The small business AI marketing automation checklist.
What to set up before you automate, what to hand off, what to keep, and the approval rules that stop an AI agent from publishing anything you would not. Tick it off as you go. Progress stays in your browser.
SMALL BUSINESS AI MARKETING AUTOMATION CHECKLIST BEFORE YOU AUTOMATE ANYTHING [ ] Brand kit connected: logo, colors, fonts [ ] Voice described in three words, with two example posts you liked [ ] Channels chosen and accounts connected [ ] One goal for the next 30 days written down [ ] An approval owner named: who says yes before anything goes out WHAT TO HAND OFF [ ] Writing captions and post copy [ ] Designing creative, and resizing it for each channel [ ] Writing the weekly email [ ] Turning one idea into variants for each channel [ ] Uploading and scheduling [ ] Pulling the weekly report on what shipped and what worked WHAT TO KEEP [ ] Deciding what to promote, and when [ ] Prices, offers, and any claim about the product [ ] Replies to customers [ ] The final approval on anything public APPROVAL RULES [ ] Nothing publishes without a person approving it [ ] Paid spend never starts without sign-off [ ] Anything with a price, a promise, or a legal line gets a second look [ ] Rejected work goes back with one line of feedback, not a rewrite WEEKLY RHYTHM [ ] One brief per week, written from the one-page template [ ] One review session, blocked on the calendar [ ] One look at what shipped and what worked [ ] One thing to change next week Checklist from simplified.com/tools/ai-marketing-automation-checklist
How to use it
- Do the setup section first, in one sitting. It is about an hour of work and it is what makes everything after it possible. Brand kit, voice, channels, one goal, one approver.
- Hand off the six production tasks together, not one at a time. Handing off captions but keeping design just moves the handoff. The saving comes from the whole chain leaving your plate.
- Write the approval rules down where the approver can see them. Most small businesses have one approver, and it is the owner. The rules are there for the day you are tired and about to say yes without reading.
- Run the weekly rhythm for four weeks before changing anything. One brief, one review, one look at results, one change. Then adjust.
The brief in step one of the weekly rhythm is the one-page marketing brief template. The two are meant to be used together.
Questions about the checklist
What it assumes, and what it does not.
Do I need an AI marketing agent to use this checklist?
No. The setup, hand-off, keep, and approval sections apply whether you are delegating to an AI agent, a freelancer, or a part-time hire. The checklist is about deciding what leaves your plate and what stays. Riley, the AI marketing agent in Simplified, is one way to do the hand-off section.
Why is "what to keep" on an automation checklist?
Because the failure mode of automation is handing off judgment along with production. Prices, claims, replies to customers, and the final approval are where a small business gets hurt by a wrong post. Keeping those four is what makes handing off the other six safe.
What is the difference between AI marketing automation and an AI marketing agent?
Automation runs a rule you already wrote: when this happens, send that. An agent takes an outcome and works out the steps, producing the copy and creative rather than moving finished work around. This checklist assumes an agent is doing the production and you are doing the approving.
What an AI marketing agent does Where does my progress get saved?
In your browser only. Ticks are stored on this device and never sent anywhere. Clear your browser data or use the reset button to start again.
Hand off the production. Keep the decisions.
Riley takes the six hand-off tasks from one brief and brings the work back for your approval.