act · sequences and steps

Templates and variants

Message copy and what gets tested.

In Sequences and steps

A template is the reusable shape of a message: fixed lines, slots filled from the brief, the lead and the signal, and the rules a draft must obey. A variant is the same template with one thing changed. Templates are drafted in the founder's voice and every draft is logged with its prompt version, so the edits the founder makes become the best training data the system has.

sequence library → steps · the parts → templates · the words → next-best-action · the choice → contact policy · the limits

Slots, never guesses — A slot with no source stays empty or the line is cut. A made-up fact is worse than a weaker message.

One change per variant — Change the opener or the length, not both, or the result can't say which mattered.

Stamp every draft — Template id, variant and prompt version on every draft, sent or not.

in industry terms

Templates are message blueprints; variants are the A/B versions.

Sales tools call these templates with merge fields or snippets, and test variants inside a step. Here the template is filled by a model rather than a mail merge, so the prompt version is part of the template's identity: change the prompt and you have a new variant.

shape — Template · Purpose, slots, constraints, a good example, and the step types it may be used in.

version — Variant · The template with one axis changed: opener, length, proof, call to action, send time.

output — Draft · One filled message, stamped with template, variant and prompt version, then shipped, edited or discarded.

how it works

From a template to a sent message.

The draft step fills slots, writes in the founder's voice, checks the hard rules, and hands it to the founder. The founder's edit is recorded against the draft.

Template — slots + rules
Fill slots — brief, lead, signal
Draft — voice, prompt v
Rules check — no em dashes, no links
Founder — ship, edit, discard
Logged — edit distance, locus edits become preference pairs for the next prompt version

Hard rule	Why
No em dashes	A brand rule in VibeDraft's drafting guidance
No links in X post bodies; links go in a reply	Posts without links reach further
No invented events, numbers or quotes	Everything factual comes from the brief, the signal or a tool result
No reaction bait closers ("agree?")	Banned in the drafting rubric
Lowercase voice, varied openers	From the founder's voice profile

variant testing

The axes worth testing, one at a time.

Each axis is a knob for the experimentation engine. Randomize which slot a variant lands in, so timing never decides the winner.

Axis	Example variants	Measured by
Opener	proof first · question first · claim first	reply rate
Length	2 lines · 5 lines	reply rate, read time where known
Proof	with one sourced result · without	reply and click rate
Call to action	link in message · "want it?" first	click and join rate
Personalization	their words quoted · not quoted	reply rate; watch for "creepy" replies
Send time	within 2 h of signal · next morning	reply rate by signal age

already running on posts

Drafts carry a variant type (claim, evidence, question) and a randomized slot.

the object

The template, and a variant.

The template is versioned; each variant points at its prompt version.

Field	Type	What it holds
`template_id`	string	`tmpl.<step>.<name>`
`version`	integer	Bumped on any change to fixed lines, slots or rules.
`purpose`	text	One line: what this message must get the person to do.
`step_types`	list	Which step components may use it.
`slots`	list	Variables it needs, each with its source and fallback.
`rules`	list	Hard rules the draft must pass.
`example`	text	One good filled message, for the model and for reviewers.
`variant.id`	string	A, B…
`variant.axis`	enum	opener · length · proof · cta · personalization · send_time
`variant.prompt_version`	string	The exact prompt that drafts it.
`draft.decision`	enum	shipped · shipped_edited · discarded
	enum	hook · body · ending · none · rewrite

one record, as data

{
 "template_id": "tmpl.dm.brief",
 "version": 1,
 "purpose": "open their brief, then join the waitlist",
 "step_types": [
 "dm"
 ],
 "slots": [
 {
 "name": "their words",
 "source": "signal.raw_text",
 "fallback": "paraphrase"
 },
 {
 "name": "tracked_link",
 "source": "step.tracked_link",
 "fallback": "no link"
 }
 ],
 "rules": [
 "no_em_dash",
 "one_link",
 "no_invented_facts",
 "max_words_60"
 ],
 "variants": [
 {
 "id": "A",
 "axis": "opener",
 "prompt_version": "dm-brief-v1a"
 },
 {
 "id": "B",
 "axis": "opener",
 "prompt_version": "dm-brief-v1b"
 }
 ]
}

the catalog

Fourteen template variables and where each comes from.

