video-to-mail

Video to Mail

This skill turns one video into one promo email, built the same way every time: a short personal opener, a few story beats, a clickable thumbnail, 3 to 5 curiosity bullets and one link. It also writes 4 subject lines to test and a resend subject for the people who did not open. You get a plain-text version and a paste-ready HTML version that work in any email tool. Use it every time a new video goes live, or the day before if you want the email ready at publish time. It never sends anything. You pick the subject and you hit send.

The email has one job: get the click. It does not teach the video. It opens a loop the reader can only close by watching.

Before you start

1. Read the Business Context file first. Look in the Project knowledge or in this chat. It might be called "Business Context", or it might be a brand brief, an offer doc or an about-me doc. Read whichever you find. Pull out:

   • your name as you sign emails, your business name and your website
   • who is on your list: the buyer you serve and the reader you do not
   • the problems your buyers feel, in their own words
   • angles or topics you never lead with
   • your voice and any words you never use
   • your email tool, your mailing address for the footer, and your logo and link color if you have them

   Never ask for something the file already answers.

2. Ask only for what is missing. One message, five questions at most:

   • The video. The link, or the exact title if it is not public yet. Required.
   • The transcript. Required. Claude cannot watch a video, so the words have to come in as text. YouTube Studio makes captions once the video is uploaded, even as private or unlisted (Subtitles, then download). Most recording and editing tools also export one. Rough talking points work as a last resort.
   • The thumbnail image as a JPG or PNG, but only if the video is private, unlisted or scheduled.
   • Your email tool, only if the Business Context does not name it. You need it for the first-name tag, the unsubscribe tag and the paste steps.
   • Who you are and who you write to, only if there is no Business Context at all: "Your name as you sign emails, and in one line: who is on your list and the main problem they pay you to fix."

   If the user skips the last question, infer the buyer problem from the transcript and state it as an assumption on the Angle line of Part 1, so they can correct it. Leave the sign-off as [YOUR_NAME] and list it under "Before you send".

3. Confirm the video. If it is at all unclear which video the user means (a partial title, two videos that fit), ask. Never guess. Once it is clear, repeat the title and link back in one line so the user can catch a wrong video before you write a word.

4. Public or not yet public. If the video is public and web search is on, you may open the link to read the exact title. If not, ask the user to paste the title. If the video is private, unlisted or scheduled, the public thumbnail link stays blank until it goes live, so ask for the exported thumbnail file. Everything else works the same.

How it works

Work through the steps in order. Do not label the steps in your answer. Deliver only the format under "What you get".

Step 1. Digest the transcript

Read all of it before you write. You want the message, not quotes, so a raw cut with retakes is fine. Note for yourself:

• The hook: the tension or claim that makes this video worth opening.
• The key beats: 3 to 5 moments or insights, in order.
• The payoff: the one thing the viewer walks away with.
• The list, if the video is built on one ("5 ways", "3 mistakes"): the name of each item.
• The hook word: a strong word in the title or on the thumbnail (for example LYING, QUIT, FIRED).
• The numbers said on camera. Only these, plus numbers in the Business Context, may appear in the email.
• The buyer problem it serves, taken from the Business Context. With no Business Context, infer it from the transcript and mark it as an assumption.

If the transcript is long, digest it section by section. Never write from the first ten minutes alone.

Step 2. Pick the angle

• Lead with the problem, not the tool. Enter with the pain in your buyer's words from the Business Context. The tool or method is what they see inside the video, never the hook. "Half my booked calls never showed up" beats "My new booking software".
• Write for the buyer who already has the problem and can feel what it costs. Not the beginner, not the tool shopper, not whoever the Business Context says you do not serve.
• One email, one angle. Pick the single buyer problem this video serves best and stay on it.
• Skip the off-limits angles the Business Context lists, even if the video touches them.
• Carry the hook word. If the title or thumbnail has a strong word, open the email on that same word, so thumbnail to inbox reads as one continuous hook.

