Updated September 24, 2026 | 11 min read

How to Use Claude Skills: lemlist's 38-Skill Free GTM Library (Step by Step)

You’ve probably written the same prompt fifteen times this month. Slightly different wording each time, hoping Claude will finally nail the cold email, the ICP breakdown, the lead scoring logic. Every time you start a new chat, you start from zero.
I got tired of it. So we built a library of reusable Claude Skills that skip the prompt-engineering loop entirely. In this post, I’ll walk you through exactly how to install and use them, including the two different methods most people mix up.

What are Claude skills?

Claude Skills are structured instruction packages that give Claude specialized capabilities for specific tasks. Skills extend Claude’s capabilities by giving it access to specialized knowledge and workflows. (Use skills in Claude | Claude Help Center)
Each skill contains a SKILL.md file (plain Markdown) with detailed instructions, context, and best practices. When you load one into Claude, it reads the full framework and follows it precisely, producing far better output than a generic prompt.
Here’s the difference: a prompt says “write me a cold email.” A skill says “here’s our proven framework for cold emails, with persona research steps, subject line formulas, CTA patterns, and follow-up logic. Now write me a cold email using all of this.”
Anthropic provides pre-built Agent Skills for common document tasks (PowerPoint, Excel, Word, PDF), and you can create your own custom Skills. (Agent Skills - Claude Platform Docs) That’s where lemlist comes in. We built 38 custom Skills across 6 categories, purpose-built for GTM workflows. You can browse the full library or keep reading to learn how to use them.
For anyone who wants to build skills from scratch, Anthropic published Anthropic’s guide to building Skills as a reference.

How Claude Skills actually work (before you install anything)

Before jumping into lemlist’s library, it’s worth understanding how native Claude Skills work. The mechanics matter because they affect whether your skill persists or disappears after one chat.
This feature requires code execution to be enabled. (Use skills in Claude | Claude Help Center) For individual Free, Pro, and Max plans: navigate to Settings > Capabilities and ensure that Code execution and file creation is enabled. (Use skills in Claude | Claude Help Center) For Team / Enterprise plans: navigate to Organization settings > Skills and ensure that both Code execution and file creation and Skills are enabled. (Use skills in Claude | Claude Help Center)
Once code execution is on, navigate to Customize > Skills to access your skills. (Use skills in Claude | Claude Help Center)
This is the panel where you toggle skills on and off, upload new ones, and manage what’s available across your conversations. It’s also where Anthropic’s own built-in document skills (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, PDF) show up by default.
I’m spelling this out because most tutorials skip it. And if you skip it, you end up thinking the only way to use a skill is to paste a file into a chat. That works as a one-off (see Step 3A below), but it’s not the same as installing a persistent skill.
For the full reference, see Claude’s official Skills documentation.

Step 1: Browse the Claude Skills Hub

Head to lemlist.com/claude-skills to see the full library.
Skills are organized by category: Writing, Analysing, Extrapolating, Building, Calling, and Moderating. Each card shows the skill name, a short description, and which tools it pairs with.
Pick the skill that matches what you’re trying to accomplish and click the download button to grab the .md file.

Step 2: Open Claude and start a new conversation

Go to claude.ai or open the Claude desktop app. Start a fresh conversation.
Skills are available for users on Free, Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans. (Use skills in Claude | Claude Help Center) That said, Claude Pro or Team will give you longer context windows, which means better performance with complex skills.

Step 3: Load the skill into Claude

This is the step most people get wrong, so I’ll break it into two paths.
Path A: Quick one-off (attach to a single chat)
This is the fastest way to try a skill. Attach the downloaded SKILL.md file to your message, just like you’d attach any document.
On claude.ai: Click the paperclip icon (📎) in the message bar, select your .md file, and hit send.
On Claude Desktop: Drag and drop the file directly into the chat window, or use the attach button.
Along with the file, send a message like:
“Read this skill file and follow its instructions. I want to [describe your task].”
Claude reads the entire .md file, understands the framework, and applies it to your request. Fair warning: this method only lasts for that single conversation. Start a new chat and the skill is gone.
Path B: Proper install (persistent across all conversations)
This is the method that matches how Claude’s native Skills system works. Create a ZIP file of the skill folder. The ZIP should contain the skill folder as its root (not a subfolder). (How to create custom skills | Claude Help Center)
Here’s how:
  1. Put the downloaded SKILL.md file inside a folder named after the skill (e.g., copywriting-first-touch/SKILL.md)
  2. Zip that folder
  3. Go to Customize > Skills in Claude
  4. Click the “+” button and upload your ZIP file
You can browse the marketplace or upload a ZIP file. (Best Claude Code Skills (2026): I Built and Tested 20 — Here Are the Ones That Matter) Once uploaded, the skill appears in your Skills panel. Toggle it on, and it’s available across every new conversation automatically. No re-uploading.

Step 4: Give Claude your context

Most skills will ask Claude to request specific information from you: your ICP, your product, your campaign goals, or your existing data.
The more context you provide, the better the output. For example, if you’re using a lead scoring skill, share your existing lead list (CSV or pasted data), your ICP criteria, what signals matter most to your team, and any scoring thresholds you already use.
You can also attach additional files alongside the skill (spreadsheets, campaign exports, competitor research, CRM dumps) for Claude to read and use.

