Sponsored Send Pre-Flight Checklist
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A booking-to-report checklist for every sponsored newsletter issue, so the slot is confirmed once, the creative arrives on time, the label is clear, and the sponsor gets a report without having to ask for it.

[ ] Confirm the send date, placement, and price in one written message, and check that the same date is not already held or booked for another sponsor in that placement.
[ ] Mark the slot as taken on your rate card or inventory calendar the same day, so a second sponsor cannot request it.
[ ] Send the agreement or booking confirmation with the price, placement, date, creative deadline, cancellation terms, and what happens if the issue is delayed.
[ ] Invoice on booking or collect payment through the booking page, and state whether payment is due before the send or on receipt.
[ ] Include the creative spec in the confirmation: word count, image size, whether the link will be tracked, and any words or claims you will not run.
[ ] Put the creative deadline on your own calendar with a reminder a day or two before it, not only in the sponsor's inbox.
[ ] Ask for the sponsor's tracked link and confirm it opens on a phone and on a desktop before the deadline passes.
[ ] When the creative arrives, check it against the spec: length, image dimensions, spelling of the brand name, and whether every claim is one you are comfortable sending to your readers.
[ ] If the creative is late, send a reminder that states the cutoff after which the slot moves to the next open date, then follow your own rule.
[ ] Label the placement plainly as sponsored, in the same position and the same wording every issue, so readers can tell it apart from your editorial.
[ ] Read the sponsored copy in the context of the full issue: it should not sit next to an editorial mention of a competitor or contradict something you wrote above it.
[ ] Send a test issue to yourself, click the sponsor link from the test, and confirm the landing page matches the offer in the copy.
[ ] Record the pre-send baseline: deliverable subscribers and your recent average open rate, so the report has a comparison point.
[ ] Save a copy of the final creative and the sent issue with the date and sponsor name in the file name.
[ ] Send the sponsor a short note on send day with a link to the web version, so they know it went out and can see it in place.
[ ] Pull opens and clicks after a fixed window that you use for every sponsor, typically a few days after the send, rather than whenever you happen to remember.
[ ] Write the report: audience size, opens, clicks on the sponsor link, the placement used, and one honest sentence about how it compared with a typical issue.
[ ] If the send fell well short of what was promised, decide on a makegood before the sponsor asks, and state it in the report.
[ ] Offer the next open date for the same placement in the report email, with the price, so rebooking takes one reply.
[ ] Note what the sponsor asked, what slowed the process, and whether the rate felt right, so the next booking with anyone starts from that record.