$ man content-wiki/pre-publish-checklist

The difference between amateur content and professional content is not talent — it is process. A pre-publish checklist catches errors that your eyes skip after writing and editing the same piece for 30 minutes. It catches voice drift that creeps in during revision. It catches substance gaps that feel filled when you are deep in the topic but read as empty to someone seeing it for the first time. The checklist takes 3 minutes. Those 3 minutes prevent publishing something that sounds like everyone else's AI output, contains an accidental company reference, or reads as thought leadership fluff instead of builder substance.

FORMULA

Run these checks on every post before publishing: (1) Lowercase first line — the first word should be lowercase unless it is a proper noun or I. This is a voice signature. (2) 1-2 sentence paragraphs maximum — no walls of text. Mobile readers need whitespace. (3) No em-dashes — delete all of them. Use periods, commas, or ellipses. (4) No authority signaling phrases — search for let me be clear, the uncomfortable truth, here is what nobody tells you. Delete them. (5) Natural rhythm — read the post out loud. If it sounds like a keynote speech, it is over-polished. If it sounds like you explaining something to a friend, it is right.

FORMULA

Every post must pass the substance gate: (1) At least one specific example with details — not use data to make better decisions but check the source_campaign property in HubSpot to see which Clay table drove the conversion. (2) Technical specifics — column names, tool names, numbers, metrics. Vague posts are forgettable. Specific posts are useful. (3) Reasoning or consequences shown — not just what to do, but why it matters and what happens if you do not. (4) Practical value or lesson — someone who reads this post should be able to do something differently afterward. If the post does not change behavior or thinking, it is not ready.

FORMULA

Before publishing, verify: (1) No named companies or people criticized — patterns over persons, always. You can say I have seen people with 20,000-row Clay tables but never say Company X has terrible Clay hygiene. (2) Pattern vs person test — would the person or company you are referencing feel attacked if they read this? If yes, abstract the pattern further. (3) No ecosystem players targeted — do not criticize competitors, platforms, or tools by name in a negative context. You can state factual limitations but not opinions framed as facts. This is not about being soft. It is about building a reputation as someone who shares useful patterns rather than someone who tears others down. The builder community is small. Everyone talks. One careless post burns relationships that took months to build.

FORMULA

The final gate: (1) Sounds like you, not a content machine — if you would not say it in a conversation, do not post it. (2) Builder tone, not thought leader — you are sharing what you built and learned, not dispensing wisdom from above. (3) Casual but competent — the tone should feel like a knowledgeable friend, not a textbook or a motivational speaker. (4) No generic B2B speak — no leverage, optimize, synergize, drive results, actionable insights. These words mean nothing. Replace them with specifics about what actually happened. If the post passes all four checks — structure, substance, safety, voice — it is ready. If it fails any one, fix it before publishing. No exceptions. The checklist is the quality floor, not the quality ceiling.

FORMULA

The fastest anti-slop check: (1) Search for em-dashes (the long dash character) — delete all. (2) Search for here is the thing and here is where — delete. (3) Check opening and closing — if they say the same thing, rewrite the closing. (4) Count parallel sentence structures — three in a row with the same rhythm means two need cutting. (5) Check for colon-listed statements — rewrite as natural sentences. (6) Look for three-example patterns — AI loves groups of three. Two specific examples hit harder than three generic ones. This scan takes 2 minutes and catches the most visible AI writing tells. Combined with the full pre-publish checklist, it ensures every published post passes the does this sound like a real person wrote it test.