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:

1. Poll (text or image) — highest engagement
2. Video teaser/clip — high engagement
3. GIF — medium-high engagement
4. Image — medium engagement
5. Quiz — medium engagement
6. 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

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