What is a Content Brief? How to Create the Perfect Brief [+Template]

Quality content is your ticket to attract audiences, build authority and trust, and drive leads and conversions. However, getting quality content from your writers and copywriters without giving them proper guidelines is left to chance.

That’s why you must create a well-drafted content brief to give specific instructions on what you want written. It ensures your content aligns with your project's goals and expectations, and your target audience’s needs and preferences.

A content brief also streamlines the creative process by clearly defining the purpose, target audience, tone, and essential messages.

In this guide, I’ll discuss what a content brief is, its key components, and how it benefits content marketers. You can also find a downloadable content brief template to get started.

What is a Content Brief?

A content brief is a document that outlines the guidelines for creating a piece of content, such as an article, blog post, case study, or landing page.

It serves as a style guide, providing topic clarity for writers, editors, and the rest of the content team on the expected quality of the finished content — tone, style, target audience, key messaging, and target keywords.

Pro tip: Don’t want to create every brief from scratch? Get our SEO content brief template for free by signing up using your email address.

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*Make a copy of our brief template and start customizing it for your target keywords and written content requirements.

The Key Components of a Content Brief

Let’s explore what to include in a content brief to ensure your content team creates high-quality pieces. 

1. Project Overview

The project overview summarizes what the project is all about and what it means to the business. It defines:

• The purpose of the content piece: Specify objectives (e.g., inform, entertain, influence) and measurable goals (e.g., increase brand awareness, generate leads).
• Target audience: Describe your audience's demographics, interests, pain points, and behaviors. Consider using detailed buyer personas for better targeting.
• Key messages: Outline the key takeaways and ensure they align with your brand values and objectives.

2. SEO Guidelines

Adding SEO guidelines to your content brief helps ensure your content stays optimized for the search engines. Include the following:

Target keywords and phrases

To begin, identify the primary keyword you want to target along with the related secondary keywords and Natural Language Processing (NLP) term suggestions.

You can use Semrush’s Keyword Overview tool to identify keywords to target within your niche.

Turn to Semrush’s SEO Content Template or Surfer SEO to discover NLP and related keyword suggestions. These tools also suggest the ideal frequency of using a key phrase for maximum impact.

Ask the writers to include variations and long-tail keywords to capture a wider audience.

Meta title and description

Additionally, provide the guidelines for writing the metadata. For example, ask the writer to include the primary keyword and make the meta description enticing enough for readers to click.

Internal links

List any specific internal links the writer should include in the content. These could be links to related articles, product pages, or other relevant resources on your website.

Internal linking helps improve site navigation, distribute page authority, and keep readers engaged by directing them to additional valuable content.

Here’s an example from our content brief template:

3. Content Details

In this section of the content brief, add all necessary information for creating content you need, including its structure and style. Here are a few key points to cover:

• Title and topic: Give suggested title options that reflect the key subject of your desired piece of content.
• Word count: Specify the recommended word count of the content based on SERP analysis. This information will help your content creators understand the required depth and detail.
• Content format: Disclose the type of content you want to create, such as a blog post, article, infographic, video script, or social media post. This ensures they optimize the content for its intended platform and audience.
• Content tone: Define the tone of the content, such as formal, professional, casual, or conversational.
• Style guide: Include your style guide to ensure alignment with your brand’s personality and key messaging. List any terms or phrases that the writer should use or avoid. Here’s an example from the style guide of one of my other brands:

• CTA: Include a clear call-to-action (CTA) that aligns with the content goals. These can be subscribing to a newsletter, downloading a resource, or purchasing a product. A compelling CTA enhances engagement and conversions.

4. Content Outline

Under each heading, show a detailed outline of the headings, subheadings, and key points the writer should include in the article or piece of content you want them to create.

Conduct SERP analysis to ensure the outline covers all necessary information added to the posts currently ranking well for the target keyword. Use SE Ranking or Surfer SEO to conduct SERP analysis and gain insights into the common queries and topics relevant to your target keyword.

You can also use Frase to create a detailed outline in as little as five minutes. This SERP research and content optimization tool highlights key headings and frequency of all essential keywords and phrases to cover for your topic.

Here’s an example of how we provide content outline in our briefs:

5. Internal and External Linking Guidelines

Provide a list of essential links to include in the article. These could be:

• Internal links to related articles and resources on your target website.
• External links to important case studies, statistics, or a relevant client resource page.
• Affiliate or sponsored links to relevant tools and brands to monetize your content.

Ask your content team to include all links naturally and ensure they are contextually relevant for a seamless user experience.

6. References and Resources

List reputable websites, articles, blogs, and industry publications that offer insights and data on the topic. Ensure these sources are reliable and align with the content's goals.

