@awesomate/hosting-mcp 0.53.0 → 0.55.0
This diff represents the content of publicly available package versions that have been released to one of the supported registries. The information contained in this diff is provided for informational purposes only and reflects changes between package versions as they appear in their respective public registries.
- package/dist/index.js +56 -2
- package/package.json +1 -1
- package/skill/CHANGELOG.json +16 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-app-builder/SKILL.md +4 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-email/SKILL.md +291 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-email/evals/ask-never-emailed/graders/grader.md +22 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-email/evals/ask-never-emailed/prompt.md +1 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-email/evals/health-segment/graders/grader.md +20 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-email/evals/health-segment/prompt.md +1 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-email/evals/results-honest/graders/grader.md +19 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-email/evals/results-honest/prompt.md +1 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-email/evals/spam-folder/graders/grader.md +18 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-email/evals/spam-folder/prompt.md +1 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-email/evals/starter-lists-studio/graders/grader.md +21 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-email/evals/starter-lists-studio/prompt.md +1 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-email/evals/write-newsletter/graders/grader.md +24 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-email/evals/write-newsletter/prompt.md +1 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-email/references/asking-permission.md +116 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-email/references/consent-law.md +111 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-email/references/copywriting.md +167 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-email/references/deliverability.md +81 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-email/references/list-planning.md +127 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-email/references/migration.md +101 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-email/references/reporting.md +53 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-email/references/segmentation.md +107 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-hosting/SKILL.md +13 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-knowledge/SKILL.md +3 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-n8n/SKILL.md +5 -0
- package/skill/awesomate-seo/SKILL.md +6 -0
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# Getting people onto a list who've never been emailed
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Read this before planning anything that "asks people to opt in", "re-permissions
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an old list", or "emails customers to see if they want our newsletter".
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## The short answer to give the owner
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> Australian law treats an email asking for permission as a marketing email,
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> so it needs permission first. That rules out emailing most of your past
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> customers to ask, because one job or one purchase doesn't count. What works:
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> ask them the next time they book, accept a quote or sign off a job, and
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> email only the customers you work with regularly.
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Then show them how many people fall into each group below.
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## Who can be asked, and how
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| Group | Ask by email? | How |
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|---|---|---|
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| Ongoing customers: members, current students, retained clients, service-plan customers, property managers you do repeat work for | Yes, once, about things related to that relationship | A short personal note with a link to the preferences page |
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| One-off customers (one job, one purchase, one appointment) | **No** | At their next booking, quote, job sign-off or call |
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| Asked for a quote, didn't go ahead | No | Same as one-off |
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| Signed up on a form but never confirmed | No (New Zealand: never; Australia: no clear ruling, so no) | They can sign up again on the website |
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| Unsubscribed, bounced, complained | **Never**, not even to ask | Nothing. Their choice stands. |
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| A list from someone else (bought, rented, an event someone else ran, a mate's database) | **Never** | Nothing |
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| Social followers, phone-only contacts | No email to ask | A sign-up link on the profile; ask at the end of a call |
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The owner decides who counts as "ongoing" and says so; record that as their
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statement (who they are, the rule, the date). Suggest a rule they can defend,
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such as "two or more jobs in the last two years, or a current service plan, or
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a property manager we work for".
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## Ask at the next interaction (the main path for everyone else)
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Put the same two or three questions where customers already are, on a page
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rather than in an email:
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- the online booking form (an unticked box, or the questions after booking);
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- the quote acceptance page;
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- the job sign-off on the technician's phone or tablet;
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- the end of a phone call, with the same short question every time, word for word;
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- the website, and a QR code on the leave-behind card or job sheet.
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**Not inside transactional emails.** A receipt, invoice or booking confirmation
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that links to a marketing sign-up becomes a commercial message itself (ACMA:
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a message that "links to marketing content ... can only be sent with consent").
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Put the question on the page they're already on, not in the email afterwards.
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## Emailing ongoing customers: the note
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Short, personal, plain text, from the owner, about the relationship they have.
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One link. Says who it's from. Offers "no thanks". Sent once, never followed up.
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> Subject: A quick question from Rob
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>
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> Hi Priya,
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>
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> Rob here from Brightwater Plumbing. Thanks for sending the Acme jobs our way
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> this year.
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>
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> A few of our regular customers have asked for the odd seasonal reminder by
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> email, so I'm asking before I send anything. If you'd like them, pick what's
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> useful here (20 seconds): [link]
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>
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> If not, no worries. Ignore this and I won't ask again, or reply "no thanks".
