@awesomate/hosting-mcp 0.53.0 → 0.55.0

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Files changed (29) hide show
  1. package/dist/index.js +56 -2
  2. package/package.json +1 -1
  3. package/skill/CHANGELOG.json +16 -0
  4. package/skill/awesomate-app-builder/SKILL.md +4 -0
  5. package/skill/awesomate-email/SKILL.md +291 -0
  6. package/skill/awesomate-email/evals/ask-never-emailed/graders/grader.md +22 -0
  7. package/skill/awesomate-email/evals/ask-never-emailed/prompt.md +1 -0
  8. package/skill/awesomate-email/evals/health-segment/graders/grader.md +20 -0
  9. package/skill/awesomate-email/evals/health-segment/prompt.md +1 -0
  10. package/skill/awesomate-email/evals/results-honest/graders/grader.md +19 -0
  11. package/skill/awesomate-email/evals/results-honest/prompt.md +1 -0
  12. package/skill/awesomate-email/evals/spam-folder/graders/grader.md +18 -0
  13. package/skill/awesomate-email/evals/spam-folder/prompt.md +1 -0
  14. package/skill/awesomate-email/evals/starter-lists-studio/graders/grader.md +21 -0
  15. package/skill/awesomate-email/evals/starter-lists-studio/prompt.md +1 -0
  16. package/skill/awesomate-email/evals/write-newsletter/graders/grader.md +24 -0
  17. package/skill/awesomate-email/evals/write-newsletter/prompt.md +1 -0
  18. package/skill/awesomate-email/references/asking-permission.md +116 -0
  19. package/skill/awesomate-email/references/consent-law.md +111 -0
  20. package/skill/awesomate-email/references/copywriting.md +167 -0
  21. package/skill/awesomate-email/references/deliverability.md +81 -0
  22. package/skill/awesomate-email/references/list-planning.md +127 -0
  23. package/skill/awesomate-email/references/migration.md +101 -0
  24. package/skill/awesomate-email/references/reporting.md +53 -0
  25. package/skill/awesomate-email/references/segmentation.md +107 -0
  26. package/skill/awesomate-hosting/SKILL.md +13 -0
  27. package/skill/awesomate-knowledge/SKILL.md +3 -0
  28. package/skill/awesomate-n8n/SKILL.md +5 -0
  29. 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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+
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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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+
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+ ## The short answer to give the owner
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+
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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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+
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+ Then show them how many people fall into each group below.
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+
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+ ## Who can be asked, and how
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+
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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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+
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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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+
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+ ## Ask at the next interaction (the main path for everyone else)
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+
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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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+
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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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+
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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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+
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+ ## Emailing ongoing customers: the note
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+
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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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+
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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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+
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+ **From the owner's own mailbox, or from the business's sending address?**
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+
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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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+
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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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+
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+ ## The preferences page
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+
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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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+
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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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+
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+ Two or three questions, nothing pre-ticked:
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+
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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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+
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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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+
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+ ## What to expect
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+
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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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+
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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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+
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+ ## Australia: the Spam Act 2003
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+
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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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+
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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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+
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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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+
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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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+
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+ In practice:
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+
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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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+
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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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+
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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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+
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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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+
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+ ## New Zealand: the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007
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+
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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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+
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+ ## Privacy Act 1988 (Australia), where it touches email
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+
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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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+
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+ ## The mailbox providers' rules
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+
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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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+
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+ ## Sources
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+
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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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+
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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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+
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+ ## The voice
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+
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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,
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+ 31 March in New Zealand. School terms and public holidays differ by state
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+ and region. Check before sending.
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+ - **Plain, warm, direct.** "G'day" or "Kia ora" only if the owner talks that
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+ way. No hype, no exclamation runs, no ALL CAPS, no emoji, no em-dashes
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+ (Awesomate's checks refuse an em-dash in an email).
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+
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+ ## Structure of one email
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+
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+ 1. **Subject line**: specific and plain, usually under about 50 characters.
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+ It should be true of the body.
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+ 2. **Preview text**: the line shown after the subject in the inbox. Add to
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+ the subject; never repeat it, and never leave it to "View in browser".
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+ 3. **Opening line**: why this, why now, why you. One sentence.
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+ 4. **Body**: one idea. Two or three short paragraphs, or a short list.
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+ 5. **One button**: a verb and an outcome ("Book a storm-season check", "See
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+ the new timetable"). Secondary links are fine as plain text; a second
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+ button is a second email.
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+ 6. **Sign-off from a person**, optionally a P.S. (people read them).
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+ 7. **Footer**: why they're getting it ("You asked for seasonal tips"), the
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+ business name and ABN or contact details, and unsubscribe. In Awesomate
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+ the hub adds the footer and the unsubscribe link; you write only the
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+ reason line, in the draft's `reason`.
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+
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+ ## Subject lines that work for small businesses
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+
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+ - The question the customer is already asking: "Is your hot water system on
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+ borrowed time?"
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+ - The useful number: "3 things to check before the first storm"
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+ - The local hook: "Carindale: water restrictions start Monday"
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+ - The plain announcement: "Saturday classes start 12 October"
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+ - The owner's voice: "A quick one from Rob"
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+
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+ Avoid: fake "RE:" or "FWD:" (misleading, and it trains people to distrust
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+ you), clickbait the body doesn't pay off, ALL CAPS, piles of emoji, and
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+ "Newsletter #14".
