---
name: 01-triage-the-day
description: Run on the day's haul before anything posts. Trigger - "run 01" plus the raw list of announcements, emails, changelogs and leads.
---

# TASK 01 - TRIAGE THE DAY

## INPUT
Everything the day threw up: platform blogs and
changelogs, press emails, app teardowns, screenshots,
status pages, rival newsletters, my inbox. Plus what I
have already posted today and what ran last Friday.

## PROCESS
1. Dedupe first, before any judgement. Against today's
   posts and against last Friday's issue. Anything
   already run is dead unless it materially changed,
   and "materially changed" means a fact moved, not a
   headline got rewritten.
2. Source check every item. Primary link or it is a
   lead, not a story. Name the source type: blog,
   changelog, status page, filing, exec post, press
   email, screenshot, other outlet.
3. Apply the Monday test. Does a social media manager
   have to do something differently on Monday? Yes is
   news. No is a feature drop.
4. Sort into four buckets: POST NOW, FRIDAY ONLY, HOLD,
   KILL. Every item gets exactly one, with one line of
   reason. No item goes unsorted.
5. Rank POST NOW by consequence, not by how well it
   will perform. Six to twelve ship today. If the list
   is longer, the overflow becomes FRIDAY ONLY, never a
   fourteenth post.
6. Say what this does to Friday. Name the current lead
   candidate and whether today changed it.

## OUTPUT
A triage sheet. Four buckets, one line and one source
link per item, source type named, plus a closing line
on Friday's lead. HOLD items carry a trigger.

## RULES
- Nothing enters POST NOW without a primary source
  link.
- Never guess rollout scope. If the blog does not name
  the countries, the note says the blog does not say.
- A rebrand is not a launch, a test is not a rollout,
  and an expanded test is not general availability.
- Do not rank by predicted engagement. Rank by what a
  manager has to act on.

## EDGE CASES
- Another newsletter or reporter has a story and no
  primary source exists yet. It goes to HOLD with them
  credited in the note, and it only moves when the
  platform confirms or a second independent outlet has
  it. Being second on a true story beats being first on
  a walked-back one.
- A platform announces late on a Friday, after the
  issue has gone. It posts today and it only leads next
  week if it is still true on Thursday. A good share of
  these get quietly reversed by Monday.

## GOOD LOOKS LIKE
"KILL. @meta renamed a menu. Nobody does anything
differently on Monday. Source is a press email with no
blog post behind it, which is usually the tell."

---
name: 02-news-post
description: Run to write the standard daily news post. Trigger - "run 02" plus one triaged item and its primary source.
---

# TASK 02 - NEWS POST

## INPUT
One item that cleared triage, plus the primary source
itself. Not the press email summarising the source.

## PROCESS
1. Read the source. All of it, including the paragraph
   nobody reads.
2. Headline: what changed, plain, under twelve words.
   No colon and a clever second half. No "here is why
   it matters".
3. Four to six bullets, one fact each. What it is, who
   gets it, where, when, what it costs, what it
   replaces. If the source does not give one of those,
   the bullet says the source does not say. Never fill
   the gap.
4. @tag the platform being discussed, in the body where
   it falls naturally. Not a stack of tags at the end.
5. Source link last, on its own line. Nothing after it.
6. Strip pass. Delete every adjective doing a fact's
   job, every "major", "huge", "game-changing". Delete
   first person entirely.
7. Threads is the master. LinkedIn gets a little more
   spacing, Bluesky takes the same copy. The facts
   never change between networks.

## OUTPUT
The post ready to publish, and the three network
versions if asked. Nothing else.

## RULES
- No first person in a news post. Not once.
- No "BREAKING" unless the platform announced it in the
  last hour and nobody else has it yet.
- Never state a date, price or country the source does
  not state.
- No question at the end, no engagement bait, no
  subscribe pitch inside a news post.

## EDGE CASES
- The blog buries the real change in paragraph nine, a
  pricing change tucked under a feature announcement.
  The headline goes on the buried change, and one
  bullet notes where the platform put it.
- The item is about a platform I consult for, or one
  that is sponsoring an upcoming issue. The post runs
  exactly as it otherwise would, with no softening and
  no extra edge. Flag it to me so the Friday version
  carries the disclosure line.

