Ebook Creation Checklist

Pull the persona doc from the brand library and confirm which segment this asset targets — job title, company size, stage in the funnel (TOFU vs MOFU). A common gotcha: writing a TOFU awareness ebook for an audience that's already in MOFU evaluation, then wondering why MQLs don't progress.

Run the working title against Ahrefs or Semrush for keyword volume, difficulty, and SERP intent. Confirm the topic isn't already saturated with vendor-neutral content from G2 or Gartner. Save the keyword cluster — title, H2s, and related queries — to the content brief.

Download the top 3-5 gated competitor ebooks. Note page count, structure, depth of original research vs. recycled stats, and CTA placement. The goal isn't to copy — it's to know the bar for what a prospect already gets elsewhere.

Brief covers: working title, target keyword, persona, funnel stage, key takeaways (3-5), chapter outline, target word count, internal links, CTA, source citations needed. Editor and SME sign off on the brief before writing starts — fixing structure problems mid-draft is expensive.

Writer follows the approved outline; flags unverified claims with a comment for fact-check. Quotes from customers or SMEs need attribution and approval from the quoted party before publication.

Edit for narrative arc, chapter transitions, tone alignment with the brand voice doc, and CTA logic. Confirm each chapter delivers on the takeaway promised in the brief — a chapter that drifts is a chapter the reader skips.

Every statistic gets a citation with a publication date — stats older than 24 months get flagged or replaced. Customer testimonials with material claims need substantiation on file per FTC Endorsement Guides.

AP style or house style guide, heading-level hierarchy (H1 → H2 → H3, no skipping), accessible link text (no "click here"), alt-text drafted for every image. Run through Grammarly or similar but human-read the result — auto-edits routinely break voice.

SME, PMM, brand, and (if claims are regulated) legal each sign off in the document with a timestamp. Slack-DM "looks good" doesn't count — approval needs an audit trail.

Pull the ebook template from the brand DAM (Frontify, Bynder, or Brandfolder). Confirm color palette, typography, and logo lockups match the current brand book — old templates get out-of-date when the brand refreshes.

Stock photos must have license docs saved to the asset folder. AI-generated imagery requires disclosure per evolving FTC guidance — flag any AI assets to the legal reviewer. Original charts get source notes underneath the figure.

Tag the PDF for screen readers, confirm reading order, verify alt text on every image, check color contrast against WCAG 2.1 AA. ADA Title III applies to public-facing assets — a gated PDF behind a form still counts.

Gating yields MQLs but suppresses reach and SEO value. Ungated builds authority and backlinks. Decision drives whether you build a form-protected landing page (gated) or publish an HTML version with a soft CTA (ungated).

Form fields scoped to what scoring actually uses — every extra field drops conversion ~10%. Add hidden UTM-capture fields, GDPR consent checkbox for EU traffic, and a thank-you page that delivers the asset plus a next-step CTA.

Use the team's UTM convention doc — source-medium-campaign formatted consistently so GA4 reports stay comparable across launches. Build all promo links through the shared link-builder; ad-hoc UTMs fragment attribution.

Form submission triggers MAP workflow: scoring update, list addition, CRM sync to Salesforce or HubSpot CRM, lead-routing rules (territory, account-owner). Confirm SDR notification fires for SQL-threshold leads.

Submit a test lead end-to-end: form fires, GA4 event records, MAP workflow runs, CRM record created, asset email delivered. For EU traffic, confirm tracking pixels gate behind the OneTrust or Cookiebot consent state — pre-consent firing is a GDPR violation.

Triage failures with marketing ops and webdev. Re-run the end-to-end test after each fix. Do not launch promotion until QA returns clean.

Segment matches persona and consent state — separate sends for EU (GDPR opt-in only) vs US (CAN-SPAM compliant with physical address and unsubscribe). Litmus or Email on Acid render check across major clients before broadcast; configure subject-line A/B on a 10% split.

LinkedIn, X, and any owned channels — cadence per the team's channel calendar. Each link carries the campaign UTM. For carousel posts, build the assets at native dimensions; resized images get downranked.

Sales enablement: 5-minute overview, talking points, ICP fit, where this asset lands in the funnel, and what the SDR should do when an MQL converts. Without this, leads convert and sit untouched in the CRM.

Build the LinkedIn Campaign Manager audience from ICP firmographics + job-title list. Set frequency cap, daily budget, and conversion event mapped to the form-submit. Confirm the conversion event fires in test before going live — mis-mapped events distort budget allocation.

Pull GA4 sessions and conversions, MAP form fills by source, paid CPL by channel, email open and click rates. Compare against the launch goals from the brief — surface wins and underperforming channels for the WBR.

Of the leads this asset captured, how many were SDR-accepted, how many became opportunities, and what's the early pipeline contribution. If MQL-to-SAL rate is below historical baseline, the targeting or asset-funnel-fit needs revisiting.

Triggered when MQL-to-SAL falls below baseline. Pull marketing, SDR lead, and RevOps; review form fields, scoring thresholds, and channel mix. Document changes for the next asset launch.