A year-in-review post, worked from the numbers.
A year-in-review post is a short report to the people who watched. Here is one built from twelve months of figures for a made-up cooking creator, with every sum shown so you can repeat it on your own.
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What the post has to do
a report, not a brag
A year-in-review post works when every line can be checked: a number, the month it belongs to and what it was compared with. It stops working when it becomes a pile of adjectives. Viewers scrolling through recaps in December and early January are reading dozens of them, and the ones that stick are specific.
This walkthrough follows Marlo Reyes of Pan and Pantry, a cooking creator who does not exist. Her figures are invented for the example. Each step is arithmetic you can repeat on a calculator, and the recap builder does the same sums in your browser so you can check yours against it. The builder is set up for a 2026 recap posted between 1 December 2026 and 15 January 2027.
Collect four numbers, twelve times
followers, views, posts, earnings
For every month of the year, write down four things for each platform you post on.
- Followers at the end of the month. This is a running total, so December’s figure is the one you quote for the year.
- Views in the month. Use the number your analytics page calls views, and keep to that one definition all year.
- Posts published in the month. Count what went live, not what you filmed.
- Earnings in the month. Choose one rule, paid in the month or earned in the month, and keep it for all twelve. Earnings are optional, and a blank is fine.
Type the figures the way you read them. 12,500, 12 500, 12.5k and 1.2m are all understood. A month you have no figure for stays blank, and a platform that has only three months of data still gets a recap of those three months. Nothing needs to be filled in to make the sums work, because every step skips what is missing.
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Marlo’s twelve months
her short-video platform, made up
| Month | Followers | Views | Posts | Views per post |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8,200 | 96,000 | 12 | 8,000 |
| Feb | 8,650 | 110,000 | 12 | 9,167 |
| Mar | 9,300 | 145,000 | 14 | 10,357 |
| Apr | 9,100 | 88,000 | 8 | 11,000 |
| May | 9,900 | 132,000 | 13 | 10,154 |
| Jun | 10,800 | 175,000 | 15 | 11,667 |
| Jul | 11,200 | 160,000 | 16 | 10,000 |
| Aug | 11,050 | 118,000 | 10 | 11,800 |
| Sep | 12,400 | 210,000 | 16 | 13,125 |
| Oct | 14,100 | 305,000 | 18 | 16,944 |
| Nov | 16,900 | 420,000 | 20 | 21,000 |
| Dec | 18,300 | 390,000 | 15 | 26,000 |
Over the year Marlo posted 169 times and her videos were viewed 2,349,000 times. Each post averaged 13,899 views, which is 2,349,000 ÷ 169. Her followers went from 8,200 in January to 18,300 in December, a rise of 10,100, and the earnings column adds up to $6,090.
Best month and slowest month
say which measure you ranked on
Ranked on views, Marlo’s best month was November, with 420,000 views, and her slowest was April, with 88,000. Naming the measure matters, because the answer changes with it. Followers are a running total, so the sensible measure is followers gained, this month minus last month. Ranked that way her best month was November, up 2,800 on October, and her slowest was April, down 200 on March.
A tie goes to the earlier month, and a recap with only one month of data has a best month but no slowest. The builder lets you switch the measure between views, followers gained, posts, earnings and views per post, and the captions follow your choice.
Month over month, with the formula and a fall
show the sum, not only the answer
Month-over-month change compares a month with the one before it:
Change % = (this month − last month) ÷ last month × 100
For February, Marlo’s views went from 96,000 to 110,000, so the sum is (110,000 − 96,000) ÷ 96,000 × 100 = +14.6%.
A fall is the same sum with a negative answer. April followed a strong March: (88,000 − 145,000) ÷ 145,000 × 100 = −39.3%. December also slipped from November’s peak: (390,000 − 420,000) ÷ 420,000 × 100 = −7.1%. In a caption, write a fall in words, “down 39.3%”, so the minus sign never gets separated from its number when a line wraps.
When last month is zero
If last month is 0, as an empty count can be, the percentage cannot be worked out, because dividing by 0 has no answer. Show the plain difference, say n/a for the percentage, and move on. Zero followed by zero is simply no change.
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Posts per month against views per post
two lines, one month axis
Views per post is views divided by posts. For April that is 88,000 ÷ 8 = 11,000. For November it is 420,000 ÷ 20 = 21,000, and for December 390,000 ÷ 15 = 26,000.
