Inventory sheets

An inventory sheet is a single spreadsheet listing every placement you are willing to sell. It is what we work from when introducing your inventory to advertisers, and it is the reason we can answer “is the 14 October issue available?” without interrupting you.

Format

• A Google Sheet shared with view access is ideal — you update it, we always see the current version.
• A .xlsx or .csv is fine if you prefer; send a new one whenever something changes.
• One row per placement. If a placement runs on a schedule (a weekly issue, a fortnightly episode), one row per placement type plus a calendar tab for availability.

Columns

Column	What goes in it	Example
Placement	Short, consistent name	Primary sponsor
Channel	Newsletter, podcast, website, feature, directory, event	Newsletter
Description	One or two sentences an advertiser would understand	Banner and 80 words at the top of the Tuesday issue, labelled “Sponsored by”
Audience	The number that applies to this placement, dated	6,400 subscribers, 48% open rate (Aug 2026)
Specification	Sizes and copy lengths, or “see spec sheet”	1200 × 400 image, headline ≤ 60 chars, 80 words
Frequency	How often it runs	Weekly (Tuesday)
Lead time	Days before the run date you need final creative	5 business days
Rate	Your price, and whether it includes our commission	$450 net to publisher
Availability	Open dates, or link to the calendar tab	See calendar
Rules	Categories excluded, competitor exclusivity, disclosure wording	No gambling; one real-estate advertiser per issue
Notes	Anything else	Best performer is the first Tuesday of the month

Example

Placement	Channel	Audience	Spec	Rate	Availability
Primary sponsor	Newsletter	6,400 subs, 48% open	1200 × 400 + 80 words	$450	Tue issues from 7 Oct
Featured item	Newsletter	6,400 subs	1200 × 600 + 60 words	$250	Most weeks
Mid-roll 30 s	Podcast	2,100 downloads / ep	Talking points	$600	Ep 84 onward
Sponsored feature	Website	11,000 monthly uniques	600–900 words + hero	$900	2 per month
Directory listing	Website	11,000 monthly uniques	Logo + 50 words	$40 / month	Open

Calendar tab

For scheduled placements, a simple grid: one row per issue or episode date, one column per placement, with each cell Open, Held (a proposal is out) or Sold (advertiser name). We update “Held” and “Sold” as things move; you keep the dates accurate.

Keeping it current

• Update audience numbers monthly — even a rough refresh is better than a stale figure.
• Mark a placement Paused rather than deleting it, so we know it exists.
• Tell us about new inventory as soon as you think of it. Archive pages, resource guides and the back half of the newsletter are the placements most publishers forget; see The placements independent publishers forget to sell.

Template

Copy the column headers above into a new sheet, or send us your placements as plain text and we will build the sheet with you.