TEMPLATES
Content Brief Template
DIRECT ANSWER
A content brief template is a structured document that aligns writers with strategy before a word is written. It includes the target keyword, search intent, audience, recommended outline, word count, internal links, CTA, and competitive differentiation angle — everything a writer or AI agent needs to produce on-brief content.
What's in the template
The Hadrian content brief template covers every input a writer — human or AI — needs to produce a strategically aligned piece: **1. Content goal.** One sentence: what action should the reader take after reading this piece? Pick one: rank for a keyword, capture an email, move a prospect from awareness to consideration. **2. Target keyword + search intent.** Primary keyword, monthly search volume (fill in from your SEO tool), and a one-line summary of what the searcher actually wants — informational, commercial, transactional, or navigational. **3. Secondary keywords and related terms.** Three to six semantically related phrases to weave naturally into the body and headers. **4. Target audience segment.** Job title, company size, pain point, and where they are in the funnel. Be specific: "VP of Marketing at a 50–200 person B2B SaaS company trying to reduce CAC" beats "marketing leaders." **5. Angle and unique point of view.** What makes this piece worth reading over the top-ranking result? State the contrarian take, proprietary data point, or framework you will own. **6. Recommended title options.** Two to three headline variations tested against the keyword and click-through intent. **7. Recommended outline.** H2s and H3s with a one-line description of what each section proves or teaches. Include estimated word counts per section. **8. Word count and format.** Target total word count, preferred format (listicle, narrative, comparison, how-to), and any required elements (table, video embed, code block). **9. Internal links.** Three to five URLs from your site that the piece should link to, with anchor text suggestions. **10. External authoritative sources.** Two to four sources the writer should cite or reference to support key claims. **11. Competitive gap.** What the top three ranking pages miss that this piece will cover. **12. CTA and conversion mechanic.** The exact CTA text, destination URL, and where in the piece it should appear (inline, end, sticky). **13. SEO metadata.** Draft title tag (≤62 characters), meta description (≤158 characters), and suggested URL slug. **14. Due date and assignee.** Writer name or agent queue, first-draft deadline, review deadline, and publish date.
How to use it
Fill in sections 1 through 5 first — goal, keyword, audience, angle, and competitive gap. These are the strategic inputs; everything downstream follows from them. If you cannot clearly answer section 5 (your unique angle), pause. A brief without a differentiated angle produces generic content that ranks nowhere and converts nobody.
Hand the completed brief to your writer or paste it into your AI writing tool as the system context. The outline in section 7 should be tight enough that a skilled writer could produce a first draft without asking a clarifying question.
Hadrian's agents can generate a filled-in content brief from your brand profile. Connect your domain, describe the topic and goal, and Hadrian pulls your audience definition, maps the keyword to search intent, drafts the outline, identifies internal linking opportunities from your existing content, and writes the metadata — in under two minutes. The brief lands in your content queue, ready to assign.
FAQ
Content Brief Template — common questions
How long should a content brief be?
A complete content brief typically runs one to two pages. It should be long enough that a writer can produce a first draft without asking clarifying questions, but short enough to read in five minutes. The outline section is usually the longest part — aim for one descriptive line per H2 and H3.
Who should fill in the content brief — the strategist, the writer, or the AI?
The strategist (or the AI agent with access to your keyword data, audience profiles, and content library) fills in sections 1 through 7. The writer reviews and flags gaps before writing. This order matters: briefs written by the writer tend to reflect what the writer wants to write, not what the business needs to rank and convert.
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