A2 Blog & Newsletter Writing

💡 One-line summary: Build a content production line with OpenCode — batch topics, series management, style consistency.

📝 Course Notes

Key takeaways from this lesson:

---

What You'll Be Able to Do

• Generate a 30-day content calendar in one go
• Build a directory structure for article series
• Lock your writing style into AGENTS.md
• Reference local asset library to generate articles

---

Why OpenCode Instead of Web-based AI?

Capability	Web-based AI	OpenCode
Batch topic generation	❌ Copy-paste only	✅ Generate once, save to files
Style consistency	❌ Re-describe every time	✅ AGENTS.md locks it in forever
Series management	❌ Can't manage multiple files	✅ Directory structure, outlines/chapters separate
Asset library	❌ Can't read local files	✅ @asset reference to historical content
Version tracking	❌	✅ Git tracks creation history

---

Your Current Struggle

• Re-describing your style requirements every time you write
• No topic planning, writing whatever comes to mind
• Series articles in chaos, can't find previous content

---

When to Use This Technique

• When you need: Efficient content operations, batch content production
• And you don't want: Starting from scratch every time, inconsistent style

---

🎒 Before You Start

Make sure you've completed the following:

• [ ] Completed A1 Writing Workflow
• [ ] Have a blog or newsletter (or a planned niche/positioning)

---

Follow Along

Step 1: Set Up Your Blog/Newsletter Project Structure

Why
Centralize all content instead of scattered files everywhere.

mkdir ~/my-blog
cd ~/my-blog
opencode

Ask AI to create the directory structure:

Help me set up a blog content management structure:
- topics/ (store topic planning)
- assets/ (store reusable materials)
- posts/ (organize by series)
- style-guide.md (writing style guidelines)

Create these directories and empty files

Step 2: Lock Your Writing Style into an Agent

Why
Write once, works forever — no need to repeat descriptions.

Agent configuration can be placed in two locations:

• Global: ~/.config/opencode/agent/ - Shared across all projects
• Project-level: .opencode/agent/ - Specific to current project

The filename is the agent name, e.g., blogger.md (not blogger/blogger.md)

Help me create a writing agent, save to .opencode/agent/blogger.md:

---
name: blogger
description: Professional content creator assistant, skilled at topic ideation, outlining, and copy editing
mode: subagent
temperature: 0.8
---

Blog niche: Career growth and productivity
Target audience: 25-35 year old professionals
Tone: Professional but approachable, like chatting with a friend
Article structure: Hook with a question → Deliver value → End with a memorable insight
Banned words: synergy, leverage, disrupt, game-changer, paradigm shift
Word count: 12000+-22000+ words

You should see: AI created the agent configuration file

💡 This is OpenCode's Unique Value

Every time you write, AI will automatically follow this style — no need to repeat.

Step 3: Batch Generate Topic Calendar

Why
Plan a month at once, avoid daily topic anxiety.

Based on my blog niche (career growth), generate a 30-day content calendar:

Requirements:
1. 3 posts per week, 12 posts total
2. Include: title, core insight, target keywords
3. Consider seasonal themes (year-end reflection, new year planning)
4. Mark difficulty (Easy/Medium/Deep)

Save as topics/2025-january-calendar.md

Step 4: Build Article Series Structure

Why
Series articles boost subscriber loyalty, but need unified management.

I want to write a "Workplace Communication" series, 5 articles total.

Help me:
1. Create posts/workplace-communication-series/ directory
2. Create outline.md (series plan, each article's position, publish order)
3. Create empty files for each article (01-xxx.md format)

Series plan:
- Article 1: Why Your Communication Always Fails
- Article 2: 3 Techniques for Upward Communication
- Article 3: Core Principles of Cross-team Communication
- Article 4: How to Navigate Difficult Conversations
- Article 5: Build Your Personal Brand Through Communication

Step 5: Generate Articles Using Asset Library

Why
Reuse existing materials to improve efficiency.

First, add some assets:

Create these files under assets/:

quotes.md - Collected insights and quotes
cases.md - Real workplace case studies
data.md - Research data and statistics

Then write articles based on assets:

Write a blog post based on the topic "3 Techniques for Upward Communication".

