Newsletter Issue
Build one newsletter issue from theme to send. The AI drives through Curate, Draft, and a send-review checkpoint.
the steps, as stored
- 01Theme
Decide what this issue is about before gathering anything.
Capture, in plain prose: - Theme — the single through-line tying the issue together - Audience — who receives it and what they expect from you - Lead story — the one item that anchors the issue - Goal — the open, the click, or the reply you want - Working subject line — a first attempt, to be refined later
If there is no clear theme, ask the operator — a themeless issue reads as noise.
Save the theme, audience, lead story, goal, and working subject line as a task note with task_notes_add. The next step — Curate — reads it.
- 02Curate
Read the task notes with task_notes_list — the note from the Theme step contains theme, audience, lead story, and goal. Work from it.
Curate the items. What good looks like: - 3 to 6 items, each clearly serving the theme — cut anything that only loosely fits - The lead story placed first - For each item: a title, the link, and one line on why it matters to this audience - A logical order so the issue reads as a sequence, not a dump
Save the ordered, annotated item list as a task note with task_notes_add. The Draft step reads this note.
- 03Draft
Read the task notes with task_notes_list — the note from the Curate step contains the ordered item list, and the Theme note holds the audience and goal. Work from them.
Write the full issue: - A short intro that states the theme and earns the scroll - Each curated item written up in the issue's voice with its link - A clear closing and CTA matching the goal - A refined subject line and preview text that fit the theme
Save the full issue draft, subject line, and preview text as a task note with task_notes_add. If the draft exceeds 10,000 characters, split it across notes or store it where the operator keeps documents and record the location. The Send Review step reads this note.
- 04Send Reviewapproval gate
Read the task notes with task_notes_list — the note from the Draft step contains the full issue, subject line, and preview. Work from it.
Do the pre-send check: - Every link works and points where it should - Subject line and preview text are final and compelling - The issue delivers on the theme and the goal - No placeholder text, broken formatting, or unfinished item
Ask the operator to approve the issue for sending. This is a checkpoint — sending to the list is irreversible, so the AI cannot advance until you approve. If you reject, the workflow returns to Draft.
- 05Completecontext gate
The issue is approved and ready to send. Confirm the final issue, subject line, and preview text are saved as a task note, then close out the task.
use it for
- Build a weekly issue around a single theme with curated links
- Turn a launch into a newsletter that leads with the announcement
- Assemble a roundup from a list of saved articles into a clean draft
without it, with it
| without | with newsletter issue |
|---|---|
| The issue becomes a pile of unrelated links with no through-line and a subject nobody opens | The AI drives from a single Theme so every item earns its place and the subject line lands |
| The send button gets hit before anyone checks the links, the subject, or the preview text | The AI pauses at a send-review checkpoint so you confirm everything before it reaches the list |
| You assemble half the issue, get pulled away, and lose track of which items were already in | The AI saves the theme, the curated items, and the draft as notes, so a later session resumes mid-issue with nothing lost |
| A week later nobody remembers which items made the issue or why the others were cut | Every step — Theme, Curate, Draft, Send Review — is logged, so the issue's full history is already there |