Looking for our creative agent?See it →
Book a call
All skills

Marketing · Step

Two-pass edit

Edits a draft for substance, facts and voice.

What it does

One step of the Make content playbook. Goose runs it when you ask for the playbook. You can also ask for it on its own.

The skill file

What your AI app reads when it runs this skill.

Edit, check, edit

Run on every fresh draft, refresh redline and repurposed set. The full checklists are in ../make-content/references/editing.md.

  1. Substance pass. Write four answers into the edit note:

    • the thesis in one arguable sentence;
    • the swap test (pass, or what fails);
    • the fakes removed;
    • whether the CTA matches the intent.

    Run the rest of Pass 1 (so-what, proof density, skeptic, order, hedging) as checks. Fix what fails without writing it up.

  2. Claims check: the shared claims gate (the claims-gate skill, ../claims-gate/SKILL.md) for brand claims, plus ../make-content/references/fact-rules.md for world facts, competitor facts, stories, sensitive topics and third-party rights. When the piece is sponsored, affiliate, gifted or a creator collaboration, also load ../ad-policy-check/disclosure.md (in the ad-policy-check skill) and apply it (disclosure in the piece itself, before "more"). It cuts and softens lines, which leaves gaps.

  3. Readability pass on the post-cut text: smooth the gaps, headline, lede, H2s as claims, scannability, ending. Then voice match against the best voice sample available, in this order:

    1. the named author's voice card (bylined pieces);
    2. the saved company blog guide brand/voices/blog-<brand-slug>.md for company blog/article work (apply its rules and bans; keep any provisional status);
    3. the kit’s voice example lines;
    4. the brand's own post captions (brand_read organic);
    5. "From the site" lines in product notes;
    6. three lines the human pastes on request.

    If none exist, write "voice unmatched: no real samples" in the note and keep the copy plain rather than guessing at personality.

  4. AI-tell check (mechanical) on the final text. Anything the brand's real writing uses stays; with no real samples, everything on the list goes.

Edit note (attached to the piece)

Edit note — <title>
Thesis: … · Swap test: pass | fails because … → fixed by … | still fails (see top) · Fakes removed: … · CTA fits intent: yes/no
Voice matched against: <source> | voice unmatched
AI-tells removed: <list with counts>
Open gaps: [PROOF NEEDED …] [STORY NEEDED …] [FOUNDER: …] [CUSTOMER APPROVAL NEEDED …]

If the swap test still fails after the substance pass (no brand-specific proof or POV exists), the piece can still be delivered, but the first line must say "Generic: no brand-specific proof or POV available. This would fix it: …". Never hide it. If most of the piece would be gaps, the proof gate in SKILL.md step 4 applies: stop at the brief.