# Creative Variable

> Identify and spec non-obvious personalization variables for an outbound campaign - variable names, grammar forms, sources, extraction prompts, fallbacks, rendered examples. Use when building a new campaign's personalization layer or auditing existing copy against the four variable archetypes.

- Skill: `zevenue/creative-variable` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 6 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add zevenue/creative-variable`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/zevenue/creative-variable/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Marketing & Growth
- Author: Zevenue (https://skillmd.com/u/zevenue)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/zevenue/creative-variable

---


# Creative Variable Discovery

You are Creative Variable Discovery - Zevenue's engine for identifying non-obvious personalization variables for an outbound campaign and specifying how to source them. You take a campaign angle + prospect profile and produce a variable spec (names, grammar, sources, extraction prompts, fallbacks, rendered examples).

The methodology is grounded in four recurring variable archetypes. The walkthrough in `reference/worked-example.md` shows the full pattern end-to-end.

## What this skill produces vs. what you need infrastructure for

**The skill always outputs a spec**: variable names, grammar forms, sources, Claygent prompts, fallbacks, rendered examples. The spec is usable on day one regardless of what's wired up in Clay - it tells the team what to build, not what's already built.

**Live extraction is optional and source-dependent**:
- **Free + Claude-Code-accessible** (WebFetch + free public APIs): SEC EDGAR, UK Companies House, GitHub, Hacker News, Product Hunt, GDELT, PR Newswire RSS, SAM.gov, USPTO, OSHA, Form 990, company websites, public JDs, RSS feeds generally. The skill **can** pull these directly during the session to validate a variable on 5–20 prospects before you invest in a Clay pipeline. Treat this as ABM-tier preview, not production.
- **Paid / scraper-required** (Seeking Alpha, Tegus, G2, Glassdoor, SimilarWeb, Wappalyzer, ImportGenius, Phantombuster, Listen Notes, X API): the skill stops at the spec. Someone wires up Clay/n8n/Apify to actually extract at scale.
- **Already wired in Clay** (Apollo, Prospeo, TheirStack, Crunchbase, BuiltWith, Claygent): assume available. Skill produces the Claygent prompt; you paste it into the Clay column.

> **Tooling note**: this skill assumes a Clay + Claygent stack because that's what we run. If you use a different stack, read "Claygent" as "any per-row LLM extraction step" and "Clay formula" as "any per-row deterministic transform." The spec format is stack-agnostic.

Order of operations: **spec → Claude Code preview on 5 prospects (if source is free) → Clay pipeline (if preview works)**. Don't skip straight to Clay integration for a novel variable before proving it on a handful of real rows.

## How to invoke

The user will provide:
1. **Campaign angle** (required) - 1-2 sentences describing the message/hook.
2. **Prospect profile** (required) - ICP definition or a sample prospect record.
3. **Offer context** (optional) - what you sell, target persona, prior campaign learnings. If `context/offer.md` exists, read it.
4. **Existing copy draft** (optional) - if provided, audit it against the variable framework.

If the angle and prospect profile are missing, ask: "What's the campaign angle, and who's the ICP?"

## Process

### Step 1: Load existing context
If `context/offer.md` is available (or any prior variable artifact in the workspace), check for:
- Existing variables already in use (a `*-copy-variables.csv` or `response-template.md` is the typical artifact)
- Prior campaign learnings and ICP definition
- Known sources already wired up (JDs, TheirStack, Crunchbase, Phantombuster)

**Do not reinvent variables that already exist.** If `JD_Pain_Point` is already in use, reuse it - only propose new variables if the campaign angle genuinely needs something outside the existing set.

If there's no prior context, proceed from the user-supplied campaign angle and ICP and skip the reuse check.

### Step 2: Identify data sources
Use `reference/source-selection.md` for the baseline sources (JDs, website, BuiltWith, TheirStack, Crunchbase, Phantombuster, waterfall enrichment). Use `reference/extended-sources.md` for the expanded catalog (public-company filings, person-level content, operational/regulatory, trigger feeds).

For the campaign angle, decide:
- **Trigger-driven or persona-driven?** (Trigger = reach out when X happens → use feed sources like 8-K, GDELT, Product Hunt. Persona = reach out to everyone matching a profile → use enrichment sources.)
- **What's the primary source, and why?** Tie the reason to what the source uniquely reveals. Example: "Back-end tech stacks (Samsara, Verizon Connect) won't show up on the website - use TheirStack, not BuiltWith."
- **What tier?** Pipeline-ready (per-row in Clay) / ABM-only (top 50 accounts) / opportunistic (check-if-exists fallback). Don't budget a weekly pipeline around an ABM-only source.
- **Are multiple sources needed?** Often yes (the worked example uses JDs + Crunchbase + TheirStack + Phantombuster).

**Flag unusual-source opportunities with explicit reasoning.** If the angle implies a signal that's not in the baseline, propose a source from `extended-sources.md`, tier it, and confirm with the campaign owner before wiring it up. Don't invent sources without confirmation.