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+
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+ ## Email types and what each one needs
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+
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+ | Type | Send when | Must include |
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+ |---|---|---|
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+ | Welcome | Straight after joining | What they'll get and how often, one useful thing now, who it's from |
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+ | Tips or newsletter | On the promised cadence | One main idea; link to more |
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+ | Announcement | Something genuinely new | What changed, who it's for, what to do |
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+ | Offer | A real offer with a real end | The exact terms, the real end date, how to claim |
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+ | Service reminder | Something is due | What's due, why it matters, one-click booking |
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+ | Event invite | 2 to 4 weeks before | Date, time, place, cost, how to book |
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+ | Win-back | Past customer, gone quiet | A personal note, a reason to come back, no guilt |
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+ | Still want these? | Quiet for 6 to 12 months | One click to stay, otherwise we stop. Then stop. |
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+ | Review request | After a finished job | A direct link; ask everyone, not only the happy ones |
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+
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+ ## Rules from the law and the industry bodies
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+
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+ - **No invented proof.** No made-up testimonials, reviews, numbers or case
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+ studies. Real reviews only with permission and quoted accurately.
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+ - **Offers must be real.** "Was $X, now $Y" only if $X was the genuine
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+ price. "Ends Friday" only if it ends Friday. "Free" means free. (Australian
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+ Consumer Law; NZ Fair Trading Act.)
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+ - **Reviews:** asking only satisfied customers for reviews ("review gating")
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+ can mislead under consumer law. Ask everyone.
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+ - **Registered health practitioners** (physio, chiro, dental, psychology,
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+ optometry, osteopathy and others regulated by Ahpra) **cannot use
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+ testimonials in advertising** for their regulated services, and must not
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+ create unreasonable expectations or encourage unnecessary use. No
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+ before-and-after claims, no "cure", no discounts that pressure people into
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+ treatment.
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+ - **Financial services:** if the firm holds an AFSL, broadcast content is
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+ general advice at most and carries their warning. Never write personal
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+ advice into a broadcast.
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+ - **Real estate:** don't publish a vendor's sale price or a buyer's details
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+ without permission.
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+
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+ ## Personalisation
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+
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+ - First name only when the data is reliable; otherwise "Hi there". A wrong
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+ name is worse than none. In Awesomate, `{{first_name|there}}` does both.
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+ - Refer to their history only when it's accurate and expected: "the hot
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+ water system we installed in 2019" is helpful from a plumber. "We noticed
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+ you looked at our pricing page" is creepy.
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+ - AI-personalised emails (a different paragraph per person) are fine when
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+ every version is drafted from approved content and the owner has seen
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+ samples. Show three examples, including the strangest one. Awesomate's
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+ emails personalise with first name, last name and email only, so this is
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+ for other platforms.
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+
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+ ## From a video (Loom, YouTube, Vimeo)
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+
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+ Watch it first (the watch skill) so the email describes what is actually in
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+ it. Email clients don't play video: use a still from the video with a play
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+ button drawn on it, linking to the video. Summarise the useful part in the
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+ email itself, so someone who never clicks still gets value.
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+
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+ ## Design and accessibility
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+
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+ Single column. Real text, never text inside an image. Body at least about
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+ 16px. Buttons as real links with descriptive text, never "click here".
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+ Alt text on every image. Works in dark mode. A plain-text version always.
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+ No attachments: link to the file instead. In Awesomate the theme handles
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+ layout, dark mode and the plain-text version; you supply the words, the alt
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+ text and https links.
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+
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+ ## Length
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+
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+ Most small-business emails are best between about 75 and 200 words. A
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+ newsletter can be longer when it's scannable (short sections with clear
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+ headings), but if it needs scrolling on a phone, ask whether it's two emails.
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+
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+ ## Worked example: trades tips
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+
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+ Subject: 3 things to check before the first storm
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+ Preview: Two minutes with a bucket can save a flooded laundry.
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+
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+ > G'day Sam,
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+ >
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+ > Storm season's nearly here. Before the first big one, it's worth two
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+ > minutes on these:
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+ >
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+ > 1. **Gutters.** Clear leaves before they overflow into the eaves.
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+ > 2. **Downpipes.** Pour a bucket down each and watch where it goes.
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+ > 3. **The stormwater pit.** Lift the grate and check it isn't full of silt.
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+ >
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+ > If any of them look wrong, we'll sort it before the rain does.
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+ >
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+ > [Book a storm-season check]
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+ >
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+ > Cheers,
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+ > Rob
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+ >
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+ > P.S. If your hot water system is more than 10 years old, ask us to look at
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+ > it while we're there.
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+
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+ ## Worked example: studio term enrolment (New Zealand)
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+
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+ Subject: Term 4 enrolments open Monday
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+ Preview: Saturday hip hop is back, and there's a new adult beginners class.
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+
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+ > Kia ora Mere,
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+ >
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+ > Term 4 starts on 13 October and enrolments open this Monday at 9am.
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+ > Saturday hip hop is back by popular demand, and we've added an adult
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+ > beginners contemporary class on Wednesday nights.
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+ >
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+ > Spots in the Saturday classes went in two days last term, so if Aria is
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+ > keen, Monday morning is the time.
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+ >
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+ > [See the Term 4 timetable]
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+ >
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+ > Ngā mihi,
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+ > Jess
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+ # Keeping email out of the spam folder
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+
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+ 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.