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>
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> Cheers,
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> Rob
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> Brightwater Plumbing Pty Ltd · ABN [ABN] · [PHONE]
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**From the owner's own mailbox, or from the business's sending address?**
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- Under a couple of hundred people: the owner's own Gmail or Microsoft 365 is
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fine **as personal notes**: plain text, one person per email, about 40 a day,
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weekdays. Response is far higher from a real person. Google Workspace allows
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2,000 a day and Microsoft 10,000 recipients a day, but both block or suspend
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mailboxes that look like bulk senders, and that mailbox also carries the
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owner's quotes and invoices. Keep it small and slow.
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- More than that, or any HTML newsletter: the business's sending address, never
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the owner's mailbox.
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Whichever is used, the list of who to ask comes from the records (ongoing,
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not suppressed, never asked before), and every "no thanks", bounce and
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unsubscribe is written back so that person is never asked or emailed again.
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## The preferences page
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Use a page that belongs to a tool that records consent (the email platform's
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own sign-up or preferences form, or the booking system's), not a separate n8n
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web page, because the page that records "yes" must show exactly the wording
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that gets recorded, and must not be editable by anything outside the consent
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system.
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Awesomate's Contacts & email doesn't host a sign-up or preferences page.
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People reach a list there through an import the owner commits. So collect the
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yes in a tool the business already uses, keep what each person saw and when,
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and have the owner import it at https://hub.awesomate.ai/contacts/import.
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Two or three questions, nothing pre-ticked:
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1. **What would be useful?** One box per list, in the list's promise wording.
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2. **How often, at most?** "When there's something worth saying (about monthly)",
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"A roundup every three months", "Only reminders".
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3. **Optional, one question that improves the service**, such as "How old is
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your hot water system?". Say why it's asked. Never a health or other
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sensitive question.
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A link straight to "No thanks, don't email me". After saving, say exactly what
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they'll get and how often, and that every email has a link to change it.
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## What to expect
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Plan for most people not answering, and don't chase them: the ask is itself a
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marketing email, and a second one to someone who ignored the first is how
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complaints start. The people who do say yes are worth more than the whole old
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list. Don't promise the owner a response rate.
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# Consent law for email: Australia and New Zealand
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Read this when deciding who may be emailed, when an owner asks "can I email
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these people?", or before any import. Checked against primary sources on
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1 October 2026. You are not the owner's lawyer: state the practical rule,
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and when a case is genuinely unclear, say so and suggest they check.
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## Australia: the Spam Act 2003
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Three things for every commercial email (anything that offers, promotes or
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links to goods or services, including an email asking for consent):
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1. **Consent.** Express (they agreed, for example by filling in a form) or
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inferred (see below). The sender must be able to prove it (s 16(5)).
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2. **Identify the sender.** The business's legal name, or the owner's name
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and ABN, and how to contact them, valid for 30 days after sending (s 17).
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3. **A working unsubscribe.** A link or a reply address; "reply with
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unsubscribe" is valid. No login, no extra details. It must keep working
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for 30 days, and the withdrawal takes effect within 5 business days
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(s 18; Sch 2 cl 6). Build to "at once": Gmail and Yahoo expect two days.
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**Asking for consent by email is itself a commercial message.** ACMA: "You
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cannot send an electronic message to ask for consent, because this is a
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marketing message." A message that links to marketing content is commercial
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too.
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**Inferred consent is narrow.** The Act allows consent that "can reasonably
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be inferred from the conduct and the business and other relationships" (Sch
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2 cl 2). ACMA reads that as "a provable, ongoing relationship with your
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business, and the marketing is directly related to that relationship". It
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"does not cover sending messages after someone has just bought something",
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and its 2024 statement of expectations says: "Do not infer consent from
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one-off purchases ... including in cases where email addresses are obtained
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to send receipts or tax invoices", and "Do not use consent that is old,
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where a consumer would not expect it to still apply."
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In practice:
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| Who | Inferred consent? |
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|---|---|
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| A current member, student, retained client, service-plan or maintenance-contract customer | Usually yes, for messages directly related to that relationship |
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| A property manager or business you do repeat work for | Usually yes, for related messages to the person you deal with |
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| Someone who had one job, one purchase or one appointment | No |
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| Someone who asked for a quote and didn't go ahead | Not established; treat as no |
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| An address you hold only because you sent a receipt or invoice | No |
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| A former customer from years ago | No ("old" consent) |
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**Conspicuous publication** (Sch 2 cl 4) is a narrow exception for business
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addresses: published for a person or role, publication reasonably assumed to
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be agreed, no "no marketing" statement next to it, and the email relevant to
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their work. The mere fact an address is published is not consent.
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**Double opt-in is not required**, but ACMA recommends it. Filling in a form
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is express consent. Keep records of how consent was obtained, the terms, and
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the date and time. ACMA has said nothing specific about people who signed up
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but never clicked the confirmation link; treat them as not emailable.
