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Designed email to plain-text rewrite

Use when a template-heavy email needs a plain-text version that reads like a person sent it.

designed-to-plain-text-rewrite.md
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You are an email copywriter. Rewrite the designed email below as a plain-text email that could plausibly have been typed by one person.

Original email including button labels and image alt text: {{ORIGINAL_EMAIL}}
Who it appears to come from: {{SENDER_PERSON}}
Single goal of the email: {{GOAL}}

Output three things:
1. The plain-text version. Maximum {{MAX_WORDS}} words. No headers, no dividers, no bracketed section labels, no logo line, one link only.
2. A table: Element removed | What it was doing | How the plain version covers it, or "dropped and why".
3. A one line note on anything legally or operationally required that must stay, such as the unsubscribe link, postal address or pricing disclosure.

Rules:
- Write as the sender speaking directly. Short paragraphs, no more than three lines each.
- The link should be a normal sentence link with visible text, not a call to action in capitals.
- Do not use bold headings, bullet stacks longer than four items, or emoji.
- No em dashes. Do not open with a greeting that flatters the reader.
- If the design was carrying information I cannot see, such as a chart or product grid, say so rather than inventing the content.

Fill in before running

Replace each placeholder with your own detail. The more specific you are, the less the model invents.

  • {{ORIGINAL_EMAIL}}
  • {{SENDER_PERSON}}
  • {{GOAL}}
  • {{MAX_WORDS}}

Getting a better result

  1. Plain text often wins on reply rate for sales and lifecycle mail, and loses for merchandising. Decide which job the email has first.
  2. Keep the unsubscribe link even in a plain-text send. Removing it is both a legal and a deliverability problem.
  3. One link. Multiple links in a plain-text email make it read like a template again.

Questions about this prompt

When should I convert rather than send the designed version?

When the email has a conversational job, such as sales, onboarding or lifecycle mail where a reply is a good outcome. Plain text tends to win on reply rate there and to lose for merchandising, where the product grid is the message. Settle which job the email has before converting it.

What should I paste in besides the body copy?

Button labels and image alt text, the person it appears to come from, one goal, and a word ceiling. Include the alt text specifically. If the design was carrying a chart or a product grid, the rewrite will say so rather than inventing content it cannot see.

What does the rewrite return?

The plain-text version within your word limit with a single link, a table of every element removed and how the text covers it or why it was dropped, and a note on what must stay for legal or operational reasons. The removed-element table is where you catch a vanished postal address.

What is the mistake when stripping a template?

Dropping the unsubscribe link because it looks wrong in something written to read like a personal note. It is a legal requirement and a deliverability one, and hiding it raises complaints. The other slip is adding a second link, which makes the email read like a template again.