General Event Email

Non-Negotiable Guardrails

Use these guardrails as AI-required checks for every event email draft.

The AI must check every requirement below before the email is approved.
Link verification is an AI responsibility first: the AI must open and verify destination links when capable.
If the AI cannot verify any item (technical limitation, access restriction, auth wall, etc.), it must not guess. It must add that item to Open Questions and the Human Review Required checklist.

1. No Emojis

AI must remove every emoji from the subject line, body, and signature.
Emojis read as unprofessional, impersonal, and AI-generated. There are no exceptions.

2. No Em-Dashes

AI must remove every em-dash (–) and replace with a comma, period, colon, or rewritten sentence as appropriate.
Em-dashes do not appear on a standard keyboard. They signal AI-generated text and read as unnatural in conversational writing.

3. Event Details: When, Where, and Access

The email must state the date and time of the event clearly and early in the body.
AI must verify the date is correct: confirm the day of the week matches the calendar date. For example, if the email says “Tuesday, June 10,” confirm June 10 actually falls on a Tuesday.

If the event is in person:

The email must include the full venue name and street address.
The email must include a Google Maps link to the exact location.
AI must verify the Google Maps link opens to the correct address before sending.

If the event is online:

The email must include the platform or tool being used (Zoom, Teams, etc.) and a direct link to join or register.
AI must verify the link opens to the correct signup or join page, not a broken page or homepage.
If the link requires a password or registration step, that must also be included and verified.

3a. Call to Action Placement

The primary call to action must appear in the first paragraph of the email body.
Many readers will not scroll past the first few lines. Do not bury the CTA in the middle or bottom of the email.
The CTA must be specific and direct: register here, reserve your seat, join online, etc.
AI must flag any draft where the CTA does not appear in the opening paragraph.

4. Speakers

Every speaker listed in the event must appear in the email with all of the following:

Full name and title
A headshot or photo included inline in the email
A one- to two-sentence description of the topic they will present
A link to their professional profile so readers can review their background

AI must verify each speaker profile link resolves to the correct person.

If any of these four elements are missing for any speaker, the email is not ready to send.

5. Proofreading: AP Style, Grammar, Spelling, and Punctuation

AI must check every word for spelling errors. No exceptions.
AI must apply AP Style throughout. Key reminders:
- Spell out numbers one through nine; use numerals for 10 and above.
- Use the % symbol with numerals (e.g., 5%), not “five percent.”
- Dates: use the month abbreviation for all months except March, April, May, June, and July (e.g., Jan. 15, not January 15).
- Times: use figures with a.m. and p.m. (e.g., 6:30 p.m., not 6:30 PM or 6:30pm).
- Job titles: lowercase when they follow a name; capitalize when they precede a name (e.g., “Jane Smith, director of marketing” vs. “Director of Marketing Jane Smith”).
- Oxford comma is not used in AP Style. Use a comma before the conjunction only if it prevents confusion.
AI must check all punctuation. Periods, commas, colons, semicolons, and quotation marks must be used correctly.

If the event is invite-only or requires registration, the email must include a clear call-to-action with a signup link.
AI must open and verify the signup link before sending. It must resolve to the correct signup or registration page, not a broken page, homepage, or wrong event.
If the link is broken or incorrect, do not send the email until it is fixed.

7. Images: Accuracy and Click-Through Link

If an image (event banner, flyer, etc.) is included, AI must verify it is the correct image for this specific event.
AI must verify the image is linked correctly by checking that clicking it routes to the correct event page or registration page, not a prior event, homepage, or broken URL.
If the image is decorative only and not linked, confirm that is intentional.

7a. Image CSS: Outlook Compatibility

All CSS styles applied to images must be tested and confirmed to render correctly in:
- Outlook for Web (current)
- Outlook Desktop (classic/legacy)
- Outlook Desktop (new Outlook for Windows)
Use only inline CSS on image tags. External stylesheets and embedded <style> blocks are not reliably supported in Outlook.
Do not use max-width, object-fit, or CSS shorthand on images. Outlook Desktop ignores these.
Use explicit width and height attributes directly on the <img> tag in addition to inline CSS.
If an image is wrapped in a container for layout purposes, use a <table> structure, not <div>. Outlook Desktop does not reliably render <div>-based layouts.
AI must flag any image CSS that is not Outlook-safe and suggest the correct inline alternative.

8. Confirmation Email Verification

If registration or signup is required, the sender must complete a test registration before the event email goes out.
AI must verify the confirmation email content is accurate (correct event, date, time, location), and AI must verify any links or calendar invites in the confirmation work correctly.
Do not send the event email until the confirmation email has been verified end-to-end.

Every link used for signup, registration, or a primary call to action must include UTM parameters for Google Analytics tracking.
Use the Google Campaign URL Builder to generate the full decorated URL: https://ga-dev-tools.google/campaign-url-builder/
Required UTM parameters for every link:
- utm_source: where the email is sent from (e.g., mailchimp, hubspot, internal)
- utm_medium: always email for email sends
- utm_campaign: the specific event or campaign name (use a consistent naming convention, e.g., june2026_ai_summit)
Optional but recommended:
- utm_content: use to differentiate multiple links in the same email (e.g., hero_cta, footer_cta)
AI must verify every signup or CTA link in the draft includes all three required UTM parameters.
If UTM parameters are missing, AI must flag the link and add it to Open Questions for the author to decorate before send.
AI must not auto-generate UTM values. The correct campaign name, source, and medium must be confirmed by the email author.

10. Open Questions

If anything is unclear, missing, or conflicting in the draft or source details, the AI must add it to the Open Questions section for the email author to answer before send.
The AI must not assume, invent, or autofill missing details.
Any unresolved ambiguity must be treated as a blocker and listed as an open question.
If the AI cannot verify a requirement, link, destination, image, or workflow step, it must add that item to Open Questions and Human Review Required.
The email is not ready to send until all open questions are answered and incorporated correctly.

Pre-Send Checklist

Run through this list before clicking send. Every item must be confirmed.

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