The AI Email Workflow: Full Build, Start to Finish

Jun 15

5 min read

This is the part nobody shows you: how the tools actually connect. You'll go from a blank idea to a scheduled email draft, using ChatGPT, Claude, Notion, Make or Zapier, and Mailchimp or Klaviyo.

The build keeps you in control. AI does the heavy lifting, but you check the work and add your voice before anything goes out. That is what keeps it from being slop.

The flow


ChatGPT (ideas) -> Claude (write) -> Notion (organize + approve) -> Make or Zapier -> Mailchimp/Klaviyo (draft) -> you review and send

What you'll need

ChatGPT and Claude (paid plans recommended)
A Notion account
A Make.com or Zapier account (free tiers work to start)
Mailchimp or Klaviyo with API access
About an hour to build it once

A quick honesty note before you start: Mailchimp is the easier tool for this no-code build because Make and Zapier can create Mailchimp campaign drafts directly. Klaviyo is built more around automated flows than draft campaigns, so for Klaviyo the cleanest path is the API step covered in Stage 4. Pick Mailchimp if you want the simplest version.

Stage 1: Ideas in ChatGPT

Open ChatGPT.
Tell it your business, your offers, and what's coming up.
Ask for 10 campaign ideas and pick the few you actually like. You are the filter.

Prompt:


I run [business], a [trade or service] in [town]. My offers are [list]. Coming up: [season, promo, event].
Give me 10 email campaign ideas for the next month. For each: a one-line angle and who it's for. Keep them practical, not generic.

Stage 2: Write it in Claude

Open Claude, ideally a Project that already holds your brand voice.
Hand it the chosen idea and ask for the full email.
Read it, fix what's off, add a real story. This is the anti-slop step.

Prompt:


Write a marketing email for this idea: [paste idea].
My voice is [plain, friendly, direct]. Give me a subject line, 3 subject options, a short body, and one clear call to action. No hype, no cliches.

Stage 3: Organize in Notion

Make a database called Email Campaigns.
Add these properties:
- Name (title)
- Status (select: Idea, Draft, Approved, Scheduled, Sent)
- Subject line (text)
- Body (text)
- Audience or segment (text)
- Send date (date)
Paste Claude's draft into a row and set Status to Draft.
Once you've checked it, set Status to Approved. That is the trigger for the automation.

Important: in Notion, share the Email Campaigns database with your Make or Zapier connection. If you skip this, the automation cannot see it. In Notion you do this from the database, Connections, then add your Make or Zapier integration.

Stage 4: Build the automation (triggers and actions)

This is the connecting layer. Pick Zapier or Make. You build it once.

Option A: Zapier

The trigger

Create a new Zap.
App: Notion. Event: Updated Database Item.
Connect your Notion account and choose the Email Campaigns database.

The filter (so it only fires when approved) 4. Add a step: Filter by Zapier. 5. Condition: Status (Text) exactly matches Approved. Only approved emails move forward.

The action: create the campaign 6. Add a step. App: Mailchimp. Event: Create Campaign. 7. Connect Mailchimp. Set: Audience or list, Segment if you use one, Subject line (map the Notion Subject line field), and From name.

Populating the template (the part with a catch) The native Zapier Mailchimp action cannot pick a saved template, and it does not support templates built in Mailchimp's newer builder. Two clean ways around it:

Simple way (paste HTML): In Mailchimp, build your template and export it as HTML. In the Create Campaign step, paste that HTML into the content field, and drop the Notion Body field into the spot where the email copy goes. Your branding stays, the AI copy flows in.
Robust way (API call): Add a Webhooks by Zapier step (POST) that calls the Mailchimp API to set the campaign content from your saved template ID, mapping the Notion fields into the template's editable sections. More setup, keeps your real template intact.
Leave it as a draft. Do not add the Send Campaign action. You want the human check.
Test with one approved row, then turn the Zap on.

Option B: Make.com

The trigger

Create a new Scenario.
First module: Notion, Watch Database Items.
Connect Notion, choose the Email Campaigns database, and set it to watch by updated time.

The filter 4. Add a filter between modules: only continue when Status equals Approved.

The action: create the campaign 5. Next module: Mailchimp, Create a Campaign. 6. Map the Subject line, list, and segment from the Notion fields.

Populating the template

Paste-HTML method works the same as Zapier: put your exported template HTML in the content field with the Notion Body mapped in.
For full template control, add an HTTP module and call the Mailchimp or Klaviyo API directly, passing your template ID and the Notion content. Make handles API calls cleanly, which is why it is the better pick if you want Klaviyo or precise template styling.
Keep it a draft. Test with one record. Switch the scenario on and set it to check every 15 minutes.

If you use Klaviyo

Klaviyo's no-code campaign creation is limited. The reliable route is the HTTP or API step above: create the campaign and set its template content through Klaviyo's API. For most small businesses starting out, Mailchimp is the faster win.

Stage 5: The template in Mailchimp or Klaviyo

Build one reusable template with your logo, colors, header, and footer.
Mark the spot where the body copy goes, so the automation drops the AI-written, you-approved copy into the right place.
Every run produces a draft, not a send.
You open the draft, do a final read, pick the audience, and hit send yourself.

That final human step is the point. Never let an email go out untouched.

The golden rules

Human in the loop before every send. Approve in Notion, review in your email tool.
Check the AI's work every time. Fix the facts, add your story, cut the fluff.
Start manual, then automate. Do the flow by hand once so you understand each step.
Build one campaign end to end before you scale.

Quick recap

Ideas in ChatGPT. You pick the good ones.
Claude writes the draft. You make it sound like you.
Notion holds it. Set Status to Approved when ready.
Make or Zapier sees Approved, creates a draft in your email tool, and fills your template.
You review and send.

I've spent over 15 years helping local service businesses grow. The owners who win with AI use it to do the work faster, then put their own stamp on it. This is the stuff that actually works.

Note: tool menus, module names, and integration limits change over time. If a button has moved or an action behaves differently, look for the nearest match. The flow stays the same: approved in Notion, draft out to your email tool, you send.