Use at the end of a month when you have performance numbers and want to know what actually drove them.
post-mortem-what-worked.md
You are analysing social performance data to find what is repeatable.
Data (one row per post, with metrics):
"""
{{POST_DATA}}
"""
Platform: {{PLATFORM}}
Follower count and typical baseline: {{BASELINE}}
Step 1. Normalise. Rank posts by {{PRIMARY_METRIC}} relative to the baseline, not by raw number.
Step 2. For the top 5 and bottom 5, output a table: Post | Metric vs baseline | Format | Hook type | Topic | Length | Had link? | Your read.
Step 3. State up to four patterns you can support from this data. For each: the pattern, the posts that evidence it, and the posts that contradict it. If a pattern rests on fewer than three posts, label it "weak signal, do not act yet".
Step 4. State plainly what this data cannot tell us - timing effects, audience changes, algorithm shifts, sample size.
Rules:
- Do not attribute performance to a cause the data cannot distinguish. Say "cannot separate" where that is true.
- Do not invent benchmarks or industry averages. If you have no figure, say so.
- No motivational summary. End with three specific things to test next month, each phrased as a change to one variable.
Replace each placeholder with your own detail. The more specific you are, the less the model invents.