What is activecampaign-email-marketing?

This Claude skill enables comprehensive email marketing automation for the Laguna Beach Tennis Academy (LBTA) via ActiveCampaign. It streamlines the entire lifecycle of email communication—from designing luxury-branded templates and managing segmented contact lists to deploying complex nurture sequences and analyzing campaign performance. By integrating technical API execution with strict brand guidelines, it ensures high-conversion outreach that maintains a premium aesthetic.

When should I use activecampaign-email-marketing?

activecampaign-email-marketing is useful in the following scenarios: • Season Launch Campaigns: Automatically generating and scheduling email blasts for Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall program registrations using pre-defined HTML templates. • Automated Nurture Sequences: Setting up multi-day triggered workflows to follow up with trial leads, converting interested prospects into registered students. • Luxury Brand Template Management: Designing and updating email layouts that strictly adhere to LBTA visual standards, including specific typography (Playfair Display) and editorial-quality imagery. • Performance Optimization & Segmentation: Analyzing open and click-through rates via the ActiveCampaign API to refine audience segments like 'Junior Parents' or 'High Performance' players for better targeting. • Abandoned Registration Recovery: Implementing triggered 'Abandoned Cart' sequences to re-engage users who started but did not complete the program booking process.

name	activecampaign-email-marketing
description	Create, manage, and optimize email campaigns for Laguna Beach Tennis Academy using ActiveCampaign. Use when Claude needs to: (1) Create email campaigns for program launches, camps, or events, (2) Build automation workflows and nurture sequences, (3) Manage contact lists and segmentation, (4) Design luxury-branded email templates following LBTA brand guidelines, (5) Set up triggered emails for registrations or trials, (6) Analyze campaign performance or optimize email strategy.

ActiveCampaign Email Marketing

Create professional email campaigns for LBTA that drive registrations while maintaining the luxury brand aesthetic.

Quick Start

Creating a Campaign

Choose campaign type from references/campaign-templates.md
Use HTML template from assets/templates/ matching campaign type
Customize content with program data from /data/*.json
Create via API using scripts/create_campaign.py

Campaign Types

Season Launch - Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall registration announcements
Program Spotlight - JTT, camps, high-performance programs
Newsletter - Monthly updates with tennis news and community stories
Nurture Sequence - Trial follow-ups, re-engagement campaigns
Event Promotion - Camps, clinics, special events

Brand Guidelines for Emails

Visual Standards

Typography: Playfair Display (headlines) + Work Sans (body)
Colors: Black/white primary, beige (#F8E6BB) accents, minimal orange (#F8A121)
Buttons: Black background, white text, uppercase, 2.5px letter-spacing
Spacing: 40%+ white space, generous padding
Images: WebP format, editorial quality, no stock photos

Copy Standards

Tone: Calm, confident, authentic - never salesy
Voice: Founder-led, personal, specific
Forbidden: "Maximize", "elite", "world-class", exclamation points in headlines
Preferred: "Book a Trial", "Start Training", "Join the Community"

Technical Standards

Mobile-first: Test at 320px, 375px, 768px
Accessibility: 7:1 contrast, alt text on all images
Performance: Images <350KB, inline critical CSS
Compatibility: Test in Gmail, Apple Mail, Outlook

Working with ActiveCampaign API

Authentication

Set environment variable:

export ACTIVECAMPAIGN_API_KEY="your-api-key"
export ACTIVECAMPAIGN_URL="https://lbta.api-us1.com"

Create Campaign

python scripts/create_campaign.py \
  --name "Winter 2026 Registration Open" \
  --subject "Winter Classes Start January 5th" \
  --template "assets/templates/season-launch.html" \
  --list "All Contacts"

Send Test Email

python scripts/send_test.py \
  --campaign-id 123 \
  --email "andrew@lagunabeachtennisacademy.com"

Campaign Strategy

Segmentation

See references/segmentation-guide.md for detailed audience targeting:

Junior Parents - Ages 3-17 programs
Adult Players - Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced
High Performance - Tournament players, college-bound
Trial Leads - Booked but not registered
Past Students - Re-engagement campaigns

Timing

Season launches: 4-6 weeks before start date
Early bird reminders: 1 week before deadline
JTT registration: 6 weeks before season
Camp promotions: 8-12 weeks before camp dates
Newsletters: Monthly, first Tuesday of month

Email Sequences

See references/campaign-templates.md for pre-built sequences:

