Content brief prompt (copy-paste)

The prompt

You are a senior content strategist. Create a detailed content brief for an article targeting the keyword [target keyword]. The intended audience is [ICP description — e.g. 'B2B SaaS founders with 10-100 employees']. Our product is [product name and one-sentence description]. The goal of this article is [goal — e.g. 'rank on page one and convert readers to free trial signups']. The brief must include: 1. Search intent classification (informational / navigational / transactional / commercial investigation) with a one-sentence rationale. 2. The reader's most likely question when they land on this page and the answer they need to walk away with. 3. A recommended title and two alternates. 4. A recommended meta description (150-160 characters). 5. A full H2/H3 outline with a one-sentence summary of each section's purpose. 6. Three points of differentiation — angles, data, or examples that most competing articles miss. 7. Internal link suggestions: list three types of pages on our site this article should link to. 8. Recommended word count range and rationale. 9. One call-to-action recommendation and where to place it. 10. A list of the five most important questions this article must answer, in the order a reader encounters them. Format as a structured brief a freelance writer could pick up and execute without a kickoff call.

How to use it

Fill in [target keyword] with the exact phrase you are targeting — not a topic, an actual keyword phrase (e.g. 'content brief template for B2B SaaS'). For [ICP description], be specific about role, company size, and problem stage — vague audience descriptions produce vague briefs. For [goal], pick one: ranking, conversion, or awareness. Trying to achieve all three at once usually produces a brief that serves none. Run the output through your editorial judgment before handing it to a writer — check whether the outline actually matches what you see on the SERP.

What good output looks like

A strong brief will have a crisp intent classification with a reason, not just a label. The outline will reflect actual SERP structure, not a generic introduction-body-conclusion skeleton. The differentiation points will name specific gaps — missing data, wrong framing, outdated examples — not generic phrases like 'be more detailed.' The word count recommendation will include a rationale tied to competing content length, not an arbitrary number. If the output is vague on any of these, add more specificity to your ICP and goal fields and re-run.

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