This is for all you beginners just starting an e-mail program. Here’s the no-mystery, soup-to-nuts, “I’ve never done this before” version of the 7-day plan. I’m  talking to “Average Joe,” step by tiny step, so you can literally tick boxes and ship. It’s long. It’s boring. It works.

The Goal (in plain English)

By the end of 7 days you will have:

1. A simple web page where people trade their email for a free thing.

2. A 5-email mini course that automatically goes out after they sign up.

3. A 3-email offer that invites them to buy something small.

4. A basic tracking sheet so you know what’s working.

You do not need code. You need an email tool (ESP), a place to put one page, and the patience to follow directions.

Tools (pick one in each row and move on)

• Email tool (ESP): ConvertKit, MailerLite, Beehiiv.

• Landing page: Use your ESP’s built-in landing pages. If you insist on a separate page: Carrd or your CMS.

• File storage: Google Drive (for your free download).

• Payment / checkout (for your small offer): Gumroad, PayPal, or Stripe checkout links.

• Tracking sheet: Google Sheets or Notion.

Tip: Don’t shop around for a week. Pick any from each row. They all do the job.

Day 0 (Setup You’ll Thank Yourself For)

Time: 45–90 minutes

1. Create a sender address that matches your brand (e.g., hello@yourdomain.com).

2. In your ESP, authenticate your domain (SPF/DKIM). There’s a screen called “Domain authentication” or “Sending domain.” Follow their prompts.

3. Add your physical mailing address to the ESP footer (it’s the law).

4. Turn on the mandatory unsubscribe link (usually automatic—leave it alone).

5. Send one test email to yourself. If it lands in spam, stop here and finish domain authentication before continuing.

Day 1 — Make the Free Thing + The Page

Time: 2–4 hours

A) Decide who you’re helping and with what

• Write one sentence:
   “I help [who] do [result] in [timeframe] without [pain].”
    Example: I help solo creators set up working AI marketing in 7 days without hiring a developer.

B) Make the free thing (“lead magnet”)

• Open Google Docs → create a 4–6 page doc titled “7-Day AI Marketing Planner.”

• Sections (keep it simple):

1. What you’ll do each day (1 page, bullets)

2. Checklists (copy the ones in this article)

3. A single worksheet page for goals and numbers

• Click File → Download → PDF. Name it: AI-7D-Planner.pdf.

• Upload that PDF to Google Drive → click Share → change to “Anyone with link – Viewer.” Copy the link.

C) Build the landing page inside your ESP

• In your ESP, click Landing Pages → New.

• Choose the simplest template (logo, headline, form, button).

• Fill it in like this:

• Headline (H1): Launch AI Marketing in 7 Days (Free Planner)

• Subhead: Exact workflows, emails, and a simple dashboard—no fluff.

• Bullets (pick 3):

• 5 short emails you can paste and send

• 3-email offer that actually asks for the sale

• A one-screen KPI sheet so you know what’s paying

• Button text: Get the Free Planner

• Form fields: First name, Email (nothing else)

• After submit: Show a thank-you message that says, “Check your email in 2 minutes.”

D) Make the “Thanks” email that delivers the PDF

• In your ESP, create an Automation → On form submit → Send email.

• Subject: Your 7-Day Planner (save this)

• Body (plain text is fine):

• Here’s your 7-Day AI Planner → [paste the Google Drive link]

• Start with Day 1 today—one decision, one page.

• Quick question: what’s your #1 roadblock with AI marketing?

• Reply with one sentence. I read them all.

• —[Your Name]

•  

• Test it: Type in your own email on the landing page. Confirm you receive the email and can open the PDF.

Done for Day 1. You now collect emails and deliver the free thing automatically.

Day 2 — Build the 5-Email Mini Course

Time: 2–3 hours

You’re going to write five short emails. 120–220 words each. One promise, one action.

Tags you’ll need (create them first)

• Interest-Email (clicked email-related link)

• Interest-Shorts (clicked short-video link)

• Customer (bought your small offer)

Email E1 — Welcome + Delivery (already made on Day 1)

Keep as is.

Email E2 — Quick Win (the 3-minute rule)

• Subject: One 3-minute automation you’ll actually keep

• Body:

• Explain: “When someone clicks a topic link, we add a tag so we know what they care about.”

• Give two links inside the email:

1. “I want email sequences” (links to a page on your site; adds Interest-Email)

2. “I want short-form video” (links to another page; adds Interest-Shorts)

How to make the tagging work (generic ESP steps):

• Create two links in E2.

• In link settings, enable ‘Add tag on click’ (exact words vary). Pick the matching tag.

