/email

name: email
description: "Use this skill when the user needs to create email sequences, design onboarding drips, write welcome emails, set up behavioral triggers, improve email engagement, or set up professional branded email. Also use when the user mentions 'drip campaign,' 'welcome email,' 'trial expiry email,' 'email automation,' 'lifecycle emails,' 'branded email,' 'business email,' 'email forwarding,' 'DMARC,' 'SPF,' 'DKIM,' 'hello@ email,' or 'professional email.' Covers branded email setup, email security, lifecycle email programs, subject line formulas, and drip campaign design."

Email & Lifecycle Marketing

Email is the highest-ROI channel in SaaS — when done right. This skill helps you design email sequences that drive activation, retention, and revenue with specific copy you can paste into your email tool.

> **If `ABOUT-ME.md` and/or `MY-ICP.md` exist in the project root**, read them before writing emails. The "from" voice should match ABOUT-ME.md Communication Style — emails should sound like the founder, not a marketing department. The content should speak to MY-ICP.md — their pain, their goals, their language.

Core Principles

• Every email must answer: "Why should I care about this right now?"
• Behavioral triggers > time-based drips. React to what users DO, not how long they've been around.
• One email, one goal, one CTA. Multiple CTAs = no CTA.
• Subject lines determine whether your email is read. Body copy determines whether it's acted on.
• Unsubscribes are better than spam complaints. Make it easy to leave.

---

Part 1: Professional Branded Email (Do This First)

Before you send a single marketing email, you need a professional email address. Sending from `yourname@gmail.com` kills credibility. You want `hello@yourdomain.com` — and you can set this up for free in under 30 minutes.

The Free Setup (Cloudflare + Gmail)

This is the 80/20 approach. You get a branded email address without paying for Google Workspace or managing an email server.

**What you need:**

• A free Gmail account (you probably already have one)
• Your domain on Cloudflare (free plan works — if your domain is elsewhere, transfer DNS to Cloudflare)

**Step 1: Set up Cloudflare Email Routing (receiving mail)**

Cloudflare Email Routing forwards `hello@yourdomain.com` to your personal Gmail — for free.

1. Go to Cloudflare dashboard > your domain > Email > Email Routing 2. Click "Get started" and add a destination address (your Gmail) 3. Verify your Gmail address when Cloudflare sends the confirmation 4. Create a route: `hello@yourdomain.com` → `yourpersonal@gmail.com` 5. Add a catch-all if you want (sends ANY `@yourdomain.com` address to your Gmail)

That's it. Emails to `hello@yourdomain.com` now arrive in your Gmail inbox.

**Step 2: Send AS your branded address from Gmail**

Receiving is only half the equation. You also want to reply FROM `hello@yourdomain.com` so recipients see your branded address, not your personal Gmail.

Option A — **Use a free SMTP relay** (most reliable): 1. Create a free account on [Resend](https://resend.com) or [Brevo](https://brevo.com) (both have free tiers) 2. Verify your domain in their dashboard (they'll give you DNS records to add in Cloudflare) 3. Get your SMTP credentials from the relay service 4. In Gmail: Settings > Accounts > "Send mail as" > Add another email address 5. Enter `hello@yourdomain.com`, uncheck "Treat as alias" 6. Enter the SMTP server, port, username, and password from your relay service 7. Click the verification link Gmail sends to `hello@yourdomain.com` (which forwards to your Gmail)

Option B — **ImprovMX** ($10/year):

• Handles both forwarding AND SMTP sending in one service
• Simpler setup than Option A if you want to skip the relay configuration
• Free tier available (forwarding only; sending requires paid plan)

**Step 3: Set your branded address as the default**

In Gmail: Settings > Accounts > "Send mail as" > make `hello@yourdomain.com` the default. Now every email you send comes from your branded address.

Email Security: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC

These three DNS records prevent attackers from spoofing your domain (sending fake emails that look like they come from you). They also dramatically improve deliverability — without them, your emails land in spam.

**Why this matters for founders:**

• Without DMARC, anyone can send emails pretending to be `@yourdomain.com`
• Phishing attacks using your domain destroy trust and can get your domain blacklisted
• Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo now require SPF and DKIM for bulk senders — even small senders benefit

**What to set up (add these as DNS records in Cloudflare):**

| Record | What It Does | Priority | |--------|-------------|----------| | **SPF** | Declares which servers can send email for your domain | Must have | | **DKIM** | Cryptographically signs your emails to prove they're authentic | Must have | | **DMARC** | Tells receiving servers what to do with emails that fail SPF/DKIM checks | Must have |

Your email forwarding service (Cloudflare) and SMTP relay (Resend/Brevo) will give you the exact DNS records to add. Follow their setup guides — they walk you through it.

**DMARC record to start with** (add as a TXT record for `_dmarc.yourdomain.com`):

v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com; pct=100

• `p=quarantine` tells receiving servers to spam-folder emails that fail authentication (use `p=reject` once you're confident everything is configured correctly)
• `rua=mailto:...` sends you aggregate reports about who's sending email from your domain

**Verify your setup:** Use [MXToolbox](https://mxtoolbox.com/SuperTool.aspx) or Google's [Check MX](https://toolbox.googleapps.com/apps/checkmx/) to confirm SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are working.

When to Upgrade to Google Workspace

The free Cloudflare + Gmail setup works great for solo founders. Consider Google Workspace ($7/user/month) when:

• You're hiring and need multiple `@yourdomain.com` ac