email-automation-builder

# Email Automation Builder

Build multi-sequence email automation flows with branching logic, segmentation, triggers, and tool-specific setup. More advanced than S5 email-drip-sequence: this skill creates conditional flows that respond to subscriber behavior (opened, clicked, purchased). Output includes ASCII flow diagrams, email content, and platform setup instructions.

## Stage

S7: Automation — S5's email-drip-sequence is a linear 7-email series. Real email marketing uses branching flows: if they opened → send X, if they didn't → send Y, if they clicked the affiliate link → move to a different sequence. This skill builds the automation system, not just the emails.

## When to Use

- User needs email flows with conditional logic (if/then branches)
- User wants welcome series, nurture flows, win-back campaigns, or cart abandonment
- User says "email automation", "branching email", "conditional sequence"
- User wants to set up flows in ConvertKit, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, or Beehiiv
- User already has an S5 drip sequence and wants to upgrade it to a full automation
- Chaining: upgrade S5 `email-drip-sequence` output to a branching automation

## Input Schema

```yaml
product:
  name: string                 # REQUIRED — product being promoted
  affiliate_url: string        # REQUIRED — affiliate link
  reward_value: string         # OPTIONAL — commission info (e.g., "30% recurring")

audience:
  description: string          # REQUIRED — who the subscribers are
  segments:                    # OPTIONAL — audience segments for branching
    - string                   # e.g., ["cold_leads", "warm_leads", "buyers"]

flow_type: string              # OPTIONAL — "welcome" | "nurture" | "winback"
                               # | "reengagement" | "cart_abandon"
                               # Default: "welcome"

email_tool: string             # OPTIONAL — "convertkit" | "mailchimp"
                               # | "activecampaign" | "beehiiv"
                               # Default: generic (works with any ESP)

num_emails: number             # OPTIONAL — total emails in the flow (5-12)
                               # Default: 7

lead_magnet: string            # OPTIONAL — what they opted in for
```

**Chaining context**: If S5 email-drip-sequence was run earlier, offer to upgrade it: "I see you have a 7-email drip sequence. Want me to upgrade it with branching logic and segments?"

## Workflow

### Step 1: Map Flow Type to Template

Select automation template based on `flow_type`:

**Welcome Flow**: Trigger → Welcome email → Wait 1 day → Value email → Branch (opened? → Soft sell / didn't open? → Re-engagement) → Continue selling to openers, re-engage non-openers

**Nurture Flow**: Trigger → Educational series → Branch (clicked affiliate link? → Move to sales sequence / didn't click? → Continue nurturing) → Post-purchase thank you for converters

**Win-back Flow**: Trigger (inactive 30+ days) → "We miss you" → Wait 3 days → Value reminder → Branch (re-engaged? → Move to nurture / still inactive? → Last chance) → Sunset after no response

### Step 2: Define Triggers and Entry Conditions

For each flow, specify:
- **Entry trigger**: What starts the flow (new subscriber, tag added, purchase, inactivity)
- **Exit conditions**: What removes someone (purchase, unsubscribe, entered different flow)
- **Branch conditions**: Opens, clicks, purchases, time-based

### Step 3: Design Branching Logic

Create decision points:
- After email N: Did they open? (Branch A: opened, Branch B: not opened)
- After email N: Did they click affiliate link? (Branch A: clicked, Branch B: didn't)
- After email N: Did they purchase? (Branch A: buyer → thank you, Branch B: non-buyer → continue)

### Step 4: Write Each Email

For each email in each branch, write:
- Subject line (40-60 chars)
- Preview text (80-100 chars)
- Body copy (200-400 words)
- CTA (single, clear)
- FTC disclosure (for emails with affiliate links)

### Step 5: Add Wait Times

Between emails:
- Welcome flow: 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10 days
- Nurture flow: 2, 4, 7, 10, 14 days
- Win-back flow: 0, 3, 7, 14 days
- Adjust based on audience engagement patterns

### Step 6: Output Flow + Setup

Present:
- ASCII flow diagram showing the full automation
- Each email's content
- Tool-specific setup instructions (if email_tool specified)

### Step 7: Self-Validation

Before presenting output, verify:

- [ ] Every branch path leads to a valid next step (no dead ends)
- [ ] All emails are complete in each branch (subject, body, CTA)
- [ ] Wait times between emails sum correctly to total flow duration
- [ ] FTC disclosure present on all emails containing affiliate links
- [ ] Branch conditions are clear boolean logic (opened/clicked/didn't)

If any check fails, fix the output before delivering. Do not flag the checklist to the user — just ensure the output passes.