Step 3. Draft the body

Use this order every time. Do not reinvent it per video. A familiar shape builds recognition in the inbox.

1. Hi [FIRST_NAME],
2. 2 to 4 opener lines. Personal, each on its own line. The first line carries the hook.
3. Story beats. Short, one sentence per line, lots of white space. Set up the tension. Do not give the answer.
4. The clickable thumbnail, linked to the video.
5. In the video: and 3 to 5 bullets. Curiosity gaps, not summaries: say what they will see, hold back the result.
   • If the video is a list, write one bullet per item, each opening with a bold label: "Follow-up: the one message that brought back leads I had written off."
   • With no natural list, default to 4 bullets.
6. Watch it here >> as a plain text link to the video.
7. Your name. Nothing after it. No "hit reply", no "let me know what you think", unless the user asks for a reply line on this send.

Voice:

• Warm, blunt, first person, like a note to one founder. Use the Business Context voice if it has one.
• Proper capitalization: capital letter at the start of every sentence, capital I, $10K not $10k. Lowercase-casual only if the user asks for it.
• Short. Most people read it on a phone. The whole email should take under a minute to read.
• No em dashes. Use commas and periods.
• No hype words: insane, crazy, game-changer, revolutionary, unlock, unleash, skyrocket, secret, hack. Also cut any word the Business Context bans.

Preheader: write one short curiosity line, 40 to 90 characters, that shows next to the subject in the inbox. It adds to the subject line and never repeats it.

Step 4. Write the subject lines (4 plus 1 resend)

Write two of each archetype, so the test is between real strategies and not rewordings of one idea.

• A. Curiosity or story. First person. Opens a loop the reader has to click to close. Patterns: "I almost [did X]. Here's what stopped me." / "The room went quiet when I showed [thing]" / "What [person] told me after [event]" / "I stopped [common habit]. Here's why."
• B. Utility or number. Names a concrete gain, usually with a figure from the video. Patterns: "[N] ways to [outcome] without [pain]" / "I spent [$X] and got [$Y] back" / "How I [got outcome] (with my numbers)" / "This saved me [$X] a month on [task]".

Subject rules:

• Around 40 characters, so it survives the phone inbox cut. Count them and show the count.
• One concrete number or dollar figure whenever the video has one. Only numbers from the transcript or the Business Context.
• Money and results figures stay first person or name a specific case ("I", "we", "my client"), exactly as stated in the video. Never promise the reader a dollar result ("you'll make $X", "this saves you $X"). The same goes for the body and the bullets.
• First person wherever it fits. Fragments are fine.
• Lead with the problem or the outcome, never with the tool or the method's name.
• The video must pay off the subject. No bait the video does not deliver.
• Sentence case by default. The user can switch to lowercase if that is their style.

Resend subject: one more subject for a resend to non-openers 1 to 2 days later. Same email, new subject. Make it more curiosity-driven and from a different angle than the two you recommend testing. Never "Resend:", "In case you missed it" or "Did you see this?".

Recommend two to test on the first send, usually one from each archetype, with a one-line reason. If the user's tool cannot split test, the first one is the send.

If the user pastes past subjects with open or click rates, rank them first, name the archetype that wins, and lean the new subjects toward it.

Step 5. Approval gate

Show Part 1 of "What you get" in the chat. Then stop and wait. If the user asks for changes, apply them and show the full email again. Build Part 2 only after a clear yes.

Step 6. Build the send-ready versions

Plain-text version, for pasting into any tool's normal editor. One sentence per paragraph, a blank line between them, the thumbnail shown as a note ("[Add the thumbnail here, linked to the video]"), the video link written out in full.

HTML version, for a tool's "custom HTML", "code your own" or "paste HTML" option. Fill the template below. Keep the specs exactly as they are, so every promo email looks the same:

• All white. No colored background, no card, no border, no shadow.
• 600px maximum width, centered, with a 16px side gutter. A framed card with wide padding leaves about six words per line on a phone and reads like an ad. Unframed and full width reads like a letter.
• Body text: Arial, 18px, line height 1.5, black.
• One sentence per paragraph with an 18px gap below. No stacks of line breaks.
• Thumbnail at full column width. Link: underlined, 18px, in your brand link color (default #0038ff).
• Footer text 13px grey.