Step 5: Iterate and refine

Once Claude produces its first output, you can refine it within the same conversation. The skill stays loaded, so every follow-up message benefits from the same framework.
Ask Claude to adjust the tone, add more personalization, change the angle, or process a different set of leads. The skill acts as a persistent set of instructions throughout the entire conversation.

Example: using the cold email copywriting skill

Here’s a concrete walkthrough:
  1. Download the Copywriting First Touch skill from the Skills Hub
  2. Open Claude and load the .md file (Path A for a quick test, Path B for permanent access)
  3. Write: “Use this skill to write a 3-step cold email sequence for VP of Sales at mid-market SaaS companies. Our product helps reduce ramp time for new SDRs by 40%.”
  4. Claude generates a full sequence with subject lines, email bodies, personalization variables, and follow-up timing
  5. Copy the emails into lemlist and launch your campaign
The skill handles the copywriting framework. You just bring the context.

Making skills persistent: install vs. Projects

Now that you understand the two loading methods, let me clarify how persistence works.
If you installed a skill via Customize > Skills (Path B above), it’s already persistent. Go to Customize > Skills. Toggle individual skills on or off as needed. (Use skills in Claude | Claude Help Center) Every new conversation will have access to that skill without any re-uploading.
Claude Projects are a secondary option if you want shared, project-level context on top of the skill. If you use Claude Pro or Team, you can add skill files to a Claude Project’s Knowledge section. This is useful when you want a specific team to share the same set of skills plus supplementary context (like your brand voice doc or ICP spreadsheet). But for most individual users, the Customize > Skills install is the simpler path.

What kinds of skills are available?

The library covers the full GTM workflow. Understanding what’s there helps you decide which skills to install first. Here are some examples:
  • Lead research and ICP building: build detailed prospect profiles and ideal customer profiles from scratch
  • Cold email copywriting: write high-converting email sequences following proven frameworks
  • Campaign analysis: diagnose performance issues and get actionable recommendations
  • Data enrichment and cleaning: normalize job titles, enrich company data, and clean your lead lists
  • LinkedIn outreach: craft connection requests and messaging sequences for LinkedIn
  • Objection handling: prepare responses to common prospect objections based on your value prop
  • n8n workflow building: generate production-ready n8n workflows as importable JSON files
New skills are added regularly. Check the Skills Hub for the latest additions.

Skills vs. prompts: why the distinction matters

Once you’ve seen the skill categories, the natural question is: why not just use a really good prompt?
A prompt is a one-shot instruction. A skill is a complete methodology.
Prompts work for simple requests. But for complex GTM tasks (like building a multi-step sequence, scoring a lead list, or analyzing a campaign) you need structure. Skills provide that structure in a reusable, shareable format.
The result is more consistent output and fewer back-and-forth corrections. Your whole team can use the same skill and get comparable quality, instead of everyone writing their own prompts.
One more thing: lemlist’s skills are open source and available on GitHub. You can inspect every instruction before you load it into Claude. That matters. Custom Skills let you package domain expertise and organizational knowledge. (Agent Skills - Claude Platform Docs) If you’re packaging someone else’s expertise, you should be able to read what it actually tells Claude to do.

Skills are not Claude Code, no terminal required

If the section above made you wonder whether you need a developer setup: you don’t.
These skills are .md files you upload to a Claude conversation or install via the Customize panel. They are not Claude Code skills that require npx, a terminal, or any developer setup.
If you can attach a file to a chat message, you can use these skills. No installation. No command line.

Skills vs. MCP: when to use which

You might have noticed we also offer lemlist MCP, and the two are easy to confuse.
MCP requires a local client setup (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.). Claude Skills is the no-setup alternative. Go to lemlist.com/claude-skills, type your request, and Claude runs it directly in the browser. Same power, zero config. (lemlist MCP | Connect AI Agents to Sales Outreach & Lead Data)
Use Skills when you want Claude to follow a specific GTM framework (write emails, score leads, build ICPs) without any setup beyond uploading a file.
Use MCP when you want Claude to read and write data directly inside your lemlist workspace: pull campaign stats, create sequences, import leads, pause underperforming steps. MCP is the live connection. Skills are the playbook.
You can use both together. Load a campaign analysis skill, then let MCP pull your actual campaign data for Claude to analyze. If you want the full MCP walkthrough, check out how to connect lemlist to Claude via MCP.

Claude isn’t using the skill? Quick troubleshooting

A few things to check if your skill doesn’t seem to be working:
  • Code execution is off. This feature requires code execution to be enabled. (Use skills in Claude | Claude Help Center) Go to Settings > Capabilities and toggle it on.
  • ZIP structure is wrong. The ZIP should contain the skill folder as its root (not a subfolder). (How to create custom skills | Claude Help Center) If the SKILL.md file is nested too deep, Claude won’t find it.
  • You attached the file but didn’t install it. Attaching a .md file to a chat (Path A) is a one-off. If you want persistence, use Path B and upload via Customize > Skills.
  • The skill is toggled off. Check Customize > Skills and make sure the toggle is on for the skill you want to use.

Over to you

The entire skills library is free and open source.
  1. Browse skills and download the .md file for the task you need
  2. Upload it to Claude (quick attach or proper install via Customize > Skills)
  3. Describe your goal and get expert-level output in seconds
If you’re already running outbound with lemlist, these skills plug directly into your workflow. Write the sequence in Claude, drop it into lemlist, launch.
Start a 14-day free trial if you haven’t yet, or book a demo to see the full stack in action.
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