Welcome Series (3 emails over 7 days)
Trial Follow-up (4 emails over 14 days)
Registration Nurture (5 emails over 21 days)
Re-engagement (3 emails over 30 days)

Templates

All templates in assets/templates/ follow LBTA brand guidelines:

season-launch.html - Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall registration
jtt-announcement.html - Junior Team Tennis campaigns
camp-promotion.html - Camp registration emails
newsletter.html - Monthly newsletter template
trial-followup.html - Post-trial nurture sequence
event-invitation.html - Clinics, showcases, events

Customizing Templates

Update hero section with season/program details
Replace pricing from /data/*.json (never hardcode)
Update CTAs to correct registration URLs
Add program-specific content blocks
Test responsive layout at all breakpoints

Automation Workflows

Create automations using scripts/create_automation.py:

Welcome Series

Triggered when: Contact subscribes to newsletter

Email 1 (Immediate): Welcome + academy overview
Email 2 (Day 3): Program options + trial booking
Email 3 (Day 7): Success stories + registration CTA

Trial Follow-up

Triggered when: Contact books trial lesson

Email 1 (Day 1): Pre-trial preparation
Email 2 (Day 2): Post-trial thank you + feedback request
Email 3 (Day 5): Program recommendations
Email 4 (Day 10): Early bird deadline reminder

Abandoned Registration

Triggered when: Contact starts but doesn't complete registration

Email 1 (1 hour): Cart abandonment reminder
Email 2 (24 hours): Testimonial + benefits
Email 3 (3 days): Scholarship info + final reminder

Best Practices

Subject Lines

Keep under 50 characters for mobile
Use specific dates: "Winter Classes Start January 5th"
Avoid spam triggers: No ALL CAPS, excessive punctuation
Test A/B variants: Question vs. statement, urgency vs. benefit

Preview Text

50-100 characters that complement subject line
Don't repeat subject line
Include CTA or key benefit

Content Structure

Hero section - Visual + headline + subhead
Primary message - 2-3 paragraphs max
Visual break - Image or divider
Supporting content - Details, pricing, dates
CTA section - Primary + secondary buttons
Footer - Contact, social, unsubscribe

Performance Optimization

Inline CSS for email clients
Use tables for layout (email HTML standard)
Optimize images - WebP with JPEG fallback
Test deliverability - Check spam score before sending

Data Sources

Always pull dynamic data from single source of truth:

Programs/Pricing: /data/winter2026.json, /data/year2026.json
Schedules: /data/schedule-2026.json
Coaches: /app/coaches/ pages
Testimonials: /app/success-stories/ pages

Never hardcode prices, dates, or program details in email templates.

Testing Checklist

Before sending any campaign:

Mobile responsive (320px, 375px, 768px)
Images have alt text
All links work and use UTM parameters
Prices match /data/*.json files
CTAs point to correct URLs
Unsubscribe link present
Preview text set
Test email sent and reviewed
Spam score < 5
Brand guidelines followed

Advanced Features

Personalization

Use ActiveCampaign merge tags:

%FIRSTNAME% - First name
%LASTNAME% - Last name
%CHILD_NAME% - Custom field for junior programs
%CHILD_AGE% - Custom field for age-appropriate programs
%LAST_PROGRAM% - Custom field for returning students

Dynamic Content

Show different content blocks based on:

Program interest - Junior vs. Adult vs. High Performance
Engagement level - New lead vs. trial booked vs. past student
Location - Laguna Beach vs. nearby cities

A/B Testing

Test variations of:

Subject lines - Question vs. statement
CTA copy - "Register Now" vs. "Book Your Spot"
Hero images - Action shots vs. lifestyle
Pricing display - Prominent vs. subtle

Troubleshooting

Low Open Rates (<20%)

Improve subject line specificity
Clean inactive contacts
Test send time (Tue-Thu, 9-11am PST)
Verify sender reputation

Low Click Rates (<2%)

Make CTAs more prominent
Reduce content length
Improve visual hierarchy
Test CTA copy variations

High Unsubscribe Rate (>0.5%)

Reduce email frequency
Improve content relevance
Check segmentation accuracy
Review tone/messaging fit

Resources

API Documentation: references/activecampaign-api.md
Campaign Templates: references/campaign-templates.md
Segmentation Guide: references/segmentation-guide.md
Email Best Practices: references/email-best-practices.md

Support

For ActiveCampaign account access:

Account: lbta.activehosted.com
Support: support@lagunabeachtennisacademy.com
Founder: Andrew Mateljan

When & Why to Use This Skill

Use Cases