--- name: sales-adslots description: "Ad Slots platform help — calendar-based newsletter ad management with Stripe invoicing, sponsor CRM dashboard, and AI ad copy generation for replacing spreadsheet-based sponsorship tracking. Use when managing newsletter sponsors in spreadsheets is getting chaotic, you keep double-booking ad slots or forgetting to invoice sponsors, need a visual calendar showing which newsletter ad placements are booked vs available, Stripe invoices for newsletter sponsors aren't syncing or tracking correctly, or AI-generated ad copy from sponsor briefs doesn't match your newsletter tone. Do NOT use for general newsletter monetization strategy (use /sales-newsletter) or finding new sponsors to pitch (use /sales-sponsorgap or /sales-paved)." argument-hint: "[describe your Ad Slots question or newsletter ad management problem]" license: MIT version: 1.0.0 tags: [sales, newsletter, sponsorship, platform] --- # Ad Slots Platform Help ## Step 1 — Gather context If `references/learnings.md` exists, read it first for accumulated platform knowledge. Ask the user: 1. **What's your Ad Slots situation?** - A) Evaluating Ad Slots — haven't signed up yet - B) Setting up Ad Slots — configuring sponsors, calendar, or Stripe - C) Using Ad Slots — troubleshooting or optimizing workflows - D) Comparing Ad Slots to Sponsy or other ad management tools 2. **Which plan are you on (or considering)?** - A) Starter (free — 5 active sponsors, 25 AI ads/month) - B) Growth ($49/mo — unlimited sponsors, Stripe integration, unlimited AI) - C) Not sure yet 3. **What's your newsletter setup?** - How many sponsors do you typically manage? - Which ESP do you use (Beehiiv, Substack, Ghost, etc.)? - Are you currently using spreadsheets to track sponsors? Skip-ahead rule: if the user's prompt already contains enough context, skip to Step 2. ## Step 2 — Route or answer directly | If the question is about... | Route to... | |---|---| | Newsletter monetization strategy (pricing, models, which revenue streams) | `/sales-newsletter [user's question]` | | Finding sponsors to pitch | `/sales-sponsorgap [user's question]` or `/sales-paved [user's question]` | | Sponsorship operations with advertiser portals and Zapier automation | `/sales-sponsy [user's question]` | | Growing your subscriber list | `/sales-audience-growth [user's question]` | | Email deliverability or spam issues | `/sales-deliverability [user's question]` | When routing to another skill, provide the exact command. If the question is about Ad Slots itself (setup, configuration, Stripe, AI copy, calendar management), continue to Step 3. ## Step 3 — Ad Slots platform reference **Read `references/platform-guide.md`** for the full platform reference — capabilities, pricing, Stripe integration, AI copy generator, and workflow guidance. Answer the user's question using only the relevant section. Don't dump the full reference. ## Step 4 — Actionable guidance Focus on the user's specific situation: - **Evaluating**: Compare Ad Slots vs Sponsy vs spreadsheets based on sponsor count, budget, and automation needs - **Setting up**: Walk through sponsor entry, calendar configuration, and Stripe connection - **Optimizing**: Help with AI copy workflows, fulfillment tracking, and revenue reporting - **Migrating**: Guide spreadsheet-to-Ad Slots transition If you discover a gotcha, workaround, or tip not covered in `references/learnings.md`, append it there. ## Gotchas > *Best-effort from research — review these, especially items about plan-gated features and integration gotchas that may be outdated.* 1. **Stripe is Growth-plan only** — the free Starter plan doesn't include Stripe integration. You can track sponsors but can't automate invoicing until $49/mo. 2. **No ESP integration yet** — Ad Slots doesn't auto-insert ads into Beehiiv, Substack, or any ESP. You copy-paste the AI-generated ad copy manually. Direct ESP integrations are on the roadmap. 3. **No API, no webhooks, no Zapier** — there's no programmatic access. Everything is UI-driven. If you need automation, consider Sponsy instead. 4. **AI copy limit on free plan** — Starter plan caps AI ad generation at 25 per month. Growth plan is unlimited. 5. **Manual workflow beyond scheduling** — Ad Slots handles the calendar and invoicing, but ad creative delivery, performance reporting, and sponsor communication still happen outside the tool. ## Related skills - `/sales-sponsy` — Sponsy platform help (sponsorship operations — ad inventory calendar, sponsor CRM, advertiser portals, automated reporting, Zapier) - `/sales-newsletter` — Newsletter monetization strategy (paid subscriptions, sponsorships, ad sales, pricing) - `/sales-sponsorgap` — SponsorGap sponsor intelligence (38K+ brands, verified contacts, competitor monitoring) - `/sales-paved` — Paved newsletter sponsorship marketplace (Ad Network, Booker, Radar) - `/sales-hecto` — Hecto self-serve newsletter advertising marketplace - `/sales-adlynews` — adly.news two-sided newsletter advertising marketplace - `/sales-audience-growth` — Growing your subscriber list - `/sales-do` — Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install: `npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-do` ## Examples ### Example 1: Evaluating Ad Slots vs Sponsy **User says**: "I manage 3 newsletter sponsors in a spreadsheet and it's getting messy. Should I use Ad Slots or Sponsy?" **Skill does**: Reads platform guide, compares pricing (free/$49 vs $79+), features (Ad Slots is simpler calendar+invoicing; Sponsy adds portals, Zapier, API), and recommends Ad Slots for simple sponsor tracking or Sponsy for full ops automation **Result**: User has a clear decision framework based on sponsor count and automation needs ### Example 2: Setting up Stripe invoicing **User says**: "How do I connect Stripe to Ad Slots so invoices go out automatically when I book a sponsor?" **Skill does**: Reads platform guide Stripe section, walks through one-click Stripe connection on Growth plan, explains webhook-based payment tracking **Result**: User has Stripe connected and understands how invoice status updates automatically ### Example 3: AI ad copy workflow **User says**: "A sponsor gave me bullet points about their product. How do I use Ad Slots to turn that into newsletter ad copy?" **Skill does**: Reads platform guide AI copy section, explains how to input sponsor details and generate multiple copy variations, recommends editing for newsletter voice **Result**: User generates 3-4 ad copy variations and picks the best fit for their newsletter tone ## Troubleshooting ### Stripe invoices not syncing **Symptom**: You booked a sponsor but the payment status isn't updating in Ad Slots **Cause**: Stripe webhook connection may be interrupted, or you're on the Starter plan which doesn't include Stripe **Solution**: Verify you're on the Growth plan ($49/mo). Check that Stripe is connected in Settings. Disconnect and reconnect Stripe if the webhook stopped firing. Check Stripe dashboard directly to confirm invoice was sent. ### Hit the 5-sponsor limit on free plan **Symptom**: Can't add more sponsors on the Starter plan **Cause**: The free plan caps at 5 active sponsors **Solution**: Upgrade to Growth ($49/mo) for unlimited sponsors. Alternatively, mark completed sponsors as fulfilled to free up slots if you're managing sponsors sequentially rather than concurrently. ### Ad copy doesn't match newsletter voice **Symptom**: AI-generated copy sounds generic or off-brand **Cause**: The AI generator creates copy from sponsor details alone — it doesn't know your newsletter's tone **Solution**: Use the generated copy as a starting draft, not final copy. Generate multiple variations and edit the closest one to match your voice. Include tone notes in the sponsor details you input (e.g., "casual, first-person, conversational").