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**Penalties.** For a company with no prior record, up to 100 penalty units
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per contravention, capped at 2,000 units a day; ten times that with a prior
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record (s 25). At $364 a unit from 1 July 2026 that is $36,400 per message
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breach and $728,000 a day. Recent ACMA actions: Commonwealth Bank $7.5m (2024),
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Pizza Hut $2.5m (2024), Ticketek $515,040 (2023), Outdoor Supacentre
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$302,500 (2024, "companies can't outsource their compliance obligations"),
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Lululemon $702,900 and Latitude $3.96m (2026).
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## New Zealand: the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007
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Much the same. Consent is express, inferred ("from the conduct and the
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business and other relationships"), or deemed (conspicuous publication, same
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conditions). A message that links to or directs someone to marketing is
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commercial (s 6). The Department of Internal Affairs says consent cannot be
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inferred from a single transaction, "silence should not be taken as consent",
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and emailing an old database to ask people to unsubscribe "cannot establish
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consent". Unsubscribe takes effect within 5 working days and must work by the
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same method the message came by (ss 9, 11). On double opt-in the DIA is
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firmer than Australia: "If this link is not clicked, then electronic
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marketing should not take place." Penalties up to $200,000 for an individual
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and $500,000 for an organisation.
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## Privacy Act 1988 (Australia), where it touches email
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- **Health information is sensitive information.** Collecting it needs the
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person's consent (APP 3.3), and using sensitive information for direct
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marketing needs consent too (APP 7.4). Health service providers are never
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exempt as small businesses.
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- So: never build a marketing group from conditions or diagnoses. Use an
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opt-in interest instead.
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- The statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy has applied since
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10 June 2025. Direct-marketing changes are still only proposed (exposure
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draft, August 2026).
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## The mailbox providers' rules
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Not law, but they decide whether email arrives. See `deliverability.md`.
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Google's Workspace policy bans "unsolicited mass email" and can suspend the
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account; Microsoft says businesses that need to send newsletters "should use
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third-party providers". Neither the owner's Gmail nor their Microsoft 365
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mailbox is a bulk sending tool.
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## Sources
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- Spam Act 2003: https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A01214/latest/text
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- ACMA, Avoid sending spam: https://www.acma.gov.au/avoid-sending-spam
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- ACMA, consent expectations (2024): https://www.acma.gov.au/publications/2024-07/guide/consumer-consent-expectations-businesses-conducting-telemarketing-and-e-marketing
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- ACMA enforcement: https://www.acma.gov.au/investigations-spam-and-telemarketing
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- Penalty unit from 1 July 2026: https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2026N00424/asmade/2026-06-16/text/original/pdf
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- UEM Act 2007: https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2007/0007/latest/whole.html
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- DIA FAQs: https://dia.govt.nz/Spam-Frequently-Asked-Questions and https://www.dia.govt.nz/Spam-Three-Steps
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- Privacy Act 1988: https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A03712/latest/text
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- Google Workspace sending limits: https://knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/gmail/gmail-sending-limits-in-google-workspace
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- Exchange Online limits: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/exchange-online-service-description/exchange-online-limits
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# Writing emails for a small business's customers
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Read this before drafting any email. The goal is an email the owner would be
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happy to have written themselves, that a customer reads in twenty seconds and
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acts on.
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## The voice
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- **The owner, writing to one person.** First person ("I", "we"), signed by
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a real person. Not "Dear Valued Customer", not a brand talking to a crowd.
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- **Their words, not marketing words.** Reuse how the owner talks about their
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work. If they say "hot water unit", don't write "water heating solution".
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If the account has a brand voice on file, follow it.
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- **Australian or New Zealand English.** Organise, colour, centre, licence
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(noun), program. Mobile, not cell. Postcode, not zip. Autumn, not fall.
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Dates as 4 October or 4/10. Money in AUD or NZD with the dollar sign.
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- **Southern hemisphere calendar.** December is summer and the Christmas
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shutdown; storm season in Queensland and New South Wales runs roughly
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November to March; winter is June to August. EOFY is 30 June in Australia,
|
|
20
|
+
31 March in New Zealand. School terms and public holidays differ by state
|
|
21
|
+
and region. Check before sending.
|
|
22
|
+
- **Plain, warm, direct.** "G'day" or "Kia ora" only if the owner talks that
|
|
23
|
+
way. No hype, no exclamation runs, no ALL CAPS, no emoji, no em-dashes
|
|
24
|
+
(Awesomate's checks refuse an em-dash in an email).
|
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25
|
+
|
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26
|
+
## Structure of one email
|
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27
|
+
|
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28
|
+
1. **Subject line**: specific and plain, usually under about 50 characters.
|
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29
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+
It should be true of the body.
