Writing a good content brief — get content that lands the first time

The most common reason an article misses isn't bad writing. It's that nobody agreed on what it was meant to be — before it was written.

What a content brief is

A content brief is a short plan for one piece of content. It states what the article is about, who it's for, and what it should achieve — before anyone starts writing.

Think of it as a recipe. You list the ingredients and the method first, so the result isn't left to chance. A brief does the same for content.

Why it's worth the ten minutes

A brief takes a little time up front, but saves a lot afterwards:

• Fewer rounds of edits. When the direction is settled, you don't have to rewrite everything.
• The content hits its target. You know what the page should do, so you can write towards it.
• It works whether you write it yourself or hand it off. A freelancer or colleague can deliver it right from the start.

The ten minutes at the front often save you an hour at the back.

What a good brief contains

You don't need a long document. A few points will do:

• Topic and search. What is the article about, and which search should it match? "Cost of a new website", not just "websites".
• Who it's for. A small-business owner with no technical background reads differently from a developer.
• What the reader should walk away with. One clear answer, or one thing they should be able to do afterwards.
• The search intent. Does the reader want to learn, compare or buy? That decides the tone.
• The next step. Where should the article lead — a related page, a service, an invitation to get in touch?

Get these five in place and you have enough to write something coherent.

Add a little structure

If you want writing to be even easier, sketch the subheadings in advance. Three to five questions the article should answer is plenty:

1. What is this?
2. Why does it matter?
3. How do you do it?
4. What are the common mistakes?

Now you have a skeleton. Filling out a skeleton is far easier than staring at a blank page.

Say what it shouldn't be

An underrated move is to note what the article should stay away from. Should it not go into technical setup? Should it not sell a particular package? Should the tone be calm rather than eager?

Setting limits is as useful as setting goals. It stops the content drifting off in all directions.

When you hand off the writing

If someone else is writing, the brief matters even more. The writer doesn't know your business as well as you do, so the things you take for granted have to be spelled out.

Give them a couple of examples of a tone you like, and one you don't. That tells them more than a long explanation ever will.

Reuse the same brief

The nice thing about a brief is that it gets better the more often you use it. Make briefs for several articles and you quickly see a pattern in what your audience wants — and which points actually make the difference.

It's worth building a simple template you fill in each time. Then you don't reinvent the wheel, and the briefs get more consistent from one to the next. After a handful of articles it almost runs itself.

Keep it short

The temptation is to turn the brief into a whole document. Don't. A brief that's longer than the article has missed its own point.

Half a screen is enough. Topic, audience, goal, intent, next step — and a rough outline. The rest is writing.

A good brief isn't bureaucracy. It's the difference between content that lands and content you have to redo. If you'd like a simple template to work from, have a chat with us.