Create content briefs

Business Benefits

Clearly communicate your content requirements.


Create a template that you can reuse for each content brief.

Include sections like:

  • Suggested Title
  • Target Audience
  • Brand Voice
  • Content Objective
  • Word Count
  • Keywords
  • Visuals
  • Internal Link(s) for CTA
  • Sources
  • Example Content.

Decide on a goal and format for the piece of content you’ll outsource to a writer.

Consider what segment of your audience it should target, what stage in the buyer’s journey it solves for, what you want to promote in the content’s CTA, and what format of content will best achieve your goal.

Enter a suggested title, content objective, word count, and at least one landing page link for a call to action.

If your target audience or brand voice will differ from standard for this piece of content, add guidance for modifying the tone of the content.

Use a keyword research tool like Google Keyword Planner, Moz Keyword Explorer, or AnswerThePublic to find keywords that relate to your content topic. Enter the keywords that you want to use to the brief.

These types of tools can also provide you with monthly estimated searches on each keyword to give you an idea of how valuable the search term is and how challenging the competition will be to try to rank for it.

If you don’t want the writer to do all of the research of the topic themselves, add a list of information sources they should use or an outline of points to include.

If you need visuals in the content, add details about how many visuals, the types of images or videos they should source, and where they should get them.

For example, you could let the writer know that they should search for a relevant image to the topic from the Creative Commons licensed images on Shutterstock.

Consider adding a link to example content if there is a specific writing style or format you want the writer to emulate.

For example, if a previous blog post on your website is a shining example of the content you’re looking for, include a link to give the writer an example of what your business already likes and wants more of.

Last edited by @hesh_fekry 2023-11-14T10:55:37Z

1 Like

If working with external writers, I find it more effective to share a separate document on the brand identity with them, which defines the voice as well. In the content outlines, I like to include only the information that’s relevant for that specific piece of content.

Clearscope is also super useful, as it shows what the top performing content is about, what keywords it includes, etc.

Same as above, Clearscope does this, so there’s less manual work involved.