Derek Francis.
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Playbook

Email Marketing

Email or lifecycle automation.

This is an alternate version. The recommended version is Emails.

Use it in three steps

  1. 1

    Copy the prompt

    One click copies a version that works on its own in any chat. It tells the AI to ask about your business first and to cover anything the original setup files would have provided, and it includes 2 reference guides the playbook relies on.

    ↓ Download as a .md file↓ Original files (.zip)

    If your AI app limits pasted text, attach the .md file to your chat. The .zip holds the original files for Claude Code and other agent tools. How to use the lab

  2. 2

    Paste it into your AI

    Open a new chat, paste, and send.

    Open ChatGPT ↗Open Claude ↗Open Gemini ↗
  3. 3

    Answer its questions

    The AI will ask about your product, audience, and goal. Answer in a few plain sentences, then ask for the deliverable you need. Specific answers produce specific work.

Read the full playbook

Email Marketing (Global)

Email is the only owned channel — algorithm-proof, free to re-reach. But legal differs HUGELY by region: US allows opt-out, EU mandates opt-in, SEA/LATAM mostly require opt-in. Pick the right variant — getting this wrong means regulatory penalties in every region (verify current amounts on the primary sources).

Operating rules: skills/en/references/operating-rules-global.md (esp. rules 2, 3, 7).

For newbies

Who is this skill for?

Audience Concrete example
Founder / DTC brand running newsletter Shopify store, SaaS company, B2B service
Agency setting up email automation for client Welcome series, nurture, re-engage
Marketer migrating from one ESP to another Klaviyo to Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign to Brevo
Multi-region brand needing legal-safe email Selling US + EU + LATAM, must comply per region

Who is this NOT for?

  • Vietnam-only email marketing -> Use 14-email-marketing (VN skill) — covers Vietnam's Personal Data Protection Law 91/2025/QH15 and Decree 356/2025/ND-CP (effective 2026-01-01), see the VN legal hub skills/vi/references/phap-ly-marketing-vn.md
  • Transactional-only (order confirms, password reset) -> Use ESP defaults; transactional emails have softer consent rules in most regions
  • SMS / WhatsApp / push -> Different channels with different laws (TCPA US, GDPR EU)

30-second pre-read

This skill produces ONE email marketing strategy file with 4 components: subscriber segmentation, sequence templates (welcome / nurture / re-engage / promo), automation flow, and KPI tracking. Pick 1 of 4 region variants — the variant tunes the LEGAL framework (consent model, unsubscribe rules, data retention, cross-border transfer). Every email automation built without this risks legal exposure.

3 common errors

  1. Reusing US opt-out logic in EU -> GDPR violation; regulatory fines (verify current amounts on EUR-Lex)
  2. Skipping double opt-in for EU/Brazil/SEA -> Cannot prove consent if challenged; subscribers can demand deletion
  3. Missing physical address in footer -> CAN-SPAM violation in the US; per-email penalties (verify current amount on ftc.gov)

Why do you need this skill?

Email is often a high-ROI channel (vendor-reported ROI figures vary widely; [REAL DATA NEEDED] — use your own account history), but legal compliance is non-negotiable. Without the right region variant:

  • US brand using EU opt-in flow -> may lose subscribers unnecessarily to extra friction
  • EU brand using US opt-out flow -> direct GDPR violation
  • LATAM brand ignoring LGPD -> LGPD fines can be large; check ANPD
  • SEA brand mixing rules -> PDPA Singapore + per-country differences

Pick the right variant once -> all downstream emails compliant by default.

Workflow

Step 0: Check global context file
    |-- exists -> read product / region / customer info
    |-- missing -> suggest user run product-marketing-context-global first
Step 1: Pick region variant (US / EU / SEA / LATAM)
Step 2: Choose ESP based on region (Klaviyo / Mailchimp / ActiveCampaign / Brevo)
Step 3: Set up legal foundation (consent flow, footer, unsubscribe, DPA)
Step 4: Design segmentation (behavioral + lifecycle)
Step 5: Build sequences (welcome / nurture / re-engage / promo)
Step 6: Configure automation flow
Step 7: Set up tracking + A/B test plan

Step 0: Check global context file

Check whether .agents/product-marketing-context-global.md exists:

  • Yes -> Read product, customer, region, language, regulation context. Do NOT re-ask.
  • No -> Suggest running product-marketing-context-global first. If user wants to continue, ask 2-3 minimum questions about product + region.

Step 1: Pick region variant

Ask the user one question: "Which is your PRIMARY region: US, EU, SEA, or LATAM?"

