Strategy
Part of A 2027 finance creator strategy built on a reader decision, not growth language
A finance creator planning template from evidence card to handover check
Use this England finance creator planning template to record the reader task, evidence, money flow, review owners, channel adaptations and stop rules.
This finance creators planning template is a blank decision record, not a promise of results. Copy the fields into a working document. Keep the brief on hold until the named owners have completed the applicable evidence, privacy, promotion and disclosure checks.
What to take away
- A blank decision record beats a promise of results, so keep the brief on hold until owners finish checks.
- Record the connection before drafting so disclosure sits inside the content rather than as a late label.
- Do not treat a research sign-up as marketing permission, and log the lawful route for email.
- A colleague who did not write the item should locate one claim's evidence and name its corrector.
- If the handover cannot reconstruct the decision from the saved record, return the item to draft.
Header
- Working title and version:
- Owner and planned date:
- Adult reader task:
- England-specific element:
- UK-wide evidence used:
- Decision the item should help with:
- Personal questions it must not answer:
The reader task should describe something an adult needs to do, not a demographic label. GOV.UK guidance on capturing research questions recommends recording assumptions as questions and prioritising those that can change a team decision.
Evidence card
For each material claim, complete:
- exact claim and proposed wording;
- first-party URL, publisher and access date;
- geography, period, base and exclusions;
- calculation or transformation, if any;
- fact-checker and next recheck date;
- action if the record changes or disappears.
Do not convert UK research into an England statistic. Mark a forecast as a forecast and give its method. Leave an unsupported number out rather than turning it into a target.
Partner and promotion card
- payer and legal entity:
- named product or service:
- FCA record and permission checked:
- payment, commission, gift or own-brand interest:
- intended audience and exclusions:
- call to action:
- financial-promotion reviewer:
- approval reference, scope and expiry:
- visible advertising label:
Use the FCA's guidance to check the correct firm and permissions. Where an unauthorised person's communication requires approval, the FCA explains the authorised firm's responsibilities on its approving financial promotions page. A qualified reviewer must decide how those rules apply to the proposed communication.
The CMA's guidance for content creators says incentives can include direct payment, commission, free or discounted products and promotion of an own brand. Record the connection before drafting so the disclosure is part of the content rather than a late label.
Distribution card
- canonical source page:
- selected channel and reason:
- essential facts that must remain visible:
- source and correction route:
- accessibility check:
- audience data collected:
- deletion or suppression process:
For email, log the lawful route, sender identity and opt-out process. The ICO's 2026 electronic-mail marketing guidance explains the PECR rules in detail. Do not treat a research sign-up as marketing permission.
Cost, income and review card
- approved cash cost and staff time:
- supplier invoice and usage rights:
- money, gift or service received:
- tax record owner:
- success question and measurement method:
- complaints, corrections and confusion signals:
- review date and stop rule:
HMRC's page on income from online platforms includes advertising income, gifts and services in its creator examples. Seek tax advice for the actual circumstances.
Handover check
Before sign-off, ask a colleague who did not write the item to locate the evidence for one important claim and identify the person who can correct it. Then have the qualified reviewer confirm which version they assessed. Record any wording, image, caption or call-to-action change made afterwards and decide whether it needs another review.
Add these final fields:
- canonical file and version number:
- reviewer comments resolved by:
- source links reopened on:
- publication or withdrawal authority:
- correction contact and response owner:
- next scheduled review or event trigger:
Do not copy an approval reference into another adaptation automatically. The audience, format or surrounding wording may have changed the communication. If the handover cannot reconstruct the decision from the saved record, return the item to draft rather than asking a publisher to infer what was agreed.
Close the plan with a decision: publish, revise, obtain qualified review or stop. Record who made it and when. A blank field is not consent to guess.
Before you act
- Copy the fields into a working document.
- Complete the evidence card for each material claim.
- Check the FCA record and permissions.
- Log the lawful route and opt-out process for email.
- Record who made the decision and when.
- Confirm which version the qualified reviewer assessed.
Common questions
What should I do if a claim has no supporting source?
Leave an unsupported number out rather than turning it into a target. For each material claim the evidence card asks for the exact claim and proposed wording, a first-party URL, publisher and access date, plus geography, period, base and exclusions. Mark a forecast as a forecast and give its method.
How do I handle a paid or gifted promotion?
Record the payer and legal entity, the named product or service, the FCA record and permission checked, and any payment, commission, gift or own-brand interest. The CMA guidance says incentives can include direct payment, commission, free or discounted products and promotion of an own brand. Record the connection before drafting.
Can I reuse an approval reference in another adaptation?
No. Do not copy an approval reference into another adaptation automatically, because the audience, format or surrounding wording may have changed the communication. Have the qualified reviewer confirm which version they assessed, and record any wording, image, caption or call-to-action change made afterwards to decide whether another review is needed.