## Output Schema

```yaml
output_schema_version: "1.0.0"  # Semver — bump major on breaking changes
automation:
  flow_type: string
  product: string
  total_emails: number
  total_branches: number
  estimated_days: number       # total span of the flow

flow:
  - step: number
    type: string               # "email" | "wait" | "branch" | "exit"
    email:                     # present if type is "email"
      subject: string
      preview: string
      body: string
      cta: string
      has_affiliate_link: boolean
    wait_days: number          # present if type is "wait"
    branch:                    # present if type is "branch"
      condition: string        # e.g., "opened previous email?"
      yes_path: number         # step number for yes
      no_path: number          # step number for no

setup:
  tool: string
  steps: string[]              # tool-specific setup instructions
  tags: string[]               # recommended tags to apply
  segments: string[]           # recommended segments
```

## Output Format

1. **Flow Overview** — flow type, total emails, total days, branch count
2. **ASCII Flow Diagram** — visual representation of the automation with branches
3. **Email Content** — each email with subject, preview, body, CTA (grouped by branch)
4. **Setup Instructions** — tool-specific steps to build this automation
5. **Tags & Segments** — recommended tagging strategy for tracking

## Error Handling

- **No product info**: "What affiliate product are you promoting? I need the product name and your affiliate link to write the email content."
- **Unknown email tool**: "I don't have specific setup instructions for [tool]. I'll provide generic automation logic that works with any ESP — just map the triggers, waits, and branches to your tool's interface."
- **Too many emails requested (>12)**: "12+ emails in one flow is usually too many. I'll create a 7-email flow with branches. For longer nurture, consider chaining two separate flows."
- **Upgrading from S5**: "I see your existing 7-email drip. I'll keep the email content and add branching logic: opened/not-opened splits after emails 2 and 4, and a purchase detection branch after email 5."

## Examples

### Example 1: Welcome flow with branches

**User**: "Build a welcome email automation for HeyGen (affiliate link: heygen.com/ref/abc123) for content creators who downloaded my AI tools guide."
**Action**: 7-email welcome flow. Email 1: Deliver guide. Email 2: Value (AI video tip). Branch: Did they open email 2? Yes → Email 3 (soft sell HeyGen). No → Email 3b (re-engagement with different subject). Continue branching through to email 7. ASCII diagram + all email content + ConvertKit setup.

### Example 2: Upgrade existing S5 drip

**User**: "Take my email drip sequence from earlier and add automation logic."
**Action**: Keep the 7 emails from S5 output. Add branches: After email 2 (opened → continue / not opened → resend with new subject). After email 4 (clicked affiliate link → skip to email 5 hard sell / didn't click → add extra value email). After email 5 (purchased → exit + thank you / didn't purchase → continue to email 6-7).

### Example 3: Win-back flow

**User**: "Create a win-back sequence for subscribers who haven't opened emails in 30 days. I promote Semrush."
**Action**: 4-email win-back flow. Trigger: 30 days no opens. Email 1: "Still interested in SEO?" (curiosity). Wait 3 days. Email 2: Value piece (SEO tip). Branch: Opened? Yes → Move to nurture flow. No → Email 3: "Last chance" (urgency). No response after 7 days → Sunset (remove from list).

## References

- `shared/references/ftc-compliance.md` — FTC disclosure for emails with affiliate links. Read in Step 4.
- `shared/references/affitor-branding.md` — Branding guidelines for email footers. Referenced in Step 4.
- `shared/references/flywheel-connections.md` — master flywheel connection map

## Revenue & Action Plan

### Expected Outcomes
- **Revenue potential**: Email automation is the closest thing to passive income in affiliate marketing. A well-built welcome flow converts 5-15% of subscribers to affiliate clicks. With 500 new subscribers/month × 10% click rate × 3% conversion × $50 commission = $750/month on autopilot
- **Benchmark**: Email marketing delivers $42 return per $1 spent. Branching flows outperform linear sequences by 25-40% because they send the right message to the right person at the right time
- **Key metric to track**: Revenue per subscriber per month. Industry benchmark for affiliate email: $0.50-2.00/subscriber/month. Below $0.50 = weak offer or poor segmentation

### Do This Right Now (15 min)
1. **Set up Email 1 (Welcome/Deliver) in your ESP today** — this is the highest-open-rate email (60-80% open rate). Get it live immediately
2. **Create the first branch trigger** — "opened Email 2?" — in your ESP's automation builder
3. **Schedule remaining emails** in the flow — most ESPs let you build the full automation in one session
4. **Test the flow** — subscribe with a test email address and verify every branch works

### Track Your Results
After 30 days: what's the open rate on each email? Click rate on affiliate links? Revenue attributed to the flow? If Email 3+ have <15% open rate, test new subject lines. If affiliate CTR is <2%, strengthen the CTA or add bonuses.

> **Next step — copy-paste this prompt:**
> "Set up conversion tracking for my email automation affiliate links" → runs `conversion-tracker`

## Flywheel Connections

### Feeds Into
- `conversion-tracker` (S6) — automated email links to track

### Fed By
- `email-drip-sequence` (S5) — drip sequence to upgrade with automation logic
- `conversion-tracker` (S6) — conversion data for branch conditions

### Feedback Loop
- `conversion-tracker` (S6) provides email conversion data → optimize branch conditions and timing

```yaml
chain_metadata:
  skill_slug: "email-automation-builder"
  stage: "automation"
  timestamp: string
  suggested_next:
    - "conversion-tracker"
    - "performance-report"
```