Create Community Post

Overview

This orchestrator creates YouTube community posts by sequencing creator-stack:research for strategic context and creator-stack:write for content generation. It handles episode awareness, post type selection, and output management — all actual content generation and strategy are delegated to the foundation skills.

Core Principle: This is a thin orchestrator. Strategy lives in creator-stack:research (via its references/youtube-community-strategy.md). Templates and formatting live in creator-stack:write (via its references/youtube-community-post.md). This skill manages the workflow sequence, episode context, and user decisions only.

How Reference Delegation Works

Both foundation skills own their own reference files. When you invoke creator-stack:research and specify "youtube community post" as context, it loads its strategy reference. When you invoke creator-stack:write with content type "youtube community post", it loads its template reference. Those files live in each skill's directory, not here.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

Promoting a new or upcoming video through the community tab
Maintaining audience engagement between video uploads
Running audience research polls to inform future content
Driving conversions (affiliate links, memberships, newsletter signups)
Creating any community tab content for a YouTube channel

Prerequisites

Optional: An episode directory at ./youtube/episode/[episode_number]_[topic_short_name]/ with a plan.md file. This is only needed for video-linked posts (pre-release, launch day, post-launch). Between-video engagement posts do not require an episode directory.

Workflow

Execute all steps below in order.

Step 0: Episode Context Check

Check if the user has specified an episode or if an episode directory exists at ./youtube/episode/[episode_number]_[topic_short_name]/.

If episode directory exists:

Read plan.md for video title, topic, and context
Suggest a lifecycle phase based on context:
- Video not yet published → pre-release
- Video just published → launch day
- Video published 3-7 days ago → post-launch
Use this context to inform the research invocation in Step 1

If no episode directory:

Default to between videos mode
Posts will focus on engagement, audience research, or value delivery

Step 1: Invoke Research for Strategic Context

Invoke creator-stack:research with the community post context to determine strategy.

Provide:

The lifecycle phase (from Step 0 or user input)
The video topic (if applicable)
The user's stated goal (engagement, promotion, research, conversion)

The research skill applies the strategy framework to determine:

Optimal post type ranking for the context
Timing recommendations
Strategic rationale for the approach

NOTE: This is a lighter research invocation — asking research to apply the strategy framework to the user's context, not to do full competitor analysis.

Step 2: Present Post Type Options

Based on the research output, present the ranked post type options to the user:

Poll (text or image) — highest engagement
Video teaser/clip — high engagement
GIF — medium-high engagement
Image — medium engagement
Quiz — medium engagement
Text-only — lowest engagement

Include the research skill's recommendation for which type best fits the context. User selects their preferred type.

Default to polls when unsure — they have the lowest friction and highest engagement.

Step 3: Invoke Writing Skill for Content

Invoke creator-stack:write with content type "youtube community post" to draft the post.

Provide:

The selected post type from Step 2
The strategic context from Step 1
The episode context from Step 0 (if applicable)
The lifecycle phase and user's stated goal

The writing skill automatically invokes creator-stack:voice for voice consistency. Its reference file contains all templates, formatting rules, and the 288-character hook rule.

Step 4: Quality Checklist

Verify the drafted post against all eight criteria before presenting to the user:

Hook lands within 288 characters (visible preview cutoff)
Total length is 150-400 characters
Ends with a CTA (question, poll, or link)
Conversational tone — not corporate or automated
First person, direct address ("I" and "you")
Mobile-friendly — short paragraphs, line breaks between ideas
NOT a generic "new video out" link dump
Post type matches the stated purpose/phase

If any criterion fails, request a revision from creator-stack:write before presenting to the user.

Step 5: Save Output

Present the final post to the user for approval.

If episode directory exists:

After user approval, append to ./youtube/episode/[episode_number]_[topic_short_name]/community-posts.md

If no episode directory:

Present the final post inline to the user

Output Format

When saving to community-posts.md, use this structure:

# Community Posts - Episode [Number]: [Topic]

## [Phase] Post - [Date]

**Type:** [Poll / Teaser / GIF / Image / Quiz / Text]
**Phase:** [Pre-release / Launch Day / Post-Launch / Between Videos]
**Goal:** [Engagement / Promotion / Research / Conversion]

### Post Content

[Final post text]

### Notes

- Suggested timing: [from research]
- CTA type: [question / poll / link]

Multiple posts for the same episode are appended to the same file with a horizontal rule separator (---) between entries.

Quality Checklist

Verify completion before finalizing:

Episode context checked (Step 0)
creator-stack:research invoked — strategic context determined
Post type options presented and user selection received
creator-stack:write invoked — post drafted
Voice consistency maintained (handled by writing skill)
All 8 quality criteria passed (Step 4)
Post presented to user for approval
Output saved to episode directory or presented inline

Common Pitfalls

Writing templates inline: All templates live in the writing skill's references/youtube-community-post.md — don't duplicate them here.
Embedding strategy logic: All strategy lives in research's references/youtube-community-strategy.md — don't hardcode timing, cadence, or algorithm advice here.
Skipping foundation skill invocations: Both research and writing skills should be invoked — they have the proven patterns and quality logic.
Ignoring episode context: Always check for an episode directory first — it changes the entire strategic approach.
Defaulting to "new video out" posts: The research and writing skills are specifically designed to avoid generic link dumps — trust the foundation skills.
Skipping the quality checklist: Every post should pass all 8 criteria before presenting to the user.