• In your automation, add a Condition step:

• If has tag Interest-Email → send E3a.

• If has tag Interest-Shorts → send E3b.

• If neither → send E3a (default).

Email E3a — Case/Proof (Email path)

• Subject: 7 days → working nurture (what changed)

• Body: short before/after, 2–3 bullet numbers (even if small), link to a blog post or simple page with screenshots.

Email E3b — Case/Proof (Shorts path)

• Subject: The 4-video weekly loop we use (steal it)

• Body: explain your “1 long video → 3 shorts → 1 CTA” routine. Link to a simple page.

Email E4 — Behind the Scenes (your stack)

• Subject: What I actually use (stack + 2 templates)

• Body: list your tools in one line. Paste two tiny templates (a “reply-ask” paragraph and a “CTA strip”).

Email E5 — Soft Offer (invite)

• Subject: Want help shipping your loop next week?

• Body: invite them to a 30-minute “install” session or sell a small template pack. Link to checkout.

Schedule: E1 immediate, E2 next day, E3 two days later, E4 two days later, E5 two days later.

Fail-safe: If E2 wasn’t opened in 48 hours, resend with a new subject: Missed this? The 3-minute rule that personalizes everything.

Day 3 — Create Something Small to Sell

Time: 2–4 hours

Pick one:

• Template Pack ($39–$79): Your 5 emails, 3 offer emails, and a one-screen KPI sheet in a ZIP.

• Setup Service ($149–$399): “I set up your tags, emails, and dashboard in 48 hours.”

• Mini Course ($99): Short videos where you show screens and click the buttons.

Steps (Template Pack example)

1. Put your files in a folder. Zip it.

2. Open Gumroad/PayPal/Stripe. Create a new product.

3. Upload the ZIP (if using Gumroad) or add a download link on your website’s thank-you page.

4. Set the price.

5. Copy the checkout link.

Connect checkout to your ESP (simple way)

• Most tools let you add a “post-purchase redirect” URL. Set that to a thank-you page on your site.

• On that thank-you page, install your ESP’s “Add tag on visit” script if available, or use a “Customer” opt-in form with the email prefilled on the payment tool’s side.

• Worst case: export buyers from your payment tool as CSV once a day and import into ESP with the tag Customer.

Day 4 — Publish One Article (your “pillar”)

Time: 2–3 hours

Write a plain, helpful article that explains this entire 7-day plan (this one). Put two links in the article to your landing page:

• One near the top: “Grab the free 7-Day Planner”

• One in the middle: same text

On both links, add UTM tags so you know clicks came from this article:

?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=inline_cta&utm_campaign=ai7d

 

Post goes live. Done.

Day 5 — Make One Long Video + 3 Shorts

Time: 2–3 hours

Long video (5–7 minutes)

• Script: say the exact 7-day steps you did.

• End with: “Link in description to get the free planner.”

• Record with your phone. Sit by a window. Speak clearly. Good enough.

3 Shorts (60–75 seconds each)

• Short 1: Day 1 (page + planner) in 3 bullets

• Short 2: Day 2–3 (emails + small offer)

• Short 3: Day 6 (how to track wins)

Post schedule: Long video Monday, Shorts Wed/Fri.
 Every description: The same landing page link with UTM tags (e.g., utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=short&utm_campaign=ai7d).

Day 6 — Tracking (don’t skip this)

Time: 60–90 minutes

GA4 (Google Analytics) quick setup

1. If your site already has GA4, log in. If not, install it (most themes/plugins have a spot to paste your measurement ID).

2. Turn on Enhanced Measurement (scroll, outbound clicks).

3. Mark the form “thank-you page” as a conversion (the URL where your ESP sends them after sign-up).

Search Console

1. Add your site.

2. Submit your sitemap (usually /sitemap.xml).

3. Check back in a few days to see what’s indexed and which keywords show up.

Your KPI Sheet (open a new Google Sheet)

Columns to create (exact names):

• Date

• Sessions (how many visits)

• New Subscribers (total)

• Subscribers by Source (e.g., blog 20; shorts 8; linkedin 4)

• Open % (for your emails)

• Click %

• Unsub %

• Offer Clicks

• Checkout Views

• Purchases

• Conversion % (Purchases / Checkout Views)

• Revenue

• AOV (Revenue / Purchases)

• Notes (what you tested)

Every 2–3 days, fill it in. You can copy numbers from your ESP, your payment tool, and GA4.

Day 7 — Fix One Thing, Not Ten

Time: 60–90 minutes

• Low sign-ups from the page?

• Make the headline clearer: “Free 7-Day Planner: Launch AI Marketing Next Week.”

