Would Your Content Make it to the Good Place?
I think The Good Place is one of the best written shows ever.
Yes, it’s silly, yes it’s goofy, and yes it’s got one of the most well thought out through-lines in the history of television. I’ll die on that hill.
The Good Place doesn’t waste an episode. Every moment you spend in the story does something for it by developing the plot, exploring the characters, and entertaining you all while keeping the major themes of the story in play at all times.
It’s the kind of show you finish and know they told exactly the story they wanted to tell–not getting sidetracked by filler episodes or dragging on longer just to stick around and make more money.
(cough cough Big Little Lies cough cough Handmaid’s Tale)
Among many things, I think part of the secret to the show’s success is the list of questions that Mike Schur, the creator of the show revealed in the show’s accompanying podcast, as part of the review process for every episode in The Good Place. Let’s check those questions out.
The Good Place writer's room questions:
Is it funny? This is a comedy show, after all. Don't just lecture about philosophy, raise questions in a funny way.
Are the characters being developed?
Does the episode ask and answer a question about ethics?
Is it compelling? Don't just spin your wheels. Make sure it's full of momentum.
Is it consistent with the long game? (IYKYK 😉)
Are we making use of the premise?
In developing our own content review framework, I kept coming back to that list of questions. These were what helped keep every episode on track, and what helped us explore real complex ideas in engaging and entertaining ways, week after week for four seasons.
Why couldn’t they help me do the same in my work?
So, with a little adapting, I made our own Good Place Review framework, with each question the start of a roadmap to keep everything we create and share on track with our values based process.
Our content review questions:
Is it funny becomes: Is it engaging? Does it draw people in?
Are the characters being developed becomes: Is the business's purpose & presence being supported or developed?
Does the episode ask and answer a question about ethics becomes: Does this content present & support a clear topic, question or opinion?
Is it compelling becomes: Is it useful to your community?
Is it consistent with the long game becomes: Is the content consistent with the business purpose, goals & values?
Are we making use of the premise becomes: Are we making good use of the platform?
Let’s explore what each of those mean:
Is it engaging? Does it draw people in?
Does it make people want to click on/read beyond the headline? How are the business values and ethics utilized in this content?
Is it formatted to encourage participation? Is it content that makes people want to subscribe, see what else the page has done, comment, or share?
What's the voice? What does it say about the person/business behind the content?
Is the business's purpose & presence being supported and developed? Does it support:
The ethics & values of the business?
How are the business values and ethics utilized in this content?
The presence of the business in the community?
Does this content support what this business is trying to achieve in the community?
The purpose/what the business is trying to achieve?
Is it relevant to the account goals/community following?
Does this content present & support a clear topic, question or opinion?
What is this post saying or asking?
What's the topic?
What's the purpose of the content?
What is it communicating?
How is it saying or asking that?
Who is it addressing?
What idea is it reframing or presenting as new?
How is the reader being addressed?
What is it presenting as a conclusion?
How should readers feel upon reaching that conclusion?
Is there a definitive answer?
How does that relate to the purpose of the content?
Is it compelling, useful & relevant to your community?
Is it compelling?
Will your community care about this?
Have you considered the structure and language?
Is it useful?
What will your community get out of this?
Does it teach them something?
Offer something to reflect on?
Give action items?
Is it relevant?
How does this content further your business goals while remaining relevant to your community?
Is the content consistent with the business purpose, goals & values?
How does this content support the business purpose?
What's the macropurpose of the business?
What's the purpose of the account?
Why does this content benefit those?
How is it saying or asking that?
Who is it addressing?
What idea is it reframing or presenting as new?
How is the reader being addressed?
What is it presenting as a conclusion?
How should readers feel upon reaching that conclusion?
Is there a definitive answer?
How does that relate to the purpose of the content?
Are we making use of the platform?
Are you making use of all of the features available on the platform?
On IG using things like stories, polls, q&a's, quizzes, highlights, etc.
Are you checking to see which your audience responds best to?
Have you considered the ways in which the platform can support microlearning?
On IG: carousels, story quizzes, highlights, etc.
Blogging/newsletters: how are posts formatted, are action items/practice examples provided, etc.
Have you made use of all accessibility features?
Is there audio to transcribe?
Are image descriptions added?
Did you check the color contrast?
Can captions/hashtags be understood by screen readers?
Having content pillars to work from helps expedite the content creation process–we’ll get into the nitty gritty of those in a future blog post–but keeping these questions in mind when reviewing your posts can help keep you on track, even if you don’t have your pillars developed yet.
