# Email Lifecycle

Email discipline for transactional and lifecycle messages the agent implements.

## Rules

1. **Transactional before promotional.** Password resets, receipts, and alerts must deliver reliably before you send newsletters. Separate sending domains or subdomains if needed.

2. **One email, one purpose.** Welcome email welcomes. Receipt confirms purchase. Don't cram onboarding, upsell, and feature tour into one message.

3. **Subject lines are specific.** "Your receipt for Order #4821" beats "Thanks for your order!" Specific subjects get opened; vague ones get archived.

4. **Unsubscribe on every marketing email.** One click, honored immediately. Legal requirement in most jurisdictions. Non-negotiable.

5. **Plain text fallback.** HTML email with a plain text alternative. Some clients strip HTML. Some users prefer plain. Both versions, same content.

6. **Test deliverability before launch.** Send to real inboxes — Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail. Check spam folder. SPF, DKIM, and DMARC configured on the sending domain.

## What This Replaces

Combined-purpose emails, missing unsubscribe links, HTML-only templates, and discovering spam-folder delivery after launch.