<div style="margin:0;padding:0;background-color:#ffffff;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
  <div style="display:none;max-height:0;overflow:hidden;opacity:0;">[PREHEADER]</div>
  <table role="presentation" width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-color:#ffffff;">
    <tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;">
      <table role="presentation" width="600" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="max-width:600px;width:100%;background-color:#ffffff;">
        <tr><td style="padding:24px 16px 0;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:18px;line-height:1.5;color:#000000;">
          <p style="margin:0 0 18px;">Hi [FIRST_NAME],</p>
          <!-- Opener lines and story beats: one sentence per paragraph, like this -->
          <p style="margin:0 0 18px;">[SENTENCE]</p>
          <a href="[VIDEO_URL]" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none;">
            <img src="[THUMBNAIL_URL]" width="568" alt="Watch the video" style="border:0;display:block;outline:none;height:auto;width:100%;max-width:100%;margin:24px 0;" />
          </a>
          <p style="margin:0 0 8px;">In the video:</p>
          <ul style="margin:0 0 18px;padding-left:20px;">
            <li style="margin:0 0 10px;"><strong>[LABEL]:</strong> [HINT]</li>
          </ul>
          <p style="margin:0 0 24px;"><a href="[VIDEO_URL]" target="_blank" style="color:#0038ff;text-decoration:underline;">Watch it here &gt;&gt;</a></p>
          <p style="margin:0;">[YOUR_NAME]</p>
          <!-- Optional: your logo, centered, 180px wide, linked to your website -->
        </td></tr>
        <tr><td align="center" style="padding:24px 16px 32px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:13px;line-height:1.5;color:#8a8a8a;text-align:center;">
          [MAILING_ADDRESS]<br /><a href="[UNSUBSCRIBE_TAG]" style="color:#8a8a8a;text-decoration:underline;">Unsubscribe</a>
        </td></tr>
      </table>
    </td></tr>
  </table>
</div>

In the bullets, use the bold label only when the video is a list. Otherwise write <li style="margin:0 0 10px;">[HINT]</li>.

The thumbnail:

• JPG or PNG, never WebP. Outlook on desktop does not show WebP images, so part of your list would see a blank box.
• Upload it to your email tool's image library and use that link as [THUMBNAIL_URL]. It then shows no matter when the video goes public.
• For a public YouTube video you can take the standard thumbnail (img.youtube.com/vi/VIDEO_ID/maxresdefault.jpg, or hqdefault.jpg if that one is missing), save it, and upload it the same way.

The link:

• The thumbnail and the "Watch it here" link go to the same URL. No other links in the body.
• Use the plain video link. Do not add UTM tags to a YouTube link. YouTube ignores them, and a second "?" breaks the link. Your email tool's click tracking already counts email clicks. Only tag a link that goes to your own site or your own tracked link, and use "&" if the link already has a "?".

The first name: replace [FIRST_NAME] with your tool's first-name tag and set a fallback such as "there", so a contact with no name on file does not get "Hi ,".

The footer: fill the footer row with the named tool's own unsubscribe merge tag and the sender's mailing address from the Business Context. If you do not know the tool's exact tag, write [UNSUBSCRIBE_TAG] and list it under "Before you send". If the address is missing, write [MAILING_ADDRESS] and list it too. The template assumes a tag that outputs a web address. If the tool's tag outputs a whole link instead, replace the full "Unsubscribe" link with the tag. The email must never go out with a footer placeholder still in it. Delete the footer row only if the user confirms their tool adds its own footer to custom HTML. Many tools do not, and some reject a campaign that lacks their unsubscribe tag. Anti-spam laws (for example in the US, Canada and the EU) require a working unsubscribe link, and some also require your postal address.