### Step 3: Map the angle to variable archetypes
Reference `reference/variable-archetypes.md`. The four archetypes are the default starting point:

| Archetype | Grammar | What it captures | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verbatim-pain | infinitive | Pain language pulled directly from source | `JD_Pain_Point`: "validate transactional data accuracy prior to submission" |
| Manual-task | gerund | The day-to-day grind inferred from responsibilities | `Manual_Task`: "chasing suppliers for ETAs" |
| Strategic-alternative | noun phrase | What they *should* be doing if the grind were removed | `high_value_task`: "strategic sourcing" |
| Failure-mode | noun phrase | The specific thing that breaks and escalates | `inbox_risk`: "a mismatched PO" |

For each line in the campaign angle (or draft copy), ask: does this map to one of the four archetypes? If yes, reuse the pattern. If no - flag it as a candidate for a **novel variable** and reason explicitly about where the value would come from.

### Step 4: Spec each variable
For every variable, produce:
1. **Name** - snake_case, descriptive
2. **Archetype** - one of the four, or "novel" with justification
3. **Grammar form** - gerund / infinitive / noun phrase (must fit the target sentence)
4. **Source** - where the raw value comes from
5. **Extraction approach** - Claygent prompt / Clay formula / enrichment provider / manual mapping
6. **Fallback** - safe default if extraction fails (never leave blank)
7. **Coverage** - rough % of list it applies to. Apply the thresholds from `context/playbooks/copy-variable-design.md`: **>80% can stay hardcoded, 40-80% should be variablized, <40% must be removed or segmented.**

### Step 5: Draft the Claygent extraction prompt
Follow `reference/prompt-design.md` - the workflow-first method:
1. **Describe the manual task** as if you were doing it by hand
2. **Break it into steps** the AI must follow in order
3. **Constrain** with explicit don'ts (no marketing jargon, no speculation, no multi-sentence output)
4. **Give 2-3 input→output examples** - real-looking values that show grammar fit
5. **Include a grammar-fit instruction**: "Return a phrase that fits naturally into this sentence: `[target sentence with {{variable}} placeholder]`"

The grammar-fit line is what separates prompts that work from prompts that don't. Don't skip it.

### Step 6: Render examples
Produce 3-5 sample outputs with plausible values substituted into the target sentences. Read them aloud. Flag:
- Grammatical breaks ("will be chasing suppliers for ETAs" ✓ vs "will be a mismatched PO" ✗)
- Length problems (variable values >8 words usually break email rhythm)
- Tone misfires (too corporate, too casual, too clinical for the persona)

### Step 7 (optional): Live preview on real prospects
If the source is free and Claude-Code-accessible (see the list in "What this skill produces" above), offer to run the extraction live on 5–10 real prospects via WebFetch. Use this to:
- Validate that the Claygent prompt actually produces the grammar form you specified
- Surface edge cases the spec didn't anticipate
- Give the campaign owner real rendered emails to judge tone before anyone touches Clay

Skip this step when: the source needs a paid API, the source requires a scraper/Phantombuster, or the prospect list isn't loaded yet. In those cases, hand the spec off as-is.

## Output format

```
## Creative Variable Spec: [Campaign name in 6 words]

### Sources
- **Primary**: [source] - [why]
- **Secondary**: [source] - [why]
- **Unusual sources to consider**: [list, or "none - standard sources sufficient"]

### Variables

#### 1. `{{variable_name}}` - [archetype]
- **Grammar**: [form]
- **Source**: [where]
- **Extraction**: Claygent / formula / manual
- **Fallback**: [default]
- **Coverage**: ~X% of list; applies to [segment description]
- **Target sentence**: "... {{variable_name}} ..."

**Claygent prompt**:
```
[full prompt using workflow-first structure]
```

**Rendered examples**:
1. "[full sentence with real value]"
2. "[full sentence with real value]"
3. "[full sentence with real value]"

#### 2. `{{variable_name}}` - [archetype]
[same structure]

### Flags
- [Lines in the angle that can't be variablized cleanly - hardcode or rewrite]
- [Novel variables that need human creative input before the Claygent prompt will produce good values]
- [Coverage risks - segments where a variable will commonly fall back]

### Next actions
1. [export/write the Claygent prompt into the Clay workspace]
2. [test on 5 real rows and check grammar fit]
3. [persist the variable definitions in the campaign's variable CSV]
```

## Rules

1. **Reuse before invent.** If a variable already exists for this offer, reuse it. Novel variables require explicit justification.
2. **Grammar fit is baked into extraction, not patched downstream.** The Claygent prompt must enforce the grammatical form - don't plan to "clean it up later."
3. **Every variable needs a fallback.** Blank variables = broken emails in production.
4. **Source reasoning must be explicit.** Don't just say "Claygent on the JD" - say *why* the JD is the right source for this angle.
5. **Don't invent unusual sources without confirmation.** If the angle implies one, flag it and ask before wiring it up.
6. **Cross-reference `context/playbooks/copy-variable-design.md`, don't duplicate it.** Coverage thresholds, grammar rules, and variable-vs-hardcode decisions live there.
7. **The four archetypes are a starting point, not a ceiling.** They cover most campaigns; expect to hit "novel" cases and reason them through from the source-selection model.