Part four · Rules and record · Chapter 14

THE FIRST THIRTY DAYS

Claims first, then the review settings, then the ask, then the record. Four weeks, in that order.

The order matters. The claims carry the legal exposure, so they come first. The review settings come next, because a filter running today is a problem today. Then the ask, which takes weeks to show results. Then the routine that keeps it all true.

  1. Week one: the claimsMark every claim on your top pages and last five emails against the map (front). Start the proof file with your top ten claims and score them (chapter 3); pull or qualify anything at 65 or above. Build the bill of materials for origin and handmade claims (chapter 10).
  2. Week two: the review settingsTurn off any auto-hold by star rating and publish the queue (chapter 9). Remove gating and sentiment-linked rewards (chapter 8). Publish the moderation policy, the star distribution and the verified badge. Reply to unanswered one- and two-star reviews from the last 90 days.
  3. Week three: the askMove the trigger to delivery plus time to judge, by category, with one reminder. Write the next launch plan to end at five reviews (chapter 6). Re-sort “top rated” by the lowest plausible score.
  4. Week four: the recordBuild the first scorecard (chapter 13) and the monthly new-review chart for your top products (chapter 7). Name the owner for the rules and book the quarterly check (chapter 11). Re-score the audit.

At day thirty you’ll have fewer claims, each backed by a document someone can find, and reviews that are slightly less perfect and more believable.

Prove what you say, publish what they say, and ask when they know.

Do this

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Written by Andrew Lauchner, a growth and retention operator for consumer brands. The paid work is one ninety-day Sprint.

This is one chapter of The Proof File, which is free and readable in full on a single page with no form in front of it.