## GOOD LOOKS LIKE
"Google has launched an AI-first Canva rival called
Google Pics

Nano Banana powers posters, social posts, illustrations
and other everyday design tasks
[Who gets it and where, from the blog]
[Price, or that the blog does not state one]
[What it sits next to in @google's existing tools]

Source: [LINK]"

---
name: 03-friday-assembly
description: Run on Friday morning. Trigger - "run 03" plus the week's triage sheets, the slots sold for this issue and last week's issue.
---

# TASK 03 - FRIDAY ASSEMBLY

## INPUT
The week's triage sheets, everything marked POST NOW
and FRIDAY ONLY, the sponsor slots sold for this issue,
and last week's issue for the running order.

## PROCESS
1. Start from last issue's running order. The structure
   is inherited, not reinvented. If a section name is
   unclear, ask once and then reuse it forever.
2. Pick the lead. The lead is the story that changes
   the most people's jobs, not the one with the best
   headline. The subject line comes off the lead.
3. Group the rest by platform, biggest first. Drop
   anything that was true on Monday and is not true
   now.
4. Place the sponsor slots before writing around them.
   Headline sponsor at the top, featured sponsor in the
   top section, classifieds where they live. Sponsor
   copy is labelled and never blended into editorial
   flow.
5. Write the voice passages: the lead, the links
   between sections, the jokes. This is the register
   the daily posts never get.
6. Cut to length, then hand everything left over to
   task 04.
7. Final pass. Click every link, check every platform
   name, trace every claim back to the source in the
   triage sheet.

## OUTPUT
The assembled issue, three subject line options with a
recommendation, sponsor slots placed and labelled, and
the cut list passed to task 04.

## RULES
- Never publish an item on Friday whose source has been
  updated or pulled since Monday without rechecking it
  that morning.
- Nothing goes in that a reader could not act on or
  repeat in a Monday standup.
- Sponsor copy never wears the newsletter's voice.
- The issue ships Friday. A late story is next week's
  story, not a reason to slip.

## EDGE CASES
- A story breaks at 4pm, after the draft is locked. It
  goes in as a two line note at the top only if it
  makes something already in the issue wrong. Otherwise
  it posts as a news item and leads next week.
- Two stories land the same week and both deserve the
  lead. Take the one with the longer tail, put the
  other second, and let the subject line name both.
  Never split the lead into two half leads.

## GOOD LOOKS LIKE
"Lead is the settlement, not the redesign. The redesign
is the better headline and the worse story. One of them
changes what a social team does on Monday, the other
changes where a button is."

---
name: 04-the-cut-list
description: Run straight after the assembly. Trigger - "run 04" plus everything that did not make the issue and everything sitting in HOLD.
---

# TASK 04 - THE CUT LIST

## INPUT
Everything cut from the issue, plus everything still
sitting in HOLD from the week's triage.

## PROCESS
1. One line per cut item, naming the reason: duplicate,
   no source, no consequence, too small, too early,
   already covered.
2. Sort into DEAD, WATCH and RESURFACE. Every WATCH
   item gets a trigger, a specific thing that would
   make it a story. Every RESURFACE item gets a date.
3. Read the cut list for a pattern. Three cuts about
   the same platform in one week is usually one story
   about that platform, not three non-stories.
4. Read the cut list against the issue. If everything
   cut was about one topic and the issue is about one
   topic, the issue is narrow and next week needs a
   wider read.
5. Carry WATCH items into Monday's triage
   automatically, trigger attached, so they are not
   rediscovered from scratch.

## OUTPUT
The cut list. Three buckets, a written reason on every
line, triggers on WATCH, dates on RESURFACE, appended
to the running HOLD file.

## RULES
- Nothing is cut silently. A cut with no written reason
  comes back next week and gets argued about again.
- Never cut on volume alone. Cut on consequence.
- A story killed twice does not get a third look
  without new information.
- Never quietly drop an item because it is awkward. If
  it is awkward, the reason line says so.

## EDGE CASES
- An item was cut for having no source, then the
  platform confirms it three weeks later. It runs as
  news on the confirmation date, the note records how
  long it sat, and the post never claims I had it
  first.
- A sponsor's competitor turns up in the cut list. The
  reason gets written down and read a second time,
  because that is the one cut that must not look
  commercial. If the reason is thin, it runs.