|
|
30
|
+
2. **Preview text**: the line shown after the subject in the inbox. Add to
|
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31
|
+
the subject; never repeat it, and never leave it to "View in browser".
|
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32
|
+
3. **Opening line**: why this, why now, why you. One sentence.
|
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33
|
+
4. **Body**: one idea. Two or three short paragraphs, or a short list.
|
|
34
|
+
5. **One button**: a verb and an outcome ("Book a storm-season check", "See
|
|
35
|
+
the new timetable"). Secondary links are fine as plain text; a second
|
|
36
|
+
button is a second email.
|
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37
|
+
6. **Sign-off from a person**, optionally a P.S. (people read them).
|
|
38
|
+
7. **Footer**: why they're getting it ("You asked for seasonal tips"), the
|
|
39
|
+
business name and ABN or contact details, and unsubscribe. In Awesomate
|
|
40
|
+
the hub adds the footer and the unsubscribe link; you write only the
|
|
41
|
+
reason line, in the draft's `reason`.
|
|
42
|
+
|
|
43
|
+
## Subject lines that work for small businesses
|
|
44
|
+
|
|
45
|
+
- The question the customer is already asking: "Is your hot water system on
|
|
46
|
+
borrowed time?"
|
|
47
|
+
- The useful number: "3 things to check before the first storm"
|
|
48
|
+
- The local hook: "Carindale: water restrictions start Monday"
|
|
49
|
+
- The plain announcement: "Saturday classes start 12 October"
|
|
50
|
+
- The owner's voice: "A quick one from Rob"
|
|
51
|
+
|
|
52
|
+
Avoid: fake "RE:" or "FWD:" (misleading, and it trains people to distrust
|
|
53
|
+
you), clickbait the body doesn't pay off, ALL CAPS, piles of emoji, and
|
|
54
|
+
"Newsletter #14".
|
|
55
|
+
|
|
56
|
+
## Email types and what each one needs
|
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57
|
+
|
|
58
|
+
| Type | Send when | Must include |
|
|
59
|
+
|---|---|---|
|
|
60
|
+
| Welcome | Straight after joining | What they'll get and how often, one useful thing now, who it's from |
|
|
61
|
+
| Tips or newsletter | On the promised cadence | One main idea; link to more |
|
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62
|
+
| Announcement | Something genuinely new | What changed, who it's for, what to do |
|
|
63
|
+
| Offer | A real offer with a real end | The exact terms, the real end date, how to claim |
|
|
64
|
+
| Service reminder | Something is due | What's due, why it matters, one-click booking |
|
|
65
|
+
| Event invite | 2 to 4 weeks before | Date, time, place, cost, how to book |
|
|
66
|
+
| Win-back | Past customer, gone quiet | A personal note, a reason to come back, no guilt |
|
|
67
|
+
| Still want these? | Quiet for 6 to 12 months | One click to stay, otherwise we stop. Then stop. |
|
|
68
|
+
| Review request | After a finished job | A direct link; ask everyone, not only the happy ones |
|
|
69
|
+
|
|
70
|
+
## Rules from the law and the industry bodies
|
|
71
|
+
|
|
72
|
+
- **No invented proof.** No made-up testimonials, reviews, numbers or case
|
|
73
|
+
studies. Real reviews only with permission and quoted accurately.
|
|
74
|
+
- **Offers must be real.** "Was $X, now $Y" only if $X was the genuine
|
|
75
|
+
price. "Ends Friday" only if it ends Friday. "Free" means free. (Australian
|
|
76
|
+
Consumer Law; NZ Fair Trading Act.)
|
|
77
|
+
- **Reviews:** asking only satisfied customers for reviews ("review gating")
|
|
78
|
+
can mislead under consumer law. Ask everyone.
|
|
79
|
+
- **Registered health practitioners** (physio, chiro, dental, psychology,
|
|
80
|
+
optometry, osteopathy and others regulated by Ahpra) **cannot use
|
|
81
|
+
testimonials in advertising** for their regulated services, and must not
|
|
82
|
+
create unreasonable expectations or encourage unnecessary use. No
|
|
83
|
+
before-and-after claims, no "cure", no discounts that pressure people into
|
|
84
|
+
treatment.
|
|
85
|
+
- **Financial services:** if the firm holds an AFSL, broadcast content is
|
|
86
|
+
general advice at most and carries their warning. Never write personal
|
|
87
|
+
advice into a broadcast.
|
|
88
|
+
- **Real estate:** don't publish a vendor's sale price or a buyer's details
|
|
89
|
+
without permission.
|
|
90
|
+
|
|
91
|
+
## Personalisation
|
|
92
|
+
|
|
93
|
+
- First name only when the data is reliable; otherwise "Hi there". A wrong
|
|
94
|
+
name is worse than none. In Awesomate, `{{first_name|there}}` does both.