• Move the button above the fold.

• Remove extra text. Make it short and obvious.

• Low opens?

• Test two new subject lines on the next 300 emails.

• Keep them boring and clear: “Your planner” / “The 3-minute rule” / “Want help shipping this next week?”

• Low clicks?

• Put one link in the email, not five.

• Make it a button in your ESP if you can.

• No sales?

• Add a small bonus (checklists, a 15-minute Q&A).

• Make the deadline real (end of the week).

• Raise clarity, not hype: list exactly what they get.

• Messy data?

• Add UTM tags to every link you share for the next 30 days.

• Example: ?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=ai7d

Exact Automations (click-by-click, generic)

In your ESP, go to Automations → Create new.

Flow A — New subscriber flow

• Trigger: Subscribes via AI-7D Planner form.

• Action: Send E1 immediately.

• Wait: 1 day → Send E2.

• Condition:

• If clicked “email sequences” link (has tag Interest-Email) → send E3a next.

• Else if clicked “short-form systems” link (has tag Interest-Shorts) → send E3b next.

• Else → send E3a.

• Wait: 2 days → Send E4.

• Wait: 2 days → Send E5.

Flow B — Offer sequence

• Trigger: Tag Interest-Email (or E5 delivered) AND not tag Customer.

• Action: Send O1 (value + outcome).

• Wait: 1 day → Send O2 (objections).

• Wait: 1 day → Send O3 (deadline/bonus).

• Exit rule: If tag Customer is added at any time, stop this flow.

Flow C — Purchase stop

• Trigger: Tag Customer added (from checkout or manual import).

• Action: Remove subscriber from Offer sequence; send a short “Welcome, here’s what to do next” email.

Email Copy You Can Paste (just swap your links)

E1 – Welcome
 Subject: Your 7-Day Planner (save this)

Here’s your 7-Day AI Planner → [your PDF link]

Start with Day 1—one decision, one page.

What’s your #1 roadblock with AI marketing?

Reply with one sentence. I read them all.

—[Your Name]

 

E2 – Quick Win (click-to-tag)
 Subject: One 3-minute automation you’ll actually keep

Set this rule today (it takes 3 minutes):

 

If you want help with email sequences → click here [link adds tag Interest-Email]

If you want help with short-form video → click here [link adds tag Interest-Shorts]

 

Tomorrow you’ll get the version that fits what you clicked.

—[Your Name]

 

E3a – Case/Proof (Email path)
 Subject: 7 days → working nurture (what changed)

We went from random blasts to a 5-email nurture in 7 days.

Results: more clicks, some sales, less guessing.

I show the page, the tags, and the emails here → [your blog link]

Steal it. Make it yours.

—[Your Name]

 

E3b – Case/Proof (Shorts path)
 Subject: The 4-video weekly loop we use (steal it)

One long video becomes 3 Shorts and one steady CTA.

The loop and scripts are here → [your blog link]

You don’t need fancy gear—just a plan you’ll repeat.

—[Your Name]

 

E4 – Behind the scenes
 Subject: What I actually use (stack + 2 templates)

My short stack: [ESP] + [Make/Zapier] + GA4 + a one-screen KPI sheet.

Two paste-ins for your next email/post:

1) Ask-reply block: “What’s your #1 roadblock?” (gets replies)

2) CTA strip: one link, every time (gets clicks)

Download → [your link]

—[Your Name]

 

E5 – Soft offer
 Subject: Want help shipping your loop next week?

If you want speed, I’ll help you ship your loop in 30 minutes.

We’ll install your tag rule, map 5 emails, and set UTMs.

Light schedule this month—book a slot → [checkout link]

—[Your Name]

 

O1 / O2 / O3 – keep the same structure from above; just paste your checkout link.

Troubleshooting (real-world stuff)

• Emails in spam? Finish domain authentication (SPF/DKIM), avoid huge images, keep links to 3 or fewer, and use plain-English subjects.

• No one replying to your “what’s your #1 roadblock?” Ask again in E4 with a slightly different angle.

• People sign up but don’t click anything? Make E2 shorter with two big buttons.

• You feel salesy and cringe? Then be clear and useful. Sales = inviting people who want help to get it faster.

What “winning” looks like in month one

• 100–300 visitors to your landing page

• 10–60 new subscribers

• 25–45% open rates, 3–10% click rates

• 1–5 template pack sales or 2–3 setup calls

• One or two obvious fixes from your KPI sheet (you can see where the leak is)

If you only remember one thing: ship a small, working loop. Landing page → 5 emails → 3 emails → track. Then improve one part each week. That’s how Beginners stop being Beginners.