Content Briefs: A Template Writers Can Actually Use

A content brief is the set of instructions a writer needs to produce the right article the first time. It answers what the piece is for, who it is for, what it must cover, what it must not cover, what sources it must use and how it will be judged. Briefs fail in two opposite ways: too thin (“write 1,500 words on X with these keywords”) or so long that the writer cannot find the instructions among the research. A usable brief is short enough to read in five minutes and specific enough that two writers given it would produce articles that serve the same purpose.

What a brief must answer

The reusable template

Copy and fill in each field. No field should be left open when the brief is handed over.

CONTENT BRIEF

Working title:
Page status: new page / update of [existing URL]
Owner (strategist):          Writer:          Editor:
Due date:                    Specialist reviewer (if needed):

1. PURPOSE
   After reading, the reader should be able to:

2. AUDIENCE
   Who they are:
   What they already know:
   What they are likely to misunderstand:

3. SEARCH INTENT
   Primary query:
   Intent type (informational, commercial, transactional, navigational):
   Results page summary (date, location, device checked):
     - dominant page types:
     - features present (AI Overview, video, local pack, snippet):
     - what the top results cover:
     - what they miss:

4. SCOPE: MUST COVER
   -
   -

5. EXCLUSIONS: DO NOT COVER (and where it is covered)
   - [topic] -> covered by [page]

6. ANGLE AND INFORMATION GAIN
   What this piece adds:
   First-hand material available (data, screenshots, expert input):

7. SOURCES
   Required primary sources (with URLs):
   Claims that must be sourced:
   Claims to avoid (unsupported or outdated):

8. EXAMPLES
   Worked example(s) to include, labeled as hypothetical if invented:

9. SUGGESTED OUTLINE
   H1 (if different from working title):
   H2s:

10. INTERNAL LINKS
   Link to: [page] for [reader purpose]
   Link from (existing pages to update): [page]

11. CONSTRAINTS
   Tone:
   Spelling and style:
   Compliance notes:
   Length guidance: as long as the task requires; no target word count

12. QUALITY CRITERIA (editor checks)
   [ ] Opening answers the primary query directly
   [ ] Every factual claim has a source or is labeled as opinion
   [ ] Exclusions respected; no overlap with listed pages
   [ ] Examples present and correct
   [ ] No filler sections; every paragraph serves the purpose
   [ ] Internal links added with descriptive anchors

How to fill it well

Purpose and audience first. If you cannot state what the reader should be able to do, the brief is not ready. Decide here too whether the piece is evergreen or tied to a trend, since that sets its review schedule.

Read the results page yourself. Summarize what ranks and what is missing in a few lines. This tells the writer the format and the gap to fill, without asking them to imitate competitors.

Exclusions prevent overlap. Listing what the piece does not cover, and which page covers it, keeps two articles from competing for the same intent and tells the writer where to link instead of repeating.

Sources are part of the instruction. For any claim about a platform, policy, law or number, name the source to use. A writer told only to “research” may end up citing secondary summaries; a writer given the primary source can cite it directly.

Mark hypothetical examples. If the brief asks for an example with invented figures, say so, so the writer labels it.

Length is an outcome. Give guidance on depth (what must be explained, how many examples) rather than a word count. Google’s helpful content guidance warns against writing to a particular word count because of a belief that Google prefers one (Google on creating helpful content).

A filled example (abbreviated)

Here is a sample brief for a hypothetical software company’s article.

• Purpose: after reading, the owner of a small agency can choose between hourly and project-based billing.
• Audience: agency owners without finance training; may confuse billing model with pricing level.
• Primary query: “hourly vs project billing”; results show comparison articles and forum threads; the ones reviewed skip how to handle scope changes.
• Must cover: definitions, cash-flow effects, risk allocation, scope change handling, a decision table.
• Exclusions: pricing psychology (covered by the pricing strategy guide), invoicing software setup (covered by the setup guide).
• Information gain: a worked example comparing the two models on the same hypothetical project, including a scope change.
• Sources: none legal; any tax statements must cite the relevant tax authority page.
• Quality criteria: decision table matches the body; the worked example’s arithmetic is checked.

Brief failures to avoid

• A keyword list instead of a purpose.
• No exclusions, leading to overlap with existing pages.
• “Write 2,000 words” with no guidance on what to cover.
• Pasted competitor outlines that invite copying.
• Missing sources for claims that change over time.

A good brief is the shortest document that lets a capable writer produce the right page without guessing. Everything in the template serves that.