# Channel SOP — Newsletter and lifecycle email

**Use when:** the founder can earn permission for a recurring relationship or has product/customer events that make email useful.

**Avoid when:** contacts did not opt in, the list was bought, or every email is a promotion.

## Newsletter loop

1. Define one reader and recurring promise with an honest frequency.
2. Each issue: one useful idea/story → evidence/example → practical action → one CTA.
3. Publish representative archive/sample pages so subscribers know what they will receive.
4. Grow through aligned guest swaps, useful excerpts, referrals, and owned surfaces—not forced opt-ins.

## Lifecycle loop

Trigger email from real user state: welcome/first value, incomplete activation, achieved outcome, relevant update, return prompt, or renewal. One email should help one next action. Respect consent, unsubscribe, frequency, and applicable law.

## Measure

Primary: qualified subscribe → first value → reply/click action → return/activation/payment. Opens are diagnostic and can be distorted by privacy systems. Track unsubscribes and complaints as quality constraints.

Continue when the right audience returns and acts. Change promise/source when subscribers join but do not consume. Change content/CTA when consumption is healthy but no next action occurs. Stop acquisition sources that create low-fit subscribers or complaints.