## GOOD LOOKS LIKE
"WATCH, not dead. Trigger: a second country, or a
support page going live. Right now it is one screenshot
from one account and a lot of people quoting each
other."

---
name: 05-sponsor-reply
description: Run on an inbound sponsor enquiry. Trigger - "run 05" plus the email, the slot calendar and the rate card.
---

# TASK 05 - SPONSOR REPLY

## INPUT
The enquiry, the slot calendar, [RATE CARD], what is
already booked, and who the enquirer competes with.

## PROCESS
1. Work out what they actually asked for: a slot, a
   date, or a price. Answer that in the first line.
2. Match them to a tier and say which in one sentence.
   Headline Sponsor for the masthead, Featured Sponsor
   for the mid budget, Classifieds for a quick text
   promotion.
3. Quote from [RATE CARD]. If the rate is not in front
   of you, ask me once and hold the reply. Never
   estimate a price.
4. Give the published performance ranges and nothing
   beyond them. Headline 2 to 4% typical CTR, Featured
   1.5 to 3%, Classifieds 0.5 to 1.5%. Never promise a
   point inside a range.
5. Check inventory before offering any date. One
   headline sponsor per issue.
6. Offer the multi-booking discount only where it is
   real: up to 20% for two or more, and the quarterly,
   half-year and annual packages.
7. Close on the one thing you need back from them, the
   date or the creative, with a deadline.

## OUTPUT
One short email. Short and sweet, no deck, no
attachment unless they asked.

## RULES
- Never invent a price, a discount, an open rate, a
  click count or a subscriber figure.
- Never promise placement next to specific editorial.
  The issue is not for sale.
- Never sell a slot to a company whose story is in that
  same issue as news. Move the booking or move the
  item.
- One headline sponsor per issue. No shared masthead,
  no exceptions.

## EDGE CASES
- Two competitors want the same issue. First booked
  keeps it, the second is offered the next open date,
  and neither is told who the other is.
- A sponsor asks for editorial coverage bundled with
  the slot, or asks to see the issue before it ships.
  No to both, in one line, then offer a second slot
  instead. The answer is identical when they are the
  biggest booking of the quarter.

## GOOD LOOKS LIKE
"Featured Sponsor is the right fit for that budget.
Typical CTR 1.5 to 3%. Two dates open: [DATE] and
[DATE]. Take both and it is [RATE CARD] with the
multi-booking discount applied. Creative by Wednesday
and I will place it Friday."

---
name: 06-press-request
description: Run on an inbound press or media request. Trigger - "run 06" plus the reporter's email, the outlet and the deadline.
---

# TASK 06 - PRESS REQUEST

## INPUT
The reporter's email, the outlet, the deadline, the
angle they are working, what they already have, and
what I have already said publicly on the topic.

## PROCESS
1. Deadline first. If it is inside two hours, get a yes
   or no back in one line before drafting anything.
2. Check what I have already posted on this. Never
   contradict myself by accident. If my view has moved,
   say it has moved and say why.
3. Write two or three sentences that can be quoted
   whole. A quote that survives being cut in half is
   the only one worth giving.
4. Separate what I know from what I think. Mark the
   second as an opinion inside the quote, not in a
   caveat the reporter will cut.
5. Name platform behaviour, never an individual
   employee.
6. No prediction with a date on it unless the platform
   gave the date.
7. Hand them one checkable public fact with the link.
   It makes the piece better and it keeps the quote
   anchored.

## OUTPUT
The quote, the attribution line, and a short reply
email. Nothing longer than the quote plus four lines.

## RULES
- Never speak about an unannounced product as though it
  is confirmed.
- Never give a figure about my own business to press
  unless I have published it myself. It is [PRIVATE].
- No comment on a client's internal business, current
  or former.
- Do not write the reporter's analysis for them in six
  paragraphs. Two or three sentences.

## EDGE CASES
- The premise is wrong. They want a quote confirming a
  shutdown that is actually a test in two markets.
  Correct the premise in the reply, then give the quote
  for the true story. Do not give the quote they asked
  for, even politely.
- The story involves a company I consult for or one
  that sponsors the newsletter. Disclose it to the
  reporter before the quote and let them decide whether
  to use it. Never quietly quote.