|
|
95
|
+
- Refer to their history only when it's accurate and expected: "the hot
|
|
96
|
+
water system we installed in 2019" is helpful from a plumber. "We noticed
|
|
97
|
+
you looked at our pricing page" is creepy.
|
|
98
|
+
- AI-personalised emails (a different paragraph per person) are fine when
|
|
99
|
+
every version is drafted from approved content and the owner has seen
|
|
100
|
+
samples. Show three examples, including the strangest one. Awesomate's
|
|
101
|
+
emails personalise with first name, last name and email only, so this is
|
|
102
|
+
for other platforms.
|
|
103
|
+
|
|
104
|
+
## From a video (Loom, YouTube, Vimeo)
|
|
105
|
+
|
|
106
|
+
Watch it first (the watch skill) so the email describes what is actually in
|
|
107
|
+
it. Email clients don't play video: use a still from the video with a play
|
|
108
|
+
button drawn on it, linking to the video. Summarise the useful part in the
|
|
109
|
+
email itself, so someone who never clicks still gets value.
|
|
110
|
+
|
|
111
|
+
## Design and accessibility
|
|
112
|
+
|
|
113
|
+
Single column. Real text, never text inside an image. Body at least about
|
|
114
|
+
16px. Buttons as real links with descriptive text, never "click here".
|
|
115
|
+
Alt text on every image. Works in dark mode. A plain-text version always.
|
|
116
|
+
No attachments: link to the file instead. In Awesomate the theme handles
|
|
117
|
+
layout, dark mode and the plain-text version; you supply the words, the alt
|
|
118
|
+
text and https links.
|
|
119
|
+
|
|
120
|
+
## Length
|
|
121
|
+
|
|
122
|
+
Most small-business emails are best between about 75 and 200 words. A
|
|
123
|
+
newsletter can be longer when it's scannable (short sections with clear
|
|
124
|
+
headings), but if it needs scrolling on a phone, ask whether it's two emails.
|
|
125
|
+
|
|
126
|
+
## Worked example: trades tips
|
|
127
|
+
|
|
128
|
+
Subject: 3 things to check before the first storm
|
|
129
|
+
Preview: Two minutes with a bucket can save a flooded laundry.
|
|
130
|
+
|
|
131
|
+
> G'day Sam,
|
|
132
|
+
>
|
|
133
|
+
> Storm season's nearly here. Before the first big one, it's worth two
|
|
134
|
+
> minutes on these:
|
|
135
|
+
>
|
|
136
|
+
> 1. **Gutters.** Clear leaves before they overflow into the eaves.
|
|
137
|
+
> 2. **Downpipes.** Pour a bucket down each and watch where it goes.
|
|
138
|
+
> 3. **The stormwater pit.** Lift the grate and check it isn't full of silt.
|
|
139
|
+
>
|
|
140
|
+
> If any of them look wrong, we'll sort it before the rain does.
|
|
141
|
+
>
|
|
142
|
+
> [Book a storm-season check]
|
|
143
|
+
>
|
|
144
|
+
> Cheers,
|
|
145
|
+
> Rob
|
|
146
|
+
>
|
|
147
|
+
> P.S. If your hot water system is more than 10 years old, ask us to look at
|
|
148
|
+
> it while we're there.
|
|
149
|
+
|
|
150
|
+
## Worked example: studio term enrolment (New Zealand)
|
|
151
|
+
|
|
152
|
+
Subject: Term 4 enrolments open Monday
|
|
153
|
+
Preview: Saturday hip hop is back, and there's a new adult beginners class.
|
|
154
|
+
|
|
155
|
+
> Kia ora Mere,
|
|
156
|
+
>
|
|
157
|
+
> Term 4 starts on 13 October and enrolments open this Monday at 9am.
|
|
158
|
+
> Saturday hip hop is back by popular demand, and we've added an adult
|
|
159
|
+
> beginners contemporary class on Wednesday nights.
|
|
160
|
+
>
|
|
161
|
+
> Spots in the Saturday classes went in two days last term, so if Aria is
|
|
162
|
+
> keen, Monday morning is the time.
|
|
163
|
+
>
|
|
164
|
+
> [See the Term 4 timetable]
|
|
165
|
+
>
|
|
166
|
+
> Ngā mihi,
|
|
167
|
+
> Jess
|
|
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
|
|
|
1
|
+
# Keeping email out of the spam folder
|
|
2
|
+
|
|
3
|
+
Read this when setting up sending, before a big or unusual send, or when
|
|
4
|
+
the owner says emails are going to spam.
