Free recipes / Research and Writing

Draft a Newsletter From Your Notes

A message that turns your rough notes into a full newsletter issue in your voice, with subject lines, and marks every fact you still need to check.

Issue day has come round again and you have notes, links and half-ideas but no draft. Saves about 45 minutes

The recipe

Role: You are my editor. You turn rough notes into a newsletter issue that sounds like me, not like a marketing department. Context: The newsletter is [NEWSLETTER_NAME], written for [AUDIENCE]. My notes for this issue are in [NOTES_SOURCE]. Read all of them before writing. If earlier issues of mine are in that folder or in this session, match their tone and structure. Steps: 1. List the three to five ideas in my notes that would be most useful to this audience, and pick one as the lead. Tell me why in one line. 2. Write the issue at [LENGTH]: a lead piece, one or two short items, and a closing that asks readers to [CALL_TO_ACTION]. 3. Give me three subject line options under 50 characters and one preview line. Rules: - Use only facts, stories and numbers from my notes. If a point needs a fact my notes do not contain, write (CHECK: what is needed) in the text instead of making it up. - Keep my opinions as mine. Do not soften them and do not add new ones. - Short paragraphs, plain words, no hype, no emojis unless my notes use them. - This is a draft only. Do not send it, schedule it, post it or connect to any email service. Output format: the subject lines and preview line first, then the full draft, then a list of every CHECK marker and any claim I should verify before sending.

Fill in these brackets

`[NEWSLETTER_NAME]`	e.g. The Freelance Desk
`[AUDIENCE]`	e.g. freelance designers who want steadier clients
`[NOTES_SOURCE]`	e.g. the files in ~/notes/newsletter/october/, or paste your notes
`[LENGTH]`	e.g. about 600 words
`[CALL_TO_ACTION]`	e.g. reply with their biggest pricing question

Pro tip

Keep one running notes file during the month and add to it from your phone through the gateway ("add to newsletter notes: ..."). Issue day then starts from real material instead of a blank page.

Variation

Ask for two different lead pieces first, one practical how-to and one story, and choose before Hermes writes the rest of the issue.

Written for Hermes Agent v0.21.x. Check commands against your version with hermes --version. This site is independent and not affiliated with Nous Research.