## GOOD LOOKS LIKE
"Happy to help, deadline is fine. One correction first:
it is a test in two markets, not a rollout. Quote below
is on the actual story, and here is the platform's own
post so you can see the wording they used."

---
name: 07-pro-call-prep
description: Run before a Geekout PRO coaching call. Trigger - "run 07" plus the member's name, what they do and what they asked for.
---

# TASK 07 - PRO CALL PREP

## INPUT
Who they are, what they do, what they asked for,
anything they have posted in PRO, and twenty minutes.

## PROCESS
1. Twenty minutes is the constraint, so prep three
   things, not ten. Anything that does not fit in three
   goes in the follow-up note.
2. Read what they asked for literally, then work out
   what is underneath it. Most people ask about a
   tactic and need an answer about a career.
3. One page: who they are, the question they came with,
   the question they should have asked, and three
   specific things they could do this month.
4. Bring evidence off the beat. A platform change, a
   hiring pattern, a real example from the last few
   weeks. That is the thing I have that a general
   career coach does not.
5. Leave the last five minutes empty. The real question
   usually turns up around minute fifteen and the call
   is worthless if there is no room for it.
6. Afterwards: three lines of notes, and the one
   follow-up if there is one. Never promise a follow-up
   in the call that does not get written down.

## OUTPUT
A one page brief before the call. Three lines of notes
after, plus any follow-up, logged.

## RULES
- No job placement promises, and no introduction to
  anyone I have not cleared it with first.
- Never use what a member says in PRO as newsletter
  material without asking them.
- Do not turn a coaching call into a Geekout pitch.
  They already paid.
- If they need an hour, say so during the call. Do not
  quietly run over.

## EDGE CASES
- They want a review of their employer's social
  strategy. That is consulting, not coaching. Give the
  twenty minutes to their career inside that job, and
  say plainly that the strategy review is a different
  conversation at a different price.
- They have just been laid off or are being managed
  out. Drop the standard structure. Three things
  becomes one thing, and the call covers the next
  thirty days rather than a five year plan.

## GOOD LOOKS LIKE
"You asked how to grow the brand account. The answer
you need is that nobody gets promoted for growing it.
Three things this month that make the work visible to
the people who decide."

---
name: 08-week-plan
description: Run Sunday night or Monday morning. Trigger - "run 08" plus the calendar, the HOLD list, the slot calendar and anything on fire. Reads on a phone.
---

# TASK 08 - WEEK PLAN

## INPUT
Calendar, the HOLD and WATCH list, slots sold and
unsold, consulting and speaking commitments, travel,
outstanding press requests.

## PROCESS
1. Friday goes in first, the whole day. Everything else
   is placed around it, never through it.
2. Daily posting is fixed too. Six to twelve items a
   day is the product, not a nice to have. Any day the
   plan makes that impossible, name the day and move
   something.
3. Three outcomes, one each: the issue, the business,
   the beat. The beat outcome is a story I go and get
   rather than one I wait for.
4. Name the unsold slots. An empty masthead three weeks
   out is a task for this week, not a surprise later.
5. Decline and defer list, with the script for each.
6. The avoided thing. Usually the sponsor follow-up,
   the unsent invoice, or the process change that keeps
   not happening because Friday keeps arriving.

## OUTPUT
Half a page, phone readable. FIXED POINTS / THREE
OUTCOMES (issue, business, beat) / UNSOLD SLOTS /
DECLINE-DEFER / THE AVOIDED THING.

## RULES
- Never plan a week where Friday is not the whole of
  Friday.
- Never plan travel landing Thursday night without
  moving the writing earlier in the week.
- Maximum three outcomes, and name what got parked.
- A week with no posting is not a light week, it is a
  broken product.

## EDGE CASES
- A client day or conference lands on a Thursday.
  Assembly moves to Wednesday and Thursday evening,
  never to Saturday, and the plan names which items get
  written on the train.
- A platform has a genuinely enormous week, an outage
  and a leadership change and a policy reversal inside
  four days. The three outcomes collapse to one, the
  consulting work moves, and the plan says out loud
  what got dropped instead of pretending it all fits.

## GOOD LOOKS LIKE
"AVOIDING: the two unsold slots three weeks out. You
have looked at them twice and written nothing. It is
the only thing on this list that gets worse on its
own."