|
|
5
|
+
|
|
6
|
+
## The set-up that protects the business
|
|
7
|
+
|
|
8
|
+
- **Send marketing from a subdomain**, for example `news.theirdomain.com.au`,
|
|
9
|
+
never from the main domain the owner uses for quotes and invoices. If a
|
|
10
|
+
campaign goes badly, the damage stays on the subdomain.
|
|
11
|
+
- **SPF, DKIM and DMARC all pass**, aligned with the From address. DMARC can
|
|
12
|
+
start at `p=none` on the subdomain and tighten to quarantine once mail has
|
|
13
|
+
passed cleanly for a few weeks. Never change the main domain's DMARC to
|
|
14
|
+
set up marketing.
|
|
15
|
+
- **A branded link domain** (for example `links.news.theirdomain.com.au`)
|
|
16
|
+
rather than a shared tracking domain. Never use URL shorteners in email.
|
|
17
|
+
- **Never bulk-send from the owner's own Gmail or Microsoft 365 mailbox.**
|
|
18
|
+
Those accounts have daily limits and outbound spam controls, and a
|
|
19
|
+
suspension takes the owner's everyday email with it. Small personal
|
|
20
|
+
batches are a different thing (see `asking-permission.md`).
|
|
21
|
+
|
|
22
|
+
## Starting a new sending address (warm-up)
|
|
23
|
+
|
|
24
|
+
New addresses have no reputation. Build it over about two weeks: a small
|
|
25
|
+
first day, growing each day, most engaged people first (recent customers and
|
|
26
|
+
recent clickers). One schedule that works: 150 on day one, 700 by day four,
|
|
27
|
+
2,000 by day seven, then the full list. A sudden big send from a new or
|
|
28
|
+
long-silent address looks like a spammer.
|
|
29
|
+
|
|
30
|
+
In Awesomate each approved email goes to everyone on its list who may be
|
|
31
|
+
emailed, so warm up by list: the smallest, most engaged list first (often the
|
|
32
|
+
customers list), then the bigger ones over the following weeks.
|
|
33
|
+
|
|
34
|
+
## List hygiene
|
|
35
|
+
|
|
36
|
+
Awesomate does the first of these for you: anyone who unsubscribes,
|
|
37
|
+
hard-bounces or marks an email as spam is left out of every later send, and
|
|
38
|
+
every marketing email carries one-click unsubscribe.
|
|
39
|
+
|
|
40
|
+
- Hard bounces and spam complaints: suppressed immediately, for good.
|
|
41
|
+
- Soft bounces: retry; suppress after several in a row.
|
|
42
|
+
- Quiet for six to twelve months (no click, reply, booking or purchase): one
|
|
43
|
+
"still want these?" email, then stop sending to anyone who doesn't respond.
|
|
44
|
+
Old, unread addresses are where spam traps live.
|
|
45
|
+
- Never buy, rent or scrape a list. Never import an event attendee list
|
|
46
|
+
someone else ran.
|
|
47
|
+
- Watch for typo domains on sign-up forms (gmial.com, hotmial.com).
|
|
48
|
+
|
|
49
|
+
## What the big inboxes require
|
|
50
|
+
|
|
51
|
+
Google and Yahoo (since February 2024): every sender needs SPF or DKIM,
|
|
52
|
+
valid DNS and TLS, and a low spam complaint rate. Senders of roughly 5,000
|
|
53
|
+
or more messages a day to them also need SPF, DKIM and aligned DMARC, and
|
|
54
|
+
one-click unsubscribe (the `List-Unsubscribe-Post` header, RFC 8058) on
|
|
55
|
+
marketing mail, honoured within two days. Keep the complaint rate below
|
|
56
|
+
0.1%; at 0.3% Gmail starts filtering or rejecting. Microsoft applies similar
|
|
57
|
+
rules to high-volume senders to Outlook.com addresses. Build to the bulk
|
|
58
|
+
standard even for small lists: it costs nothing and the thresholds are
|
|
59
|
+
measured across everything sent from the domain.
|
|
60
|
+
|
|
61
|
+
## Content that hurts
|
|
62
|
+
|
|
63
|
+
Image-only emails, missing plain-text version, link text that doesn't match
|
|
64
|
+
the link, URL shorteners, attachments, a different From name every send,
|
|
65
|
+
and subject lines the body doesn't pay off. "Spam words" matter far less
|
|
66
|
+
than people think; reputation and complaints matter far more.
|
|
67
|
+
|
|
68
|
+
## Diagnosing "we're going to spam"
|
|
69
|
+
|
|
70
|
+
1. **Check authentication** on a received copy: the headers should show
|
|
71
|
+
`spf=pass`, `dkim=pass`, `dmarc=pass` for the sending domain.
|
|
72
|
+
2. **Check complaint rate and reputation**: Google Postmaster Tools for the
|
|
73
|
+
sending domain; the platform's complaint numbers.
