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/email-best-practices

@376d1c3 official
by resendresend/resend-skills193 stars
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Use when building email features, emails going to spam, high bounce rates, setting up SPF/DKIM/DMARC authentication, implementing email capture, ensuring compliance (CAN-SPAM, GDPR, CASL), handling webhooks, retry logic, making emails accessible (alt text, headings, contrast, screen readers), or deciding transactional vs marketing.

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Use this Skill: https://skilld.dev/gh/resend/resend-skills/email-best-practices

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referencesmarketing-emails.md

≈829 tokens on demand. Your agent reads this file only when SKILL.md points to it.

Marketing Email Best Practices

Promotional emails that require explicit consent and provide value to recipients.

Core Principles

  1. Consent first - Explicit opt-in required (especially GDPR/CASL)
  2. Value-driven - Provide useful content, not just promotions
  3. Respect preferences - Let users control frequency and content types

Opt-In Requirements

Explicit Opt-In

What counts:

  • User checks unchecked box
  • User clicks "Subscribe" button
  • User completes form with clear subscription intent

What doesn't count:

  • Pre-checked boxes
  • Opt-out model
  • Assumed consent from purchase
  • Purchased/rented lists

Informed Consent

Disclose: email types, frequency, sender identity, how to unsubscribe.

✅ "Subscribe to our weekly newsletter with product updates and tips" ❌ "Sign up for emails"

Double Opt-In (Recommended)

  1. User submits email
  2. Send confirmation email with verification link
  3. User clicks to confirm
  4. Add to list only after confirmation

Benefits: Verifies deliverability, confirms intent, reduces complaints, required in some regions (Germany).

Unsubscribe Requirements

Must be:

  • Prominent in every email
  • One-click (preferred)
  • Immediate (GDPR) or within 10 days (CAN-SPAM) (immediate preferred)
  • Free, no login required

Preference center options: Frequency (daily/weekly/monthly), content types, complete unsubscribe.

Content and Design

Subject Lines

  • Clear and specific (50 chars or less for mobile)
  • Create curiosity without misleading
  • A/B test regularly

✅ "Your weekly digest: 5 productivity tips" ❌ "You won't believe what happened!"

Structure

Above fold: Value proposition, primary CTA, engaging visual

Body: Scannable (short paragraphs, bullets), clear hierarchy, multiple CTAs

Footer: Unsubscribe link, company info, physical address (CAN-SPAM), social links

Mobile-First

  • Single column layout
  • 44x44px minimum buttons
  • 16px minimum text
  • Test on iOS, Android, dark mode

Segmentation

Segment by: Behavior (purchases, activity), demographics, preferences, engagement level, signup source.

Benefits: Higher open/click rates, lower unsubscribes, better experience.

Personalization

Options: Name in subject/greeting, location-specific content, behavior-based recommendations, purchase history.

Don't over-personalize - can feel intrusive. Use data you have permission to use.

Frequency and Timing

Frequency: Start conservative, increase based on engagement, let users set preferences, monitor unsubscribe rates.

Timing: Weekday mornings (9-11 AM local), Tuesday-Thursday often best. Test your specific audience.

List Hygiene

Remove immediately: Hard bounces, unsubscribes, complaints

Remove after inactivity: Send re-engagement campaign first, then remove non-responders

Monitor: Bounce rate <2%, complaint rate <0.05%

Required Elements (All Marketing Emails)

  • Clear sender identification
  • Physical mailing address (CAN-SPAM)
  • Unsubscribe mechanism
  • Indication it's marketing (GDPR)

Related

Source: SKILL.md on GitHub

Third-party checks

No alerts16d4 checks · Risk SAFE
  • Gen Agent Trust Hub16d

    The skill is a comprehensive knowledge base for email best practices, including deliverability, accessibility, compliance, and reliability. It contains educational content and code examples for developers. No malicious patterns or security risks were detected.

  • Socket16d

    No alerts

  • Snyk16d

    Risk: LOW · No issues

  • ZeroLeaks5mo

    Score: 93/100 · 2 sections analyzed

Provenance

Signed by skilld at 376d1c3. This ties the file your Agent reads to that commit on GitHub. It does not review the instructions.

Last checked against GitHub 2 days ago.

Activeupdated 4 months ago

Capability

Other metadata
metadata
{
  "author": "Resend",
  "version": "1.0.2",
  "homepage": "https://resend.com/agent-skills",
  "source": "https://github.com/resend/email-best-practices",
  "openclaw": {
    "links": {
      "repository": "https://github.com/resend/email-best-practices",
      "documentation": "https://resend.com/docs/email-best-practices-skill"
    }
  }
}

Topics

  • email
  • transactional
  • marketing
  • deliverability
  • spf-dkim-dmarc
  • compliance
  • webhooks
  • accessibility
  • list-management
  • resend

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README badge for resend/resend-skills/email-best-practices

What it does

Provides decision trees and reference guides for deliverability (SPF/DKIM/DMARC), compliance (CAN-SPAM/GDPR/CASL), transactional vs marketing email classification, webhook handling, list management, and accessibility (alt text, headings, contrast). Targets teams building email features with Resend or similar transactional email APIs.

Generated from the current SKILL.md.

Frequently asked

Does this skill cover setting up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC?
Yes. The Deliverability section covers authentication setup and is the first step recommended for fixing spam issues, as unauthenticated emails are commonly rejected by Gmail and Yahoo.
What compliance standards does this skill address?
It covers CAN-SPAM, GDPR, and CASL requirements, with a dedicated Compliance section for legal obligations around email capture and marketing sends.
Does this skill include guidance on making emails accessible?
Yes. The Accessibility section covers screen reader support, alt text, headings, contrast requirements, and proper HTML structure for inclusive email design.
How does this skill handle bounces and list hygiene?
The List Management section covers bounce handling, suppression list updates, and list hygiene jobs. Webhooks & Events section covers processing delivery events to track bounces and complaints.
Does this skill cover retry logic and idempotent sending?
Yes. The Sending Reliability section covers retry strategy, idempotency, and error handling for production-ready email sending.

Generated from the current SKILL.md. These answers refresh after source changes.