Provide access to statistical databases such as Statista or specific statistics that support the content with factual data.

Provide screenshots of tools to show how they work if you need your writer to use them. You can also consider giving tool access to your trusted content creators for first-hand experiences.

Analyze competitor content to identify gaps or areas they have not comprehensively covered. This initiative can help position your content to be more valuable and unique.

Outline how content creators can collaborate with other team members, such as designers, SEO specialists, or marketers, to enhance the content. Provide access to relevant collaboration tools or platforms.

7. Content Promotion Plan and Requirements

An effective distribution and promotion plan ensures your content reaches the intended audience and achieves maximum visibility and engagement.

If you need additional content snippets or copy for promotions, request them within the content brief. Here are a few examples:

• Include the guidelines for creating content to promote your article on your targeted social media platforms, such as Instagram, X, and LinkedIn.
• Ask content creators to draft a newsletter and a compelling email subject line if your content marketing strategy includes email promotions.

8. Content Creation Timeline

You must have a well-defined content creation timeline to ensure the project stays on track and meets all deadlines.

Be clear about the date the writer should submit their first draft. Ensure this deadline gives ample time for revisions and feedback.

Detail the steps involved in the initial review process, including feedback from editors, SEO specialists, and any other team members. Outline the expectations for revisions based on the feedback received.

If a second round of review is needed, specify the process and timeline. Define the final approval process, including who is responsible for giving the final sign-off on the content.

Specify the final deadline for the content to be ready for publication, incorporating all revisions and approvals. Ensure it aligns with your publishing schedule and other marketing campaigns or timelines.

How to Create an Effective Content Brief [+Template]

A well-crafted content brief sets clear guidelines and expectations, helping writers deliver work that aligns with your strategic goals.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to gathering the necessary information and inputs:

1. Define your goals: Start by clearly articulating the purpose of the content. What do you hope to achieve? Some examples of those goals are driving traffic, increasing brand awareness, or generating leads.
2. Identify your target audience: Gather detailed information about your target audience, including audience demographics, interests, pain points, and behaviors. 
3. Research and analyze: Conduct competitor analysis and identify authoritative sources to help writers create relevant and valuable content while doing keyword research to optimize it for search engines.
4. Outline key messages: Define the main points that the content should convey and ensure they align with your brand’s voice and strategic objectives.
5. Plan the structure: Develop a clear outline with headings and subheadings based on SERP analysis and content gaps identified during your research.
6. Set SEO guidelines: Include target keywords, meta descriptions, title tags, and internal links to optimize the content for search engines.
7. Specify content details: Define the content format, word count, tone, style guide, and specific calls to action. Clear instructions help content creators meet expectations and maintain consistency.

Put all this information together in a set content brief template to maintain consistency and improve the efficiency of your content team.

Don’t start from scratch! Download a copy of our content brief template for a new blog post. It covers all the essential components discussed above, providing a framework for your content briefs. Customize it to fit your project.

Download Content Brief Template

Name*Email*Download NowDownload Now

*Make a copy of our brief template and start customizing it for your target keywords and written content requirements.

What Are the Benefits of Using a Content Brief?

A content brief helps create high-quality content consistently and improves the efficiency of your content creation process. Here's how content briefs can transform your life as a content marketer:

• Alignment among teams: A well-defined brief ensures everyone involved is on the same page about the content's goals, target audience, and essential messages. It eliminates confusion and promotes a collaborative environment.
• Increased productivity: Content briefs save time and resources by providing clear direction. Writers can dive right in, knowing exactly what's expected, minimizing the need for revisions and back-and-forth communication.
• Consistent production of high-quality content: They ensure your content maintains a consistent voice, tone, and style across platforms. This content goal helps build brand recognition and strengthens your audience's trust. Additionally, briefs help maintain high quality by outlining the required level of detail, research, and expertise.
• Easy tracking: They provide a clear benchmark for measuring the success of your content. Aligning your content with specific goals and outlining key metrics such as website traffic, leads generated, and social media engagement helps you effectively track performance and make data-driven decisions to optimize your content marketing strategy.

Invest in Your Content Marketing Success

Content briefs provide clear guidelines, objectives, and detailed instructions to ensure your team works towards a specific goal and direction. They help you streamline workflows, improve communication, and maintain consistency across content pieces.

Start creating and using content briefs to minimize the need for revisions and create high-quality content pieces consistently. Start by downloading our content brief template to simplify your blog article creation process with a clear roadmap.

Download Content Brief Template

Name*Email*Download NowDownload Now

*Make a copy of our brief template and start customizing it for your target keywords and written content requirements.