What this workbook is for
A sample email is only useful if it could realistically be sent. That sounds obvious, but a sample written without real facts ends up as flattering filler: a generic greeting, a vague promise, and a call to action that links nowhere the business controls. This workbook exists to prevent that.
It is the document we use when a small business asks us for a free sample email. It collects the prospect's facts — what the business sells, who the audience is, what is coming up, where links should go, and which claims still need verification — and then it forces a quality check before the sample counts as done. The same worksheet works with any writer, freelancer, or agency you ask for a sample.
When to use it
Use it before you ask anyone to write a sample email, including a free one. Fill in the prospect facts yourself so the writer starts from your information rather than assumptions. If the writer sends a sample and you want to judge it, run the quality check section against it — every item is a concrete, checkable requirement rather than a taste judgement.
If you are comparing providers, the small-business cost guide explains what different price points buy, and the done-for-you service guide describes the full production routine a sample fits into.
How to use it step by step
- Duplicate the file into a private workspace. Never commit a completed prospect sample or its private information to a public repository.
- Collect prospect facts. Business, website, contact, product or service, intended audience, current email platform, and whether a permission-based list is confirmed.
- Note the upcoming opportunity. The offer, event, or useful update that gives the email a reason to exist, plus the primary destination URL.
- List claims that need verification. Prices, dates, restrictions, or any claim the prospect must confirm before it can go in an email.
- Write the one-sentence opportunity. The most useful email to send now, in one sentence. If you cannot write it, the sample will not be focused either.
- Draft the sample. Subject line, optional alternative subject, preheader, body, and one call to action.
- Explain the angle and run the quality check. Write the business reason in two or three sentences — without implying a guaranteed result — then work through the nine-item checklist.
The workbook
Here is the workbook as it is used, section by section.
Prospect facts
- Business
- Website
- Contact
- Product or service
- Intended audience
- Current email platform
- Permission-based list confirmed
- Upcoming offer, event, or useful update
- Primary destination URL
- Claims, dates, prices, or restrictions the prospect must verify
One-sentence opportunity
The most useful email to send now is:
Sample
- Subject line
- Optional alternative subject
- Preheader
- Body
- Call to action
Why this angle
Explain the business reason in two or three sentences. Do not imply a guaranteed result.
Assumptions requiring confirmation
List any assumption the sample depends on that the prospect has not confirmed.
Quality check
- One clear audience and one clear purpose
- Recognisable connection to the actual business
- No invented prices, dates, inventory, testimonials, or claims
- Subject and preheader work together
- Important point appears early on mobile
- One primary call to action
- Link destination is correct
- Plain-text meaning remains clear without images
- Prospect is asked to verify every commercial claim
Closing note
When the workbook is used for our own free sample, the closing note reads:
If this direction feels right, I recommend {{plan}} at {{price}}. It includes {{short_scope}}. Reply "go ahead" and I'll send the exact onboarding steps and written service terms.
Why the checklist exists
Every item in the quality check exists to catch a real failure mode. "One clear audience and one clear purpose" stops a sample that tries to be everything at once. "No invented prices, dates, inventory, testimonials, or claims" keeps the sample honest — a writer does not know your stock levels, prices, or customer stories, so those must come from you or be left out. "Link destination is correct" prevents the most embarrassing possible error in a sample.
The honesty rules in this workbook are the same ones that apply across this site. We are a new business with no case studies or testimonials, so the sample has to stand on the writing itself. The agency pricing guide explains why judging a provider on real work matters more than trusting a published track record.