Decision tree (LEGAL FRAMING)

Where do MOST of your subscribers live?
    |-- US / Canada
    |       --> 01-us.md    (CAN-SPAM Act 2003, opt-out OK, CCPA/state laws)
    |-- EU / EEA / UK
    |       --> 02-eu.md    (GDPR + ePrivacy, opt-in MANDATORY)
    |-- Southeast Asia (SG, MY, ID, TH, PH)
    |       --> 03-sea.md   (PDPA Singapore + per-country, mostly opt-in)
    |-- Latin America (BR, MX, AR, CO, CL)
    |       --> 04-latam.md (LGPD Brazil + LFPDPPP Mexico, opt-in mandatory)
    |-- Vietnam only
    |       --> Use `14-email-marketing` (VN skill) — Law 91/2025/QH15 + Decree 356/2025/ND-CP
    |-- Multi-region
            --> Default to STRICTEST applicable region (usually EU GDPR)

Why "default to strictest" matters

If you sell in US + EU + LATAM, you can either:

  1. Run separate sequences per region (best — but operationally heavy)
  2. Apply EU GDPR rules globally (safe — but you may lose some US subscribers to double opt-in friction; measure it on your own list)

For most early-stage brands, option 2 is the safer default. Document the decision in your DPA.

Step 2: Choose ESP (Email Service Provider)

ESP Strength Region fit Legal features
Klaviyo E-commerce / DTC US (default), EU (with EU data center) GDPR-ready, opt-in flows, suppression lists
Mailchimp General-purpose, easy UI US (HQ), EU (Intuit-owned, GDPR DPA available) Built-in GDPR forms, double opt-in toggle
ActiveCampaign CRM + automation US default, global Behavioral + GDPR consent tracking
Brevo (Sendinblue) EU-native, transactional EU (data residency in FR/DE), Global GDPR by default, EU servers
Customer.io API-first, developer-friendly Global GDPR + CCPA + LGPD ready
HubSpot Marketing Hub All-in-one CRM US default, EU (with EU hosting) GDPR consent + cookie management

ESP picker per region

  • US (DTC/e-commerce): Klaviyo (default) or Mailchimp
  • US (B2B SaaS): ActiveCampaign or HubSpot
  • EU: Brevo (EU servers), Klaviyo EU, Mailchimp + EU DPA
  • SEA: Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign (no native local ESP dominant)
  • LATAM: Brevo (BR datacenter via partner), ActiveCampaign, RD Station (BR-native)

Step 3: Legal foundation (varies by variant)

This is the CRITICAL step. Read the variant file carefully — it spells out the consent model, footer requirements, unsubscribe rules, and data retention specific to your region.

Universal requirements (all regions)

  • Working unsubscribe link in every email
  • Sender identification (brand name, physical address)
  • Subject line accurately describes content (no deceptive headers)
  • Honor unsubscribe within reasonable time (10 days US, 24h EU/SEA/LATAM)

Region-specific requirements (see variants)

  • US: Physical postal address, opt-out within 10 days
  • EU: Explicit opt-in (timestamp + IP logged), DPO if processing large data, DPA with ESP, right to erasure
  • SEA: Per-country (Singapore PDPA strictest), opt-in for marketing
  • LATAM: Brazil LGPD requires opt-in + DPO; Mexico LFPDPPP requires privacy notice

Step 4-7: Segmentation, sequences, automation, tracking

These are largely region-agnostic in CONTENT, but legal-bound in EXECUTION. The variant file documents:

  • What data fields you can/cannot collect (e.g., EU requires "minimum necessary")
  • Retention period (e.g., LGPD Brazil = 5 years max default)
  • Cross-border transfer rules (e.g., EU -> US requires SCCs or DPF)

For sequence templates and KPI structure, the patterns are the same as the VN skill (welcome 3-email, nurture 5-email, re-engage 3-email) but with region-tuned subject lines, send times, and footer.

How other skills use this file

When 00-marketing-plan-global includes email as a channel, it references this skill for the operational layer. When 18-referral-program-global builds a referral flow with email triggers, it inherits the consent model from this skill.

Quality checklist

  • Region variant chosen (US / EU / SEA / LATAM)
  • ESP selected with region-appropriate data residency
  • Consent model documented (opt-in vs opt-out)
  • Footer compliant (physical address + unsubscribe)
  • DPA signed with ESP if processing EU/UK/Brazil data
  • Sequences tested in dev environment before launch
  • Suppression list / hard-bounce auto-removal active
  • A/B test plan documented (one variable at a time)

Related skills

  • product-marketing-context-global — foundation context (run first)
  • 11-channel-setup-global — channel infrastructure (when available)
  • 18-referral-program-global — referral via email
  • references/global-legal-compliance — deep legal reference

Global Skill 14 (Email Marketing) | Over Powers Agency | v1.0.0

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