sxsphinxstack

Skills / Start a newsletter

Start a newsletter

Start a newsletter the person can sustain. Niche chosen, platform set up, issue one written and sent. Use when they say "I want to start a newsletter" or want a writing habit that shows up on a resume.

Use this skill. Nothing to install.

Open in ChatGPT Open in Claude prefilled and ready; just hit send
for Gemini, Copilot, or Cursor: paste it, then say "use the start a newsletter skill"

Don't have an agent?  ·  Raw file: skills/start-a-newsletter.md

Watch the first two minutes

This is how a session goes when someone already knows they might quit. Click through it.

​(pastes the skill) i want to start a newsletter but i know myself. i'll send two issues and quit
Most people who quit picked a subject they had one essay about, so we test the subject before anything gets set up. What do you pay attention to without trying?
i read every balance patch for my main game and end up explaining the changes to my friends anyway
Promising. The test: name five future issues right now, off the top of your head.
the new patch, whether the meta actually shifted, a tier list, why the devs keep nerfing supports, and a "was this patch good" review. ok that was easy
Five without stalling, so the niche survives. Second honesty check: how often can you really publish? I'd steer you to every two weeks or monthly, whichever you can keep through exam season.
every two weeks i can actually do
Then we set up Buttondown now, free tier. You name it in your words, we write the one-line description a stranger sees, and issue #1 goes out today: you talk about the current patch, I type, and we send it to you plus two friends you name before you close this tab. Sent, and the public archive gives every issue a URL you can put in a bio.

Scripted example of a real session.

Scared it dies after issue two?

The skill assumes that risk and designs against it before setup. The subject has to pass the five-issue test: five future issues named off the top of your head, or it is an essay and gets treated as one. The cadence comes from your honest hours, and every two weeks or monthly is the recommendation because a small promise you keep looks better in six months than a weekly one you broke. And the first ten readers are named people or a named group, so issue #2 has somewhere real to land.

Newsletter for your club Family newsletter people reply to Morning digest you compile

What you end up with

A newsletter with one sent issue is real, so the session does not end until send has been pressed. End state of the session above:

Example
Newsletter: Patch Logic
One-liner:  What this week's balance patch actually changes,
            from someone who plays support every night.
Platform:   Buttondown, free tier · public archive on

Issue #1    "The support nerfs, translated"        SENT today
            412 words · subscribers: 3 (me, Dev, Amara)

Issue #2    "Did the meta actually shift?"         Aug 4
            in calendar, topic locked

Still in the bank: tier list · why supports keep eating
nerfs · "was this patch good" review

Questions people actually ask

Which platform should I use?

Buttondown, Substack, and Ghost all have free tiers that work. The skill shows you each for a minute and you choose. The requirement that matters is a public archive page, so every issue has a URL you can link from a resume or bio.

What if only my friends subscribe?

That is the intended start. The skill asks for the first ten readers by name or group, and issue #1 goes to you plus two real people. The archive URL is the lasting artifact either way, and it grows one dated issue at a time.

How long should an issue be?

Short. The skill's guidance is that three hundred honest words beat a thousand padded ones, and it reads the draft back until every sentence is one you would say out loud.

Will the agent write it for me?

It types and structures; the opinions and specifics are yours. You talk, it gets your actual take down, and any sentence you would not say out loud gets rewritten until you would. Your voice is the product.

How does a newsletter help a resume?

A public archive of dated issues on a schedule you kept is verifiable follow-through, and it doubles as a writing sample. The skill puts the next issue's topic and send date in your calendar before closing so the record keeps growing.

Where to go from here

Issue #1 sent? Keep the streak honest with these:

Write the next issue Edit your own writing A home page beyond the archive
Curious? Read the full skill — the exact instructions your agent gets 
---
name: start-a-newsletter
category: start
description: Start a newsletter the person can sustain. Niche chosen, platform set up, issue one written and sent. Use when they say "I want to start a newsletter" or want a writing habit that shows up on a resume.
---

# start-a-newsletter

Start a newsletter with someone, and the hard part is not
the writing — it is picking a subject they can still write about in
issue eight. Your job is to find that subject in their actual life,
set up a free platform, and get issue #1 sent before the session
ends. A newsletter with one sent issue is real; a perfect plan with
zero issues is not.

## Pick the niche they can sustain

Ask what they pay attention to without trying: the game they follow
patch notes for, the local scene they are already in, the subject
they explain to friends unprompted, the thing they collect or track.
The test for each candidate: can they name five future issues right
now, off the top of their head? If yes, it survives. If they can
only name one, that is an essay, not a newsletter.

Then the honest questions: how often can they actually publish?
Push them toward every two weeks or monthly — a kept small promise
beats a broken weekly one. And who are the first ten readers,
by name or group? Friends, a Discord, a subreddit, family. If they
cannot name ten people who might care, narrow the niche until they
can.

## Set up the platform

Compare current newsletter providers on their official pricing and terms pages.
Choose one with the needed archive, export, consent, and unsubscribe features
and no unexpected payment-card requirement. Then, with them driving:

- Name the newsletter after the niche, in their words.
- Write the one-line description a stranger sees before subscribing.
- Set up the public archive page so every issue has a URL they can
  link from a resume or bio.
- Configure an honest signup form and working unsubscribe footer. Do not add,
  import, or subscribe anyone without explicit consent.

## Write and send issue #1

Issue #1 is written now, in this session, and it is theirs:

1. They pick the topic from their five-issue list.
2. They talk; you type. Get their actual opinions and specifics
   down, then shape the structure — do not replace their voice with
   yours. Read it back; every sentence they would not say out loud
   gets rewritten until they would.
3. Keep it short. Three hundred honest words beat a thousand padded
   ones.
4. Subscribe their own email. Invite other people with the signup link; send
   only to those who opt in. Then hit send.

Before closing, put the next issue's topic and send date in their
calendar. If the newsletter needs a home page beyond the archive,
https://sphinxstack.com/skills/build-website/ is the next skill.

## Done

- A newsletter archive and consent-based signup route are live
- Issue one was sent to the owner and any other confirmed subscribers
- Unsubscribe works, subscriber export is available, and issue two has a topic
  and date