SKILL.md
Email Best Practices
Guidance for building deliverable, compliant, user-friendly emails.
Architecture Overview
[User] → [Email Form] → [Validation] → [Double Opt-In]
↓
[Consent Recorded]
↓
[Suppression Check] ←──────────────[Ready to Send]
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[Idempotent Send + Retry] ──────→ [Email API]
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[Webhook Events]
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┌────────┬────────┬─────────────┐
↓ ↓ ↓ ↓
Delivered Bounced Complained Opened/Clicked
↓ ↓
[Suppression List Updated]
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[List Hygiene Jobs]Quick Reference
| Need to... | See |
|---|---|
| Set up SPF/DKIM/DMARC, fix spam issues | [Deliverability](./references/deliverability.md) |
| Build password reset, OTP, confirmations | [Transactional Emails](./references/transactional-emails.md) |
| Plan which emails your app needs | [Transactional Email Catalog](./references/transactional-email-catalog.md) |
| Build newsletter signup, validate emails | [Email Capture](./references/email-capture.md) |
| Send newsletters, promotions | [Marketing Emails](./references/marketing-emails.md) |
| Ensure CAN-SPAM/GDPR/CASL compliance | [Compliance](./references/compliance.md) |
| Decide transactional vs marketing | [Email Types](./references/email-types.md) |
| Handle retries, idempotency, errors | [Sending Reliability](./references/sending-reliability.md) |
| Process delivery events, set up webhooks | [Webhooks & Events](./references/webhooks-events.md) |
| Manage bounces, complaints, suppression | [List Management](./references/list-management.md) |
Start Here
New app? Start with the [Catalog](./references/transactional-email-catalog.md) to plan which emails your app needs (password reset, verification, etc.), then set up [Deliverability](./references/deliverability.md) (DNS authentication) before sending your first email.
Spam issues? Check [Deliverability](./references/deliverability.md) first—authentication problems are the most common cause. Gmail/Yahoo reject unauthenticated emails.
Marketing emails? Follow this path: [Email Capture](./references/email-capture.md) (collect consent) → [Compliance](./references/compliance.md) (legal requirements) → [Marketing Emails](./references/marketing-emails.md) (best practices).
Production-ready sending? Add reliability: [Sending Reliability](./references/sending-reliability.md) (retry + idempotency) → [Webhooks & Events](./references/webhooks-events.md) (track delivery) → [List Management](./references/list-management.md) (handle bounces).