# Quality Checklist

Run this before publishing — and before delivering any draft back to the user.
Four layers, top to bottom. Fix failures at each layer before moving on.

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## Layer 1: Algorithm

X's distribution will kill a tweet before anyone reads it if you trip these.

- [ ] **No external link in the main tweet.** Move links to reply 1. External
      links cut reach by 50–90%.
- [ ] **≤ 2 hashtags.** More than that signals spam. Zero is often better.
- [ ] **Posted during the target audience's active window.** Defaults:
      Mon–Fri 7–10am and 7–10pm local time for the audience.
- [ ] **Premium formatting used where available.** Bold, italics, long-form if
      the account has Premium. Non-Premium posts now reach ~40% less.
- [ ] **No @mentions of people who aren't likely to engage.** Orphan mentions
      don't boost reach; they flag spam.

---

## Layer 2: Hook

The first 1–2 lines decide everything.

- [ ] **Reader knows within 2 lines:** who it's for, what it's about, why they
      should care.
- [ ] **Specificity is uncomfortable.** Numbers, names, time anchors — not
      "some people" or "a while ago."
- [ ] **Curiosity gap present.** Reader knows the start and end, but not the
      middle.
- [ ] **Credibility anchor present.** Something signals you've done the work.
- [ ] **No contrast-negation opener** ("Not X, not Y, it's Z" — overused).
- [ ] **No rhetorical question without payoff** ("Ever wondered…?").
- [ ] **Read out loud.** If you stumble, rewrite.

Score it 1–10 honestly. Below 7, don't post — iterate.

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## Layer 3: Content

- [ ] **1/3/1 rhythm** (or variant) — short, expanded middle, short close.
- [ ] **Every line advances the piece.** Delete any tweet or sentence that
      doesn't add new information.
- [ ] **White space between concepts.** One idea per line. Blank lines between
      paragraphs.
- [ ] **Rule of 3** where you have a list.
- [ ] **Stairway order** in longer lists — short to long.
- [ ] **No AI tells:** no "Let's dive in," "Here's the thing," "In the realm
      of," "Buckle up," excessive em-dashes, or hedge-laddering.
- [ ] **No filler adverbs:** "just," "really," "actually," "basically," "very."
- [ ] **Written as spoken.** If you wouldn't say it out loud, it shouldn't be
      in the draft.

### Thread-specific

- [ ] **First tweet stands alone.** It should work even if no one reads the
      rest.
- [ ] **Length 8–12 tweets.** Past 15, retention drops sharply.
- [ ] **TL;DR present** at the end, before the CTA.
- [ ] **Each tweet's first line is its own mini-headline.**
- [ ] **One template (Framework/Story/Actionable/Curation/Lessons/Mistakes/
      Contrarian)** — don't mix.

---

## Layer 4: CTA

- [ ] **One clear action.** Follow, bookmark, subscribe, or reply — pick one.
- [ ] **Action matches the goal.** If the goal is growth → follow. If email
      list → subscribe. If engagement → reply.
- [ ] **No stacking.** "Follow + bookmark + share + subscribe" dilutes every
      ask.
- [ ] **If the goal is replies:** the closer should literally invite them
      ("What did I miss?" / "Disagree? Convince me.")

---

## Red Flags (stop and rewrite)

If any of these are true, the piece needs a bigger fix than a checklist pass:

- **Hook could describe someone else's tweet.** Your angle is missing.
- **Core claim is a cliché** ("consistency is key," "stay hungry"). Find the
  specific insight underneath.
- **Every sentence is the same length.** Rhythm is dead.
- **You can't explain to yourself why this tweet exists.** Kill it.
- **The tweet reads like an ad you wrote for yourself.** Rewrite in the voice
  of a friend telling another friend.

---

## Engagement Diagnosis (after posting)

When a tweet underperforms, diagnose in this order:

1. **Algorithm layer** — did you violate distribution rules? (link, hashtags,
   timing, Premium)
2. **Hook layer** — did the first 2 lines pull? Check impressions vs.
   engagement rate. Low impressions = hook failed within the first impressions
   pool.
3. **Content layer** — did engaged readers drop off? Check bookmarks and
   replies. Low ratio = body didn't deliver on the hook.
4. **Audience layer** — are you posting to an audience big enough to trigger
   Engagement Velocity? Cold-start accounts (<1K followers) should borrow
   reach via replies on larger accounts.

Priority weight on engagement signals (based on X's leaked algorithm):
- **Conversation reply** (author replies back): ~150×
- **Reply:** 27×
- **Bookmark:** 20×
- **Retweet:** 2×
- **Like:** 1×

Write for replies. Replying to your own replies compounds the signal.

---

## Healthy Benchmarks

| Metric | Good | Great |
|--------|------|-------|
| Engagement rate | > 2% | > 5% |
| Reply rate (replies / impressions) | > 0.3% | > 1% |
| Profile-visit rate | > 1% | > 3% |
| Bookmark rate | > 0.5% | > 2% |

Track week over week, not day by day. Individual tweets swing; trends don't lie.
