# Magic Prompt Writing Guide: Email

Writing an effective magic prompt is more art than science. It typically requires iteration, testing, and refinement based on your creative, strategy, and context. This guide outlines practical tips and structural conventions to help you write prompts that generate high-quality, on-brand outputs.

### Email Purpose

The Email Purpose establishes the core context for the generation. It should be a short, high-level instruction that clearly communicates who the email is for, what outcome you are trying to achieve, and any essential information the model must know to do its job correctly.

In practice, this section is usually one or two sentences. It should orient the model without prescribing exact language or copy structure. Over-specification here can reduce flexibility and lead to repetitive outputs.

### Creative Strategy

The Creative Strategy defines the narrative and persuasion approach the email should follow. Rather than focusing on wording, this section explains the underlying logic of the message.

Use this section to describe the motivation you are activating (such as urgency, reassurance, or progress), the intended decision path for the user, and any secondary objectives like education, reinforcement, or expansion. The goal is to give the model a strategic frame it can apply across multiple creative variations.

### Personalization Strategy (optional)

The Personalization Strategy explains how content should vary across users or template blocks. This is where you describe differences in framing, emphasis, or structure that depend on user state, readiness, or available data.

If certain blocks repeat or follow a pattern, you may define those expectations here, along with any formatting constraints that must be respected. Avoid including quoted copy or concrete examples, as the model may reuse or closely paraphrase them.

### Detailed Creative Direction

Detailed Creative Direction is optional and should be used selectively. It allows you to give targeted guidance for specific template variables when additional control is required.

Any directives in this section must reference actual template variables (for example, `block1_html`). Conceptual labels such as “opening paragraph” or “primary conversion section” are not valid references.

You do not need to define direction for every variable. Any variable without explicit instruction will be filled in by the AI. However, maximum output length should always be specified so generated content fits the template correctly.

{% hint style="info" %}
Avoid including fully written example copy. Supplying exact phrasing may cause the AI to reproduce that language directly or produce close variants, which can reduce creative diversity and limit experimentation.
{% endhint %}

### Variables

The Variables section is where you declare all dynamic inputs used in the prompt. Declared variables can then be tagged and rendered in the final generation.

Variables may be defined individually or as part of variable groups, depending on your use case. This section is essential for personalization and dynamic rendering. For detailed syntax and examples, refer to the Variables documentation.

### Rules

The Rules section provides negative or corrective guidance to the model. It is used to mitigate known quirks, biases, or unwanted behaviors from the selected generative model.

Rules should focus on what the model must not do or reference. They apply only to the current generation and should not be treated as a substitute for your global style guide or hard rules.

### Cross‑Sell Considerations

Neon Blue is not a product recommendation engine. As a result, cross‑sell behavior must be explicitly defined.

If an email includes cross‑sell content, either a recommended product must be provided as a variable, or the email must be dedicated to a specific product. Providing a recommended product as a variable is strongly preferred, as it aligns with standard ecommerce personalization patterns and enables higher‑performing creative.

### Best Practices

In general, prompts should provide direction without scripting outcomes. Avoid embedding exact copy examples, confirm that maximum lengths align with your templates, and rely on variables for personalization rather than hard‑coded logic.

A strong magic prompt constrains intent and structure while leaving room for the model to generate novel, context‑appropriate creative.