sales-mailerlite

What this skill does

# MailerLite Platform Help

## Step 1 — Gather context

If `references/learnings.md` exists, read it first for accumulated platform knowledge.

1. **What do you need help with?**
   - A) Email campaigns — creating, sending, templates, A/B testing
   - B) Automation — workflows, triggers, delays, conditions
   - C) Landing pages — building, optimizing, forms
   - D) Signup forms & pop-ups — design, targeting, embedding
   - E) E-commerce — Shopify/WooCommerce integration, abandoned cart, product emails
   - F) Paid newsletter — setting up subscriber payments via Stripe
   - G) Digital products — selling ebooks, downloads
   - H) Transactional email — order confirmations, password resets
   - I) Account issues — suspension, approval, domain auth, deliverability
   - J) API integration — connecting MailerLite to your app
   - K) Something else

2. **Which plan are you on?**
   - A) Free (500 subscribers, 12K emails/mo)
   - B) Growing Business ($10/mo)
   - C) Advanced ($20/mo)
   - D) Enterprise
   - E) Not sure

Skip-ahead rule: if the user's prompt already contains enough context, skip to Step 2.

## Step 2 — Route or answer directly

| Problem domain | Route to |
|---|---|
| Email marketing strategy (not MailerLite-specific) | Run: `/sales-email-marketing {user's question}` |
| SPF/DKIM/DMARC setup, inbox placement, warmup | Run: `/sales-deliverability {user's question}` |
| Newsletter monetization strategy | Run: `/sales-newsletter {user's question}` |
| Growing subscriber list strategy | Run: `/sales-audience-growth {user's question}` |
| Landing page / funnel conversion strategy | Run: `/sales-funnel {user's question}` |
| Selling digital products strategy | Run: `/sales-digital-products {user's question}` |
| Transactional email provider comparison | Run: `/sales-transactional-email {user's question}` |
| Connecting MailerLite to other tools | Run: `/sales-integration {user's question}` |

If the question is MailerLite-specific, continue to Step 3.

## Step 3 — MailerLite platform reference

**Read `references/platform-guide.md`** for the full platform reference — modules, pricing, integrations, data model, workflows.

Answer the user's question using only the relevant section. Don't dump the full reference.

**If the question involves the API**, also read `references/mailerlite-api-reference.md` for endpoint details.

## Step 4 — Actionable guidance

You no longer need the platform guide — focus on the user's specific situation.

- For campaign issues: check subscriber status, segment targeting, schedule settings
- For automation issues: verify triggers are set, check subscriber eligibility, review step conditions
- For deliverability: check domain authentication status, review bounce rate, check spam complaint rate
- For account issues: review MailerLite's anti-spam policy, check subscriber import quality, verify domain ownership
- For API issues: verify API key permissions, check rate limits (120 req/min), validate JSON payloads

If you discover a gotcha, workaround, or tip not covered in `references/learnings.md`, append it there.

## Gotchas

> *Best-effort from research — review these, especially items about plan-gated features and integration gotchas that may be outdated.*

1. **Account approval is strict** — MailerLite manually reviews every new account. If your website is "under construction" or your domain is brand new, expect rejection. Have a live site with clear opt-in methods before signing up.

2. **Free plan reduced to 500 subscribers** (Sep 2025) — was 1,000. No templates on the free plan either. If you're outgrowing free, Growing Business at $10/mo unlocks unlimited emails and templates.

3. **Automation is basic** — no branching logic or multi-path workflows. If/else conditions exist but flows are linear. For complex automation, consider ActiveCampaign or Klaviyo.

4. **No spam/design testing** — MailerLite has no inbox rendering preview across email clients and no spam score testing. Use Litmus or Mail Tester externally.

5. **Account suspension without warning** — importing a list with high bounce rates can trigger immediate suspension. Always clean lists with MailerCheck or ZeroBounce before importing.

6. **Customer support is email-only on lower plans** — live chat requires Advanced plan ($20/mo). Response times can be slow on Free/Growing Business.

7. **Digital products and paid newsletters require Stripe** — no PayPal or other payment processor support for selling through MailerLite.

8. **API rate limit is 120 requests/minute globally** — not per endpoint. Batch operations help (up to 50 requests per batch call).

## Related skills

- `/sales-email-marketing` — Email marketing strategy across all platforms (campaigns, automation, segmentation)
- `/sales-deliverability` — Cross-platform deliverability (SPF/DKIM/DMARC, warmup, reputation)
- `/sales-newsletter` — Newsletter monetization (paid subscriptions, sponsorships, ad sales)
- `/sales-audience-growth` — Growing your subscriber list (lead magnets, cross-promotion, referrals)
- `/sales-funnel` — Sales funnel strategy (landing pages, conversion paths)
- `/sales-digital-products` — Selling digital products (ebooks, templates, courses)
- `/sales-transactional-email` — Transactional email (provider comparison, API setup)
- `/sales-kit` — Kit platform help (MailerLite alternative for creators)
- `/sales-do` — Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install: `npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-do`

## Examples

### Example 1: Account rejected
**User says**: "MailerLite rejected my account and I don't know why"
**Skill does**: Explains the manual review process, common rejection reasons (new domain, under-construction site, unclear opt-in), and how to appeal with a live site and clear opt-in documentation
**Result**: User understands what to fix and how to resubmit

### Example 2: Automation not triggering
**User says**: "My welcome automation isn't sending emails to new subscribers"
**Skill does**: Walks through trigger verification (form vs API vs import), subscriber status check (must be "active"), automation status (must be "active" not "draft"), and common gotchas (subscriber already in the automation)
**Result**: User identifies the misconfiguration and fixes it

### Example 3: API integration
**User says**: "How do I add subscribers to a group via the MailerLite API?"
**Skill does**: Shows the POST /api/subscribers endpoint with groups array, explains upsert behavior, provides code example with Bearer auth, notes the 120 req/min rate limit
**Result**: User has working API integration code

## Troubleshooting

### Emails going to spam
**Symptom**: Campaign emails landing in spam for subscribers
**Cause**: Domain not authenticated, shared IP reputation, or content triggers
**Solution**: 1) Authenticate domain — add DKIM (CNAME) + SPF (TXT) records in DNS, verify in MailerLite. 2) Check subscriber engagement — remove inactive subscribers (no opens in 90+ days). 3) Avoid spam trigger words in subject lines. 4) On Enterprise, request dedicated IP for better reputation control.

### High bounce rate on import
**Symptom**: Importing a list triggers high bounce rate warning or account suspension
**Cause**: List contains invalid, disposable, or stale email addresses
**Solution**: Clean the list with MailerCheck (MailerLite's built-in verifier) or ZeroBounce before importing. Remove addresses that haven't engaged in 6+ months. Start with your most engaged segment and gradually import the rest.

### Automation skipping subscribers
**Symptom**: Some subscribers enter the automation but skip certain steps
**Cause**: Subscriber status changed mid-workflow, or step conditions exclude them
**Solution**: Check each step's conditions. Verify subscriber status is "active" throughout. Check if the subscriber was removed from the triggering group. Review the automation activity log for specific subscriber paths.