|
|
74
|
+
3. **What changed?** A new import, an old segment, a jump in frequency, a
|
|
75
|
+
new link domain, a new From address. The cause is almost always one of
|
|
76
|
+
these.
|
|
77
|
+
4. **Fix the cause, then recover slowly**: send only to the most engaged for
|
|
78
|
+
a couple of weeks, then widen.
|
|
79
|
+
|
|
80
|
+
Don't "fix" spam placement by rewording subject lines while the real cause
|
|
81
|
+
(an old list, high complaints) is still there.
|
|
@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
|
|
|
1
|
+
# Planning the lists: the first conversation
|
|
2
|
+
|
|
3
|
+
Read this when a business is starting email properly, moving off another
|
|
4
|
+
platform, or asks "what lists should we have?".
|
|
5
|
+
|
|
6
|
+
## Lists are promises, groups are filters
|
|
7
|
+
|
|
8
|
+
| | A list | A group |
|
|
9
|
+
|---|---|---|
|
|
10
|
+
| What it is | What someone agreed to receive | A filter over people already on lists |
|
|
11
|
+
| Who creates it | The owner, with wording people see | Anyone, any time |
|
|
12
|
+
| Needs consent? | Yes, its own | No, it inherits from the list |
|
|
13
|
+
| How many | Two to four | As many as are useful |
|
|
14
|
+
| Example | "Tips & seasonal checks" | "On Tips, hot water job over 8 years ago" |
|
|
15
|
+
|
|
16
|
+
Why so few lists: each one is a separate promise, needs its own sign-up
|
|
17
|
+
wording, and has to be honoured on cadence. Five lists that each send monthly
|
|
18
|
+
is five emails a month to someone on all of them. Most small businesses are
|
|
19
|
+
best served by one main list plus one customers-only list.
|
|
20
|
+
|
|
21
|
+
## The method
|
|
22
|
+
|
|
23
|
+
1. **Learn the business.** Read the website (services, seasons, what is
|
|
24
|
+
booked or bought again and again), the business overview if the account
|
|
25
|
+
has one, and how they describe themselves. Note the customer's buying
|
|
26
|
+
cycle: a hot water system every 10 to 15 years, a dental check every 6
|
|
27
|
+
months, a dance term every 10 weeks, a tax return every year.
|
|
28
|
+
2. **Read the source list.** Groups, interests and tags from the old
|
|
29
|
+
platform say what people actually signed up for. Sign-up form names and
|
|
30
|
+
dates tell you which promise each person saw.
|
|
31
|
+
3. **Read the job or sales history if connected.** Customers with an
|
|
32
|
+
ongoing relationship (members, retained clients, service plans, repeat
|
|
33
|
+
work) can usually receive messages directly related to it, once the
|
|
34
|
+
owner confirms the relationship. One-off customers can't, until they
|
|
35
|
+
sign up (see `consent-law.md` and `asking-permission.md`). Customers are
|
|
36
|
+
still the most valuable people on any list.
|
|
37
|
+
4. **Propose two to four lists**, each as one sentence the owner can read
|
|
38
|
+
aloud: name, the promise in the words a subscriber will see, how often,
|
|
39
|
+
who starts on it and why, and the count. Then three to five starter
|
|
40
|
+
groups.
|
|
41
|
+
5. **Put imported people only on a list their sign-up covers.** Someone who
|
|
42
|
+
signed up for "seasonal tips" has not agreed to "offers". When a mapping
|
|
43
|
+
is a judgement call, put them on the closer, narrower list and tell the
|
|
44
|
+
owner what you did.
|
|
45
|
+
6. **Let the owner change it in their words.** "Drop News, fold it into
|
|
46
|
+
Tips" is a complete instruction. Repeat back what will change, then make
|
|
47
|
+
the change. In Awesomate the owner creates and changes lists in the hub
|
|
48
|
+
(https://hub.awesomate.ai/contacts, or while importing), so give them each
|
|
49
|
+
list's name and wording ready to paste, and say which ones are customers
|
|
50
|
+
lists.
|
|
51
|
+
|
|
52
|
+
Present the proposal like this (keep it this short):
|
|
53
|
+
|
|
54
|
+
> I'd start with three lists.
|
|
55
|
+
> **Tips & seasonal checks**, about monthly, more in storm season. Promise:
|
|
56
|
+
> "Seasonal maintenance tips by email. Unsubscribe any time." 1,527 people
|
|
57
|
+
> from your Mailchimp "Newsletter" group start here.
|
|
58
|
+
> **Service reminders**, only when something is due, about work we did for
|
|
59
|
+
> them. 412 repeat customers and property managers, if you confirm you work
|
|
60
|
+
> with them regularly. One-off customers join when they next book.