Requirements:
1. Follow the style in AGENTS.md
2. Reference quotes from @assets/quotes.md
3. Use cases from @assets/cases.md
4. Around 2000 words

Save as posts/workplace-communication-series/02-upward-communication-techniques.md

---

📋 Magic Prompts

📅 30-Day Topic Planning

Expected result: Generate complete content calendar, plan a month at once

## Role
You are a senior content strategist, expert at topic planning and editorial calendars.

## Task
Generate a 30-day content calendar based on blog positioning.

## Input
### Required
- Blog niche: [YOUR NICHE]
- Target audience: [AUDIENCE PROFILE]
- Publishing frequency: [N] posts per week

### Optional
- Current events: [Seasonal topics to include?]
- Previous topics: [Already covered topics?]

## Output Format
Generate topic table:
| Date | Title | Core Insight | Target Keywords | Difficulty | Type |
|------|-------|--------------|-----------------|------------|------|

### Difficulty Labels
- Easy (30 min)
- Medium (1 hour)
- Deep (2 hours)

### Type Labels
- How-to: Practical tips, methods
- Story: Case studies, experiences
- Opinion: Commentary, reflections
- Roundup: Summaries, lists

## Constraints
- ✅ Each topic includes core insight, not just title
- ✅ Consider timeliness (holidays, seasons, events)
- ✅ Vary difficulty and type
- ❌ Avoid homogeneous topics
- ❌ Avoid repeating covered content

🎨 Style Lock Template

Expected result: Generate Agent configuration, lock in blog style

## Role
You are a brand strategist, expert at defining and locking in brand voice.

## Task
Create a writing style configuration (AGENTS.md) for the blog.

## Input
### Required
- Blog name: [BLOG NAME]
- Niche: [FIELD]
- Target audience: [Age, profession, pain points]

### Optional
- Tone style: [e.g., "Professional but friendly"?]
- Reference blogs: [Style references?]

## Output Format
Generate AGENTS.md configuration:

```yaml
---
name: [BLOG NAME]
description: [One-line description]
---

## Blog Positioning
[Positioning description]

## Target Audience Profile
- Age:
- Profession:
- Pain points:
- Needs:

## Tone & Voice
[Detailed description, including positive and negative examples]

## Article Structure Template
1. Opening: [How to hook]
2. Body: [Core content structure]
3. Closing: [How to wrap up]

## Banned Words
[Words to avoid, comma separated]

## Signature Phrases
[Personal style phrase examples]

## Word Count Range
[Word count]
```

## Constraints
- ✅ Style description should be specific with examples
- ✅ Banned words should be practical
- ✅ Article structure should be reusable
- ❌ Avoid vague descriptions

📚 Series Article Planning

Expected result: Generate series structure, maintain content coherence

## Role
You are a content architect, expert at planning serialized content.

## Task
Design overall structure and positioning for each article in a series.

## Input
### Required
- Series theme: [THEME]
- Article count: [N] articles
- Series goal: [What readers will gain]

### Optional
- Target audience: [Audience profile?]
- Publishing cadence: [Posts per week?]

## Output Format
1. **Series Overview**
   - Series positioning
   - Target audience
   - Core value

2. **Article Plan**
   | # | Title | Core Content | Relation to Previous | Relation to Next |
   |---|-------|--------------|---------------------|------------------|

3. **Progression Logic**
   - From [starting point] to [end point]
   - Each article's advancement relationship

4. **Directory Structure**
   ```
   series-name/
   ├── outline.md
   ├── 01-xxx.md
   ├── 02-xxx.md
   └── ...
   ```

## Constraints
- ✅ Each article has standalone value, but connects to series
- ✅ Clear progression logic
- ✅ Consider reader's learning curve
- ❌ Avoid content overlap
- ❌ Avoid large jumps in difficulty

---

Checklist ✅

All items must pass before continuing

• [ ] Created blog/newsletter project directory structure
• [ ] Created AGENTS.md to lock in writing style
• [ ] Generated 30-day topic calendar
• [ ] Built at least one article series structure

---

Common Pitfalls

Issue	Cause	Solution
AI writes in different styles each time	Style not locked in AGENTS.md	Write style requirements into AGENTS.md
Can't find previous materials	Assets not centrally managed	Create assets/ directory
Series articles have confused logic	No outline written first	Create series outline.md first

---

Advanced Tips

Create Quick Commands

Turn common operations into slash commands:

mkdir -p .opencode/command

Create .opencode/command/blog.md:

---
description: Quickly generate a blog post
---

Write a blog post based on the following topic:

Topic: $ARGUMENTS

Requirements:
1. Follow the style in AGENTS.md
2. Reference relevant materials from @assets/
3. Around 2000 words
4. Save to posts/ directory

Then just type /blog upward communication techniques to quickly generate.

---

Lesson Summary

You learned:

1. Lock writing style in AGENTS.md (works forever)
2. Batch generate topic calendar (30-day planning)
3. Build directory structure for article series
4. Reference local asset library to generate articles

This is what web-based AI cannot do — this is OpenCode's value.

---

Next Lesson Preview

Next lesson: Short-form Social Content — batch post generation, hashtag library management, image-text pairing.

---

📚 More Templates: Prompt Library