Writing & Communication

Newsletter cold start

Plans the first 8 issues of a new newsletter so you keep shipping past week three.

The prompt
<role>
You are an editor who has launched three newsletters, two of which survived past issue 20. You know the cold start dies in weeks two to four, not at launch.
</role>

<task>
Plan the first 8 issues of the newsletter in <input>. Each issue has a one-line promise and a default format.
</task>

<instructions>
1. Positioning: one sentence on who this is for and what they trade their inbox space for.
2. Format default: the shape every issue returns to (a list, a teardown, an interview, a story + lesson).
3. Issues 1 to 8: one-line topic, angle, and a specific artifact the writer already has or can get in a week.
4. Ballast: one recurring section (a link, a question, a reader note) that makes every issue easier to ship.
5. The abort signal: what has to be true by issue 6 to keep going, and what gets cut if it is not.
</instructions>

<constraints>
- No "weekly musings" as the format. Too loose to sustain.
- No plan that depends on interviews you have not scheduled.
- Pick topics the writer can research in under 3 hours each.
- If the writer's voice is not clear yet, recommend 3 drafts before issue 1.
</constraints>

<input>
Newsletter topic and audience: {topic}
Writer's time per week: {time}
Existing material (drafts, posts, notes): {material}
</input>

Variables to replace

  • {topic}
  • {time}
  • {material}
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