Sponsor readiness checklist
Approve only the sponsor slots that can survive proof.
Operator checklist for deciding whether a Cambridge sponsor enquiry is ready for manual approval, Stripe setup and Buttondown ad scheduling.
Status: static_prep_only. This page does not contact prospects, collect payment, reserve inventory, schedule Buttondown ads or approve live outreach.
Gate 1 - operator
Local fit
Required evidence: Advertiser clearly serves Cambridge, Ely, Cambourne, Northstowe, Histon and Impington, Sawston, Waterbeach, Saffron Walden or another committed coverage area.; Offer is useful to residents, commuters, parents, students, workers or local business owners before or during the morning routine.; Landing page is public, current, local and reachable without a tracking wall.
Blockers: No clear service area inside the Cambridge coverage footprint.; Offer is national-only, generic or unrelated to local daily usefulness.; Landing page is missing, broken, misleading or too vague to support a sponsor claim.
Gate 2 - editor
Copy and compliance
Required evidence: Headline is 70 characters or fewer and body is 320 characters or fewer.; Copy has one clear CTA, one destination URL and plain-text fallback.; Financial, legal, medical, education, property, employment and prize claims are flagged for manual review.
Blockers: Unverifiable performance, scarcity, health, education or ROI claims.; Copy reads like generic display advertising instead of a useful local note.; CTA, eligibility, price, date, location or offer terms are unclear.
Gate 3 - commercial
Inventory and proof
Required evidence: Package slug, requested dates, issue placement and manual hold expiry are recorded.; Sponsor proof ledger confirms which advertiser claims are safe to use.; Post-send reporting promise is limited to verified Buttondown, UTM and placement evidence.
Blockers: Subscriber, open-rate, click-rate, conversion or ROI claim is requested before verification.; Inventory hold is treated as confirmed before the editor approves the sponsor and dates.; Reporting promise includes unverified analytics or advertiser-side conversion data.
Gate 4 - Editorial
Approval gate
Required evidence: the editor has explicitly approved outreach, payment collection and inventory reservation for this sponsor.; Stripe lookup key, Buttondown sponsor tag and issue slot match the checkout plan.; No public post, live subscriber email, payment link or sponsor contact is triggered by this static prep.
Blockers: Approval is implied rather than explicit.; Checkout link would collect money before final review.; Sponsor copy is scheduled before the issue build and website checks are verified.