Create Community Post

Overview

This orchestrator creates YouTube community posts by sequencing content-strategy:research for strategic context and writing:copywriting 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 and their references.

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

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 `content-strategy:research`

MANDATORY: Invoke content-strategy:research with references/youtube-community-strategy.md to determine the strategic context for this post.

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 will apply 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 -- the orchestrator is 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:copywriting`

MANDATORY: Invoke writing:copywriting with references/youtube-community-post.md to draft the community 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:copywriting skill will automatically invoke writing:voice for voice consistency. The 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 writing:copywriting 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)
content-strategy:research invoked with references/youtube-community-strategy.md -- strategic context determined
Post type options presented and user selection received
writing:copywriting invoked with references/youtube-community-post.md -- post drafted
Voice consistency maintained (handled by writing skill's writing:voice invocation)
All 8 quality criteria passed (Step 4)
Post presented to user for approval
Output saved to episode directory or presented inline

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Writing templates inline: All templates live in references/youtube-community-post.md -- do not duplicate them in this orchestrator
Embedding strategy logic: All strategy lives in references/youtube-community-strategy.md -- do not hardcode timing, cadence, or algorithm advice here
Skipping foundation skill invocations: Both content-strategy:research and writing:copywriting must be invoked -- do not generate posts directly
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 must pass all 8 criteria before presenting to the user

create-post