☂ Raincheck — Seattle's Weekly Dispatch

Where the drizzle becomes inspiration.

A local newsletter platform for Seattle, powered by Rocky the Raincheck Raccoon.

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Project Structure

raincheck/
├── public/                  # Live site (deployed to Vercel)
│   ├── index.html           # Main landing page + subscribe
│   ├── rockyracoon.png      # Rocky mascot mark
│   └── raincheckbanner.png  # Hero banner illustration (add this)
│
├── internal/                # Editor tools (run locally, never deploy)
│   ├── engine.html          # Content engine — generate stories + thumbnails
│   └── email-template.html  # Weekly email template with {{VARIABLES}}
│
├── vercel.json              # Vercel deployment config
├── .gitignore
└── README.md

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Deploy to Vercel

1. Push to GitHub

git init
git add .
git commit -m "🚀 initial raincheck deploy"
git remote add origin https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/raincheck.git
git push -u origin main

2. Connect to Vercel

• Go to vercel.com → Import Project → select your GitHub repo
• Framework: Other
• Root directory: leave as /
• Click Deploy

3. Add your domain

Point raincheckseattle.xyz (or your domain) to Vercel in the project settings.

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Before Going Live Checklist

• Add raincheckbanner.png to /public/ (the hero illustration)
• Add rockyracoon.png to /public/ (Rocky's mark — already included)
• Set your Beehiiv Publication ID in public/index.html
  • Find it: Beehiiv Dashboard → Settings → Publication Details
  • Replace YOUR_PUBLICATION_ID_HERE with your real ID
• Update ads@raincheckseattle.xyz to your real email in index.html
• Update Rocky image URLs in internal/email-template.html from https://raincheckseattle.xyz/rockyracoon.png to your live domain

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Content Engine (internal/engine.html)

Run locally — open in browser, never deploy publicly.

Requires:

• Anthropic API key (Claude drafts the story)
• OpenAI API key (DALL·E 3 generates the Rocky-style thumbnail)

Workflow:

1. Enter topic + category + neighborhood
2. Hit Generate
3. Claude writes the story, DALL·E generates a square woodblock-style thumbnail
4. Approve / Edit / Discard in the tile grid
5. Copy approved content into the weekly email template

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Weekly Email (internal/email-template.html)

Fill in all {{VARIABLES}} before each send:

Variable	Description
{{ISSUE_NUMBER}}	e.g. 001
{{DATE_DISPLAY}}	e.g. Mar 9
{{DATE_LONG}}	e.g. Sunday, March 9, 2026
{{PREHEADER_TEXT}}	Short preview text (50 chars)
{{ROCKY_INTRO_NOTE}}	Rocky's personal weekly opener
{{STORY1_IMAGE}} through {{STORY5_IMAGE}}	Full URLs to generated thumbnails
{{STORY1_HEADLINE}} etc.	Story content from engine
{{AD_EYEBROW}}, {{AD_HEADLINE}}, {{AD_BODY}}, {{AD_CTA}}, {{AD_URL}}	Sponsor content
{{ROCKYS_PICK_HEADLINE}}, {{ROCKYS_PICK_BODY}}	Rocky's pick section
{{QH1_TITLE}} / {{QH1_BODY}} etc.	Quick hits (3 bullets)
{{UNSUBSCRIBE_URL}}	Auto-filled by Beehiiv
{{PREFERENCES_URL}}	Auto-filled by Beehiiv

Upload the filled HTML to Beehiiv as a custom template.

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Brand Assets

Asset	Notes
Rocky the Raincheck Raccoon	rockyracoon.png — woodblock linocut, pizza slice
Hero Banner	raincheckbanner.png — full Seattle scene illustration
Primary color	#c8622a — amber
Background	#1a3a3f — deep teal
Tagline	Where the drizzle becomes inspiration.
Fonts	Alfa Slab One (headlines), Lora (body), Barlow Condensed (labels)

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Thumbnail Style Prompt (lock this in for all AI image generation)

Woodblock linocut print illustration, wet ink texture, deep teal and warm amber palette,
Seattle rainy atmosphere, gritty vintage editorial style, high contrast, square crop — [SUBJECT]

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Built with Claude. Rocky approves. 🦝🍕