JETAASC Newsletter Skill

Create monthly newsletter campaigns for JETAASC using Mailchimp.

Newsletter Structure

Section	Required	Content
Announcements	No	Org updates, volunteer calls, leadership news
Event Recap	No	Photos/highlights from recent events
Spotlight	No	Feature a JET alum, community member, or achievement
Upcoming Events	Yes	Events with: title, flyer image, description, date, time, location (optional: cost, RSVP link)
Job Opportunities	Yes	Job listings relevant to JET alums + JETAA Job Board link (always included)

Workflow

1. Gather Content

Content usually comes from the monthly Google Doc, which is owned by the jetaasc-newsletter-draft skill. If the user points at one, read it per Reading a doc below. Short issues are often dictated straight into the terminal instead — don't require a doc.

Otherwise ask the user for content for each section:

I'll help create the JETAASC newsletter. I need content for:

**Required:**
- Upcoming Events (for each: title, date, time, location, description, flyer image; optional: cost, RSVP link)

**Optional (skip if none this month):**
- Announcements (org updates, calls to action)
- Event Recaps (event name, highlights, photos)
- Spotlight (member name, JET placement, what they're doing now)
- Job Opportunities (title, company, requirements, how to apply)

Also needed:
- Subject line (e.g., "JETAASC March 2026 Newsletter")
- Preview text (short teaser, ~50 chars)

2. Reading a doc

docs.documents.get silently drops embedded images — it returns them as inlineObject references with a contentUri that can't be fetched. Export the doc as a zip instead, which returns the HTML plus the real image bytes with each image's position preserved:

gws drive files export --params '{"fileId":"DOC_ID","mimeType":"application/zip"}' -o doc.zip
unzip -q doc.zip -d doc/

The banner is the image above the first <h1>; a flyer is the image inside an event's block. Flag any section still empty or marked [PLACEHOLDER: ...] before building, rather than shipping it.

3. Process Images

When you have image files (from a doc export, a local path, or a URL):

1. Check file size - Mailchimp limit is 1MB
2. Compress if needed (if >1MB) using sips or ImageMagick:

   sips -Z 1200 /path/to/image.png --out /tmp/compressed.jpg -s format jpeg -s formatOptions 85
   

3. Upload to Mailchimp using MCP tool:

   mailchimp_upload_image(image_path="/tmp/compressed.jpg", name="descriptive-name.jpg")
   

4. Save the returned URL for use in the structured content

Note: Always download and re-upload images rather than hotlinking external URLs.

4. Draft Content in Markdown

Before building, draft the full newsletter content in markdown and present it to the user for review. This includes the rewritten/polished text for every section — not just a summary of what's included. The user must approve the actual content before the HTML is built.

Here's the newsletter draft for your review:

**Campaign Details:**
- Subject: [SUBJECT LINE]
- Preview: [PREVIEW TEXT]

---

[Full markdown content for each section: announcements, event recaps, events, jobs, etc.]

---

Does this look right, or would you like any changes?

Only proceed to the build step after the user approves.

5. Build and Publish via Subagent

Launch the newsletter-builder agent (subagent_type: "general-purpose") with structured content.

For a new campaign:

Create the Mailchimp campaign with these details:

Subject: [subject line]
Preview: [preview text]
Title: [Month Year] Newsletter
Greeting: [greeting text]

TOC (use nested bullets for sub-items like individual event titles, announcement topics, etc.):
- [section 1]
  - [sub-item]
- [section 2]
  - [sub-item]
...

Sections:

## [Section Name]
[structured content per section type - see agent docs]
...

To update an existing campaign:

Update Mailchimp campaign cc67c2e105 with these details:

[same structured content format as above, omit Subject/Preview/Title if unchanged]

Sections:
...

The agent reads the HTML template, interpolates content, and calls Mailchimp APIs. It returns the campaign ID and archive URL.

6. Share Preview

After the agent returns, share the archive URL so the user can preview:

Newsletter draft ready!
- Campaign ID: [ID]
- Preview: [ARCHIVE URL]

Would you like any changes? I can also send a test email to board@jetaasc.org for review.

If the user wants a test email, use mailchimp_send_test with the campaign ID and test_emails: ["board@jetaasc.org"].

If changes are needed, launch the agent again with the updated content and the existing campaign_id.

Fixed Values

Field	Value
Audience ID	27201f5231
From Name	JETAASC
Reply-to	officers@jetaasc.org
Brand Color	#b22222
Header Image	https://gallery.mailchimp.com/c83f204740850ff66ba2d6475/images/87754776-0575-45d3-b40d-e387de4dd6a5.jpg

Resources

• assets/template.html - HTML email template with all styling and structure
• .claude/agents/newsletter-builder.md - Subagent that handles HTML building and Mailchimp API calls