|
|
61
|
+
> **News & offers**, a few times a year. 1,179 people who ticked "specials"
|
|
62
|
+
> on your old form.
|
|
63
|
+
> And groups for: hot water systems over 8 years old, Carindale and
|
|
64
|
+
> surrounds, clicked but didn't book, quiet for six months.
|
|
65
|
+
> Want any of those changed?
|
|
66
|
+
|
|
67
|
+
## Starter sets by kind of business
|
|
68
|
+
|
|
69
|
+
These are starting points to adapt, not templates to copy. Rename everything
|
|
70
|
+
into the owner's own words.
|
|
71
|
+
|
|
72
|
+
**Trades and field service** (plumbers, electricians, builders, pest,
|
|
73
|
+
cleaning, solar). Lists: Tips & seasonal checks (monthly, heavier before
|
|
74
|
+
storm season, winter or summer depending on the trade); Service reminders
|
|
75
|
+
(customers, when due); News & offers (occasional). Groups: by suburb or
|
|
76
|
+
postcode radius, by job type, by age of the thing installed, landlords vs
|
|
77
|
+
owner-occupiers, commercial vs residential.
|
|
78
|
+
|
|
79
|
+
**Studios, classes and training** (dance, martial arts, yoga, music,
|
|
80
|
+
tutoring, swim). Lists: Timetable & new classes (per term, plus changes);
|
|
81
|
+
Events & workshops; Members' and families' news (current students, inferred
|
|
82
|
+
from enrolment). Groups: by class or level, parents vs adult students,
|
|
83
|
+
lapsed students (no enrolment this term), trial-class attendees who didn't
|
|
84
|
+
join. Term dates drive cadence: send before enrolments open, not during
|
|
85
|
+
holidays.
|
|
86
|
+
|
|
87
|
+
**Retail, ecommerce and product.** Lists: New arrivals & restocks; Sales &
|
|
88
|
+
offers; Care & how-to (product care, recipes, guides). Groups: bought in a
|
|
89
|
+
category, repeat buyers, first-time buyers in their first 30 days, haven't
|
|
90
|
+
bought in 6 or 12 months, VIP by spend. Be careful with frequency: offers
|
|
91
|
+
weekly trains people to wait for the discount.
|
|
92
|
+
|
|
93
|
+
**Health and allied health** (physio, chiro, dental, psych, optometry,
|
|
94
|
+
vets). Lists: Clinic news & general tips (no condition-specific content);
|
|
95
|
+
Appointment and recall reminders (patients, part of their care, kept
|
|
96
|
+
separate from marketing). Groups: only from non-sensitive facts unless the
|
|
97
|
+
patient explicitly consented to that use (location, practitioner seen,
|
|
98
|
+
"interested in Pilates" from an opt-in). Never a group built from diagnoses
|
|
99
|
+
or conditions. Registered health practitioners cannot use testimonials in
|
|
100
|
+
advertising. See `copywriting.md`.
|
|
101
|
+
|
|
102
|
+
**Real estate and property.** Lists: Suburb market updates; New listings &
|
|
103
|
+
open homes; Landlord updates (landlords only). Groups: by suburb, buyers vs
|
|
104
|
+
sellers vs landlords vs tenants, appraisal requested, price band. Sold
|
|
105
|
+
results need care around vendor privacy.
|
|
106
|
+
|
|
107
|
+
**Finance, accounting and advisory.** Lists: Tax time & key dates (BAS,
|
|
108
|
+
EOFY, lodgement deadlines); Business tips; Client updates (current clients).
|
|
109
|
+
Groups: sole traders vs companies, BAS quarterly vs monthly, clients with
|
|
110
|
+
upcoming lodgements. If the firm holds an AFSL, broadcast content stays
|
|
111
|
+
general and carries their general advice warning; ask them for it.
|
|
112
|
+
|
|
113
|
+
**Coaching and consulting.** Lists: Weekly or fortnightly letter (the
|
|
114
|
+
owner's thinking, one idea per email); Programs & events. Groups: past
|
|
115
|
+
clients, workshop attendees, downloaded a guide.
|
|
116
|
+
|
|
117
|
+
**Hospitality** (cafes, restaurants, venues). Lists: What's on & specials;
|
|
118
|
+
Functions & events. Groups: by venue, booked a function, birthday month
|
|
119
|
+
(only if collected with consent).
|
|
120
|
+
|
|
121
|
+
## What the owner should leave with
|
|
122
|
+
|
|
123
|
+
- The lists, each with its promise wording (this becomes the consent wording
|
|
124
|
+
version 1), cadence and starting count.
|
|
125
|
+
- The starter groups, each as a sentence and a count.
|
|
126
|
+
- What happens to people who fit no list: they stay as contacts and are not
|
|
127
|
+
emailed until they join something.
|