directmail .coach

Direct mail fluency for AI assistants

Become a direct mail expert with AI.

A premium skill pack for planning, creating, executing, and measuring direct mail campaigns with real rigor, not generic marketing advice.

Get Started Explore the Skills
Works with
  • Claude
  • Codex
  • Cursor
  • Gemini CLI
  • GitHub Copilot
  • OpenClaw
01

The upgrade

From generic marketing advice to direct mail judgment.

Before

Generic AI Output

  • Send a postcard with a discount code.
  • Track redemptions and call it ROAS.
  • Write copy like email, only shorter.
  • Pick a format without thinking about the mailbox.
  • Measure whatever is easiest to attribute.

After

With dm-skills

  • Assess whether direct mail is the right channel at all.
  • Build segments, offers, and budget math before creative.
  • Treat the piece as a physical object, not email on paper.
  • Coordinate print, list hygiene, and in-home timing.
  • Use holdouts to measure causal lift, not attribution theatre.

Measured. Mailbox-ready. Approved.

02

The framework

Four phases, one strategist, one cleaner way to work.

Master orchestrator

dm-strategist

Start here for new campaigns, strategic questions, and cross-phase decisions. It routes you to the right specialist at the right time.

Plan

Audience architecture, offers, list strategy, budget, timing.

Create

Copy, design direction, format choices, personalization, compliance.

Execute

Print production, list hygiene, mail house coordination, USPS flow.

Measure

Holdouts, incrementality, ROI models, reporting, learning loops.

03

The skill set

Five skills that cover the full campaign lifecycle.

Start here

dm-strategist

End-to-end orchestration, strategic counsel, workflow routing, and vertical-specific playbooks.

This is the senior operator in the system. It understands where a campaign is in the lifecycle, which phase decisions are coupled, and when a choice in one area will break another.

Example prompt

Use the dm-strategist skill. I want to launch a direct mail
acquisition campaign for a premium coffee subscription brand.
Budget $25K. Help me plan and execute the full campaign.

Phase 1

dm-plan

Strategic assessment, audience design, offer construction, ROI modeling, list strategy, and timing.

  • Checks whether direct mail is actually the right channel
  • Builds campaign architecture before creative starts
  • Matches goals to formats, segments, and budget realities

Example prompt

Use the dm-plan skill to design a win-back campaign for customers
who haven't purchased in 6 months. Our average LTV is $280.

Phase 2

dm-create

Direct mail copy, design direction, personalization, format specs, and creative testing.

  • Treats mail as a physical object, not a digital ad
  • Builds around stop, engage, and act copy structure
  • Produces production-ready briefs rather than vague prompts

Example prompt

Use the dm-create skill to write copy for a 6x9 postcard targeting
lapsed subscribers with a 20% win-back offer.

Phase 3

dm-execute

Production workflow, mail preparation, list hygiene, vendor coordination, and delivery operations.

  • Covers NCOA, CASS, dedupe, postage, and mail house flow
  • Prevents operational mistakes that quietly kill performance
  • Bridges campaign strategy to actual in-home delivery

Example prompt

Use the dm-execute skill to help me set up a triggered postcard
workflow using the Poplar API for cart abandoners.

Phase 4

dm-measure

Holdout design, incrementality testing, attribution methods, reporting frameworks, and learning systems.

  • Pushes teams past promo-code-only reporting
  • Designs tests around causal impact instead of correlation
  • Turns each campaign into compounding knowledge

Example prompt

Use the dm-measure skill to design an incrementality test for our
next retention drop. We're mailing 15,000 pieces.
04

Examples

Prompts that make the expertise legible.

Acquisition

Use the dm-strategist skill. We sell premium coffee subscriptions.
Budget $25K. Build a direct mail acquisition campaign with a
measurable holdout and a realistic break-even model.

Win-back

Use the dm-plan skill to segment lapsed buyers into 90, 180, and
365-day cohorts and recommend offer strength by segment.

Creative

Use the dm-create skill to write a 6x9 postcard that feels premium,
clear, and mailbox-native rather than ad-like.

Measurement

Use the dm-measure skill to design a holdout-backed reporting
framework for monthly triggered mail.
05

Get started

One command. Every major AI harness.

Install the full direct mail framework, then start with dm-strategist or run /dm-teach to capture campaign context first.

  • Designed for leading agent ecosystems including Codex, Claude, Cursor, Gemini CLI, and OpenClaw-compatible `.agents/skills` setups
  • Portable anywhere the skills standard is supported, including custom and ChatGPT-adjacent workflows that can consume the same skill directories
  • Grounded in real direct mail planning, creative, ops, and analytics
  • Built to help teams learn, not just ship one-off campaigns

Install

npx skills add dm-skills/skills

Manual installation is also available if you prefer to extract the skill folders directly into your project.

06

Frequently asked

For teams moving from curiosity to actual campaigns.

Who is this for?

Marketers, operators, founders, consultants, and AI power users who want direct mail expertise inside the tools they already use.

Do I need prior direct mail experience?

No. The framework is designed to teach the planning logic, creative constraints, operational steps, and measurement discipline required to run real campaigns.

Why is measurement such a big part of this?

Because direct mail often gets misread through weak attribution. These skills bias toward holdouts and incrementality so teams can make better budget decisions.

Where should I start?

Start with dm-strategist. If you want more tailored guidance, run /dm-teach first and capture your business context before working through a campaign.