The recap draws two lines on the same month axis: posts per month above, views per post below. They are kept in two panels, each with its own scale, instead of squeezing two different units onto one vertical axis. Read them side by side. Marlo posted most in November, 20 times, and her views per post peaked a month later, in December, at 26,000. The lines show what happened and when. They do not say why, and the recap does not guess.
Pick three to five posts and the number that mattered
one number each
Choose posts that tell the year’s story, then give each the single figure that mattered for it. The number is allowed to differ from post to post, because different posts matter for different reasons. Marlo picks three:
- One-pan lemon chicken in 12 minutes: 88k views
- The sauce I make every week: 6,400 saves
- Pantry pasta, three ways: 2,300 shares
Keep titles short enough to read in a list. The builder trims a very long title in a thread and on the printed page, and keeps the full title in the long caption, the outline and the CSV.
The caption, in three lengths
same facts, three sizes
Once the numbers are settled, the caption is a matter of slotting them into sentences. Each sentence has blanks, such as the best month and its value, and a sentence is dropped when one of its blanks has no figure, so a caption never carries a gap. Marlo’s goal for 2027 is typed in, so it appears; with the goal box empty, that line simply goes.
Short
Thread
Long
Nothing in these captions predicts anything or tells anyone what to do. They report what happened, in the order a reader wants it: the totals, the best and slowest month, the posts that mattered, the follower count and the plan.
The same story in five slides
one idea per slide
A carousel suits the same material. Five slides are enough: a cover, the year in numbers, best and slowest month, the posts that mattered, and what comes next. Marlo’s outline:
- Slide 1: My 2026 in review. Across Short video 2,349,000 views from 169 posts
- Slide 2: The year in numbers. 2,349,000 views 169 posts 13,899 views per post (views ÷ posts) Followers: 8,200 → 18,300 Earnings: $6,090
- Slide 3: Best and slowest month. Best month for views: November (420,000) Slowest: April (88,000) Biggest rise: August to September, up 78% Biggest fall: March to April, down 39.3%
- Slide 4: The posts that mattered. 1. One-pan lemon chicken in 12 minutes – 88k views 2. The sauce I make every week – 6,400 saves 3. Pantry pasta, three ways – 2,300 shares
- Slide 5: On to 2027. Goal: Post twice a week and film a series of 10 long videos Thank you for 2026.
Keep each slide to a handful of lines, with the biggest number on its own line. The outline is plain text on purpose, so you can set it in whatever design tool you already use.
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One page to keep
print it, or save it as a PDF
Along with the captions, the builder lays the year out on a single page: a header with the year, the totals, best and slowest month, the two-line chart, the posts that mattered and your goal. Choose A4 or Letter, pick one of four palettes, and press print; choosing Save as PDF in the print window gives you a file. The CSV button downloads every figure you typed plus the changes worked out, so the recap can be reopened in a spreadsheet next year.
If you also keep a media kit, the recap numbers are the natural source for its audience and results sections. The media kit maker takes them from there, the pitch email builder can use the best post in an opening line, and the shot list builder turns the goal into a first shoot. For planning the weeks around a holiday post, see the approval planner, and if the recap makes you rethink your name on a platform, the handle workshop is built for that.
A checklist before you post
five checks, two minutes
- Every number has a month or a period next to it.
- Every change shows its comparison: up or down, and from when.
- The measure is named, such as views or followers gained.
- A partial platform says which months it covers.
- Nothing is rounded up to look better than the sum.
Quick answers
What if a platform has only a few months of data?
Enter the months you have and leave the rest blank. Write that platform’s recap on its own, or compare platforms only across the months they share, so a short history never looks like a drop.
What if a month shows 0 followers?
Keep the 0. The next month’s change is shown as a plain difference, because a percentage of 0 cannot be worked out, and the recap marks it n/a rather than inventing a number.
Do I have to share my earnings?
No. Earnings are optional in the builder. Leave them blank and every caption, slide and printed page leaves the earnings line out.
How long should a year-in-review caption be?
Use the length the place you are posting in rewards. A short caption fits in 280 characters, a thread spreads the same facts over five posts, and a long caption gives each fact a sentence.
Free · your numbers stay in this browser
Try it on your own numbers
The year-in-review recap builder runs every step above in your browser. Type your platforms and twelve months, add three to five posts, and read off the best and slowest month, the formula, the chart and your captions.