Grouped by source: the brief, the campaign, the signal, the lead. Every slot has a fallback, and the fallback is never a guess.

{who} — Brief

The buyer

Who the product is for, as they'd describe themselves.

from: brief: who it's for
fallback: leave the placeholder; don't guess

{pain} — Brief

The pain it removes

The annoying thing they do today.

from: brief: pain
fallback: use their words from the signal instead

{product} — Brief

Product name

Your product's name.

from: brief
fallback: required

{core job} — Brief

What it does

A verb phrase that finishes "it…".

from: brief: what it does
fallback: required

{offer} — Campaign

The offer

The value line of the campaign's offer.

from: campaign offer
fallback: required

{tracked_link} — Campaign

Tracked link

A short link carrying the touch_id.

from: step.tracked_link
fallback: no link; never an untracked one

{their words} — Signal

Their words

A short quote of what they posted, to show you read it.

from: signal raw text
fallback: paraphrase, never invent

{trigger} — Signal

What happened

The trigger in plain words: launched, complained, asked.

from: signal trigger
fallback: required for cold steps

{signal_age} — Signal

How long ago

"yesterday", "this morning". Used rarely, and only when fresh.

from: signal posted_at
fallback: omit

{competitor} — Signal

Their current tool

The competitor they named.

from: signal or competitive analysis
fallback: omit the line

{first_name} — Lead

First name

Only when it's public and clearly theirs.

from: lead identity
fallback: no greeting name

{their product} — Lead

Their product

For founder leads: what they built.

from: lead enrichment brief
fallback: omit

{their site} — Lead

Their site

Their domain, for the brief offer.

from: lead identities
fallback: ask for it instead

{proof} — Brief

One line of proof

A real result, quote or number with a source.

from: brief: proof, evidence tier A or B
fallback: omit; never invent proof

illustrative example

The DM in Lead to waitlist, as a template.

Slots in braces. The founder sends it; VibeDraft drafts it.

tmpl.dm.brief v1 (step.dm + step.send_brief)
purpose: get them to open their brief, then join the waitlist

saw your post about {their words}. i ran {their site} through the tool i'm building
and it wrote up who pays for {their product} and where they hang out: {tracked_link}

if it's useful, there's a waitlist on the page. no worries if not.

rules: one link only, no em dashes, no invented facts, under 60 words
variants: A = as above · B = opens with the one most surprising line from their brief

failure modes

What goes wrong, and how to catch it.

How each one shows up, and the check that catches it before it costs a week.

Failure	How it shows up	How to catch it
Placeholder leak	A message goes out with {first_name} in it	Rules check refuses any unfilled slot
Voice drift	Drafts stop sounding like the founder; edit distance rises	Track median edit distance per prompt version; roll back on a jump
Creepy personalization	"How do you know that?" replies	Quote only what they posted publicly in this thread
Confounded variants	Two axes changed, result unreadable	Variants carry exactly one axis
Unstamped drafts	Can't tell which prompt wrote the message that worked	Prompt version required on every draft row

data to capture

Record it so a model can learn from it later.

Follows the guide's eight data-spine rules: log the decision, version what decided, freeze the inputs, keep the negatives, log the odds, treat every human touch as a label, keep one chain of ids, keep the raw.

record

template id, version, variant and prompt version on every draft
the draft text and the final sent text
decision, edit distance, edit locus and seconds to decide
slot values used, with their sources

label

shipped unedited, edited or discarded; the reply each sent message got

trains

a draft reward model from (draft, posted text) preference pairs, and opener choice per trigger

test

variants on one axis at a time · randomized per draft (prompt version and slot)