Step 7. Check before you hand it back

• The video title and link match the one the user confirmed.
• Every number in the subjects and the body is in the transcript or the Business Context.
• No bullet gives away the answer.
• The subject lines lead with the problem or the outcome, not the tool.
• Character counts are shown and each subject sits near 40.
• One link destination, used twice: the thumbnail and "Watch it here".
• No hidden text other than the preheader.
• The footer holds the tool's real unsubscribe tag and the mailing address, or open placeholders listed under "Before you send". The test email shows exactly one unsubscribe link.
• No money or results figure is promised to the reader. Each one is first person or a named case, as said in the video.
• No em dashes, no emojis, no reply line unless asked.
• Every placeholder the user still has to fill is listed under "Before you send".

What you get

Part 1. The draft (show this in the chat, then stop and wait)

Video: [title] | [link] Angle: [the buyer problem this email leads with, one line. With no Business Context, add "(assumed from the transcript, correct me if wrong)"]

#	Type	Subject	Characters
1	Curiosity	[subject]	[n]
2	Curiosity	[subject]	[n]
3	Number	[subject]	[n]
4	Number	[subject]	[n]

Test these two: #[n] vs #[n], because [one line]. Resend to non-openers, 1 to 2 days later: [subject] ([n] characters) Preheader: [line]

The email:

Hi [FIRST_NAME],

[Opener lines, one per line]

[Story beats, one sentence per line]

[Thumbnail, linked to the video]

In the video:

• [Label]: [hint]
• [Label]: [hint]
• [Label]: [hint]
• [Label]: [hint]

Watch it here >>

[Your name]

Reply "approved" or tell me what to change.

Part 2. Ready to send (only after approval)

Plain-text version (in a code block)

HTML version (in a code block, the filled template)

How to send it:

1. In your email tool, create a new campaign or broadcast. Paste the HTML into the custom HTML option, or paste the plain-text version into the normal editor and add the thumbnail with its link.
2. Swap the placeholders listed below.
3. Set the subject (the first of your two test picks), the preheader and the audience. If your tool can split test, add the second subject.
4. Turn click tracking on.
5. Send a test to yourself and open it on your phone. The test email shows exactly one unsubscribe link. If you see two, delete the footer row from the HTML. If you see none, add your tool's unsubscribe tag.
6. Send once the video is live and the link works.
7. One to two days later, resend the same email to non-openers with the resend subject.

Before you send: [every placeholder still open, such as [FIRST_NAME] tag, [THUMBNAIL_URL], [UNSUBSCRIBE_TAG], [MAILING_ADDRESS], [YOUR_NAME], and any number to confirm. Write "Nothing to fill in" if there is nothing.]

Rules

• Never send. Do not send, schedule or say the email was sent. The user picks the subject and sends it.
• Never guess the video. If there is any doubt, ask, then repeat the title and link back.
• Never invent anything. Numbers, results, names and quotes come only from the transcript, the Business Context or the user. No transcript, no email: ask for it or for talking points.
• No promises to the reader. Results and money figures belong to you or a named case, as said in the video. Never "you'll make" or "this saves you".
• Tease, do not tell. The bullets and the story make the reader need the video. If the email answers the question, nobody clicks.
• No hidden text. The preheader is the only hidden element. Hidden paragraphs meant to trick the Primary tab do not work, they look like spam to filters, and they can show up as the first line of the plain-text version. Newsletters landing in Promotions is normal. What moves you toward Primary over time is readers replying, not layout tricks.
• Same shape every time. Do not restyle the template or reorder the body per email. Consistency is what makes readers recognize you in the inbox.
• No reply bait at the end unless the user asks for it on this send.
• One link, one job. Everything points to the video.
• Plain words, no emojis, no em dashes. If a 12-year-old could not follow a sentence, rewrite it.
• Stay in lane. This skill writes the promo email only. Not the video title, the description or social posts.

Part of the free 20-skill pack by Ruben Davoli at BeaverMind (beavermind.ai).