-stack:voice for voice consistency.
• Pass the research findings (or source material) and topic context.
• The draft follows the newsletter reference structure including sections, formatting, and CTAs.

Step 3: Generate Subject Line Options

Invoke creator-stack:title with content type "newsletter" to generate 3-5 subject line options.

• Each option includes:
  • Subject line text
  • Preview text (the snippet shown in email clients)
  • Rationale for why it will perform well
  • Star rating (1-3 stars) indicating recommendation strength

Step 4: Generate Opening Hook Options

Invoke creator-stack:hook with content type "newsletter" to generate 2-3 opening paragraph options.

• Each option includes:
  • Full opening paragraph text
  • Hook strategy description
  • Rationale and alignment with the selected subject line
  • Star rating (1-3 stars) indicating recommendation strength

Step 5: Generate Social Promotion Posts

Invoke creator-stack:write separately for each platform:

1. Twitter/X thread — specify content type "twitter"
2. LinkedIn post — specify content type "linkedin"
3. Substack Note — specify content type "substack-note"

Each promotion post should tease the newsletter content and drive subscriptions/reads. The writing skill loads the appropriate platform reference for each invocation.

Step 6: Generate Header Image (Optional)

Invoke creator-stack:social-graphic to generate a newsletter header image.

• Only invoke if the user requests a header image or if the newsletter platform benefits from one.
• If not requested, mark as "Not requested" in the plan.

Step 7: Present Complete Plan

Present the full plan to the user for review. Include all options with star ratings so the user can make informed selections.

Output Structure

Save the plan to ./newsletter/issues/[issue_name]/plan.md. Create the directory if it doesn't exist. Use a slugified version of the topic as the issue name (e.g., ai-coding-assistants).

The plan file follows this structure:

# Newsletter Issue Plan: [Topic]

## Research Summary
[Key findings and angle — or "Based on [source material]" if repurposing]

## Subject Lines
[3-5 options with preview text, rationale, and star ratings]

## Opening Hook Options
[2-3 opening paragraphs with strategy, rationale, and star ratings]

## Draft Issue
[Full newsletter draft following newsletter structure]

## Social Promotion
### Twitter/X Thread
[Thread draft]
### LinkedIn Post
[Post draft]
### Substack Note
[Note draft]

## Header Image
[Generated image or "Not requested"]

Delegation Reference

Each foundation skill owns its own reference files and loads them automatically:

| Content | Skill | Reference (loaded by the skill) | |---------|-------|---------------------------------| | Research | creator-stack:research | Loaded based on topic context | | Newsletter draft | creator-stack:write | newsletter.md | | Subject lines | creator-stack:title | newsletter-subject-lines.md | | Opening hooks | creator-stack:hook | newsletter-hooks.md | | Twitter thread | creator-stack:write | twitter.md | | LinkedIn post | creator-stack:write | linkedin.md | | Substack Note | creator-stack:write | substack-notes.md | | Voice | creator-stack:voice | Invoked automatically by writing skill |

Quality Checklist

Verify completion before presenting the plan:

• [ ] Research conducted (or source material loaded)
• [ ] creator-stack:write invoked for newsletter draft
• [ ] creator-stack:title invoked for subject lines
• [ ] creator-stack:hook invoked for opening hooks
• [ ] creator-stack:write invoked for social promotion posts (all 3 platforms)
• [ ] All written content goes through creator-stack:voice (handled by writing skill)
• [ ] All options presented with star ratings
• [ ] Complete plan presented to user

Common Pitfalls

1. Writing content directly: Drafting newsletter text or social posts without invoking the writing skill — the foundation skill has all the section rules and voice handling built in.
2. Skipping research without reason: If research is skipped, document why (e.g., "Repurposing video transcript provided by user").
3. Single option only: Presenting one subject line or one hook — always provide multiple options with ratings so the user can choose.
4. Missing social promotion: Forgetting one of the three platforms (Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Substack Notes).
5. No voice consistency: The writing skill handles this automatically via creator-stack:voice, but verify the output reads consistently.

Example Execution

Scenario: User asks to plan a newsletter about "Building AI agents with memory"

1. Research: Invoke creator-stack:research with topic "AI agents with memory" to identify content gaps and angles.
2. Draft: Invoke creator-stack:write with research findings to produce the full newsletter draft.
3. Subject lines: Invoke creator-stack:title to generate 4 subject line options with preview text.
4. Opening hooks: Invoke creator-stack:hook to generate 3 opening paragraph options.
5. Social posts: Invoke creator-stack:write three times for Twitter/X thread, LinkedIn post, and Substack Note.
6. Header image: User did not request one — mark "Not requested."
7. Present plan: Save to ./newsletter/issues/ai-agents-with-memory/plan.md and present to user.

Result: Complete newsletter issue plan with multiple options at each decision point, all backed by research insights and generated through specialized foundation skills.