A content brief is a one- or two-page document that tells a writer what to write before they start: who the piece is for, what question brought that reader to it, the angle, a rough outline, the sources and links it needs, the length, the deadline and who signs it off. To write one, read what already ranks for your topic, decide the one job the piece has to do, and turn that into an outline the writer can push back on. A copyable template and a fully filled-in example brief are below.
What a content brief is for
By the time a piece is assigned, the editor already knows a lot about it: who it's for, why it's being written now, which competitor article it has to beat, which expert has the numbers, and what the legal team won't allow. A brief puts that on paper. Without one, the writer guesses, and the first draft becomes the place where everyone finds out what they actually wanted. That is the slowest and most expensive way to find out.
Briefs usually come from whoever commissions the work: an editor, a content strategist, an SEO lead or a client. Freelancers write their own more often than you'd expect. Turning a vague assignment ("something on onboarding?") into a brief and sending it back for a yes takes far less time than a rewrite.
Content brief vs creative brief
The names overlap, so it helps to be precise about which document you are writing.
| Document | Covers | Written for |
|---|---|---|
| DocumentContent brief | CoversOne piece: reader, intent, angle, outline, sources, logistics | Written forThe writer and the editor |
| DocumentCreative brief | CoversA campaign or design project: objective, audience, message, budget | Written forDesigners, agencies, copywriters |
| DocumentProject brief | CoversA whole project: goals, scope, owners, timeline | Written forThe team and stakeholders |
| DocumentOutline | CoversThe structure of one piece, section by section | Written forThe writer |
If you are planning a series or a site section rather than one article, start with a project brief and write a content brief for each piece inside it.
What goes in a content brief
Twelve sections cover almost every article, from a blog post to a long guide. The example lines come from the filled-in brief further down this page.
| Section | What it answers | Example line |
|---|---|---|
| SectionWorking title | What it answersWhat the piece promises | Example lineHow to feed a sourdough starter (and how often) |
| SectionReader | What it answersWho, at what moment, knowing what | Example lineA home baker whose starter has gone sluggish |
| SectionSearch intent | What it answersWhat they typed and what they want back | Example lineA method they can use in the next ten minutes |
| SectionJob | What it answersWhat the reader can do after reading | Example lineChoose a feeding routine that fits their week |
| SectionAngle | What it answersWhat this says that current results don't | Example lineRoutines by how often you bake, not one rule |
| SectionOutline | What it answersSections, in order, and what each must cover | Example lineSix H2s, order fixed, with must-haves listed |
| SectionSources | What it answersExperts, data and references to use | Example lineInterview the head baker, use our test bakes |
| SectionLinks | What it answersInternal and external links, with placement | Example lineStarter recipe in section 1, rye flour page once |
| SectionVoice | What it answersStyle guide and tone notes | Example lineSecond person, grams first, no preamble |
| SectionLength and assets | What it answersWord range, images, tables | Example line1,400–1,900 words, one table, two photos |
| SectionLogistics | What it answersDeadline, reviewer, revision rounds, format | Example lineThu Oct 29, 5 p.m. CT, to Priya, one round |
| SectionDone when | What it answersHow the draft will be judged | Example lineA reader who stops after section 1 can still do it |
The first six are the brief proper: decisions only the person commissioning the piece can make. The other six are supporting detail. A regular contributor may know them by heart, but a new freelancer needs every one written down.
For search-led pieces, the intent line carries the keyword work too: a primary keyword, a few secondary phrases to use where they read naturally, and two or three URLs that currently rank. If the brief drafts a meta description, keep the first paragraph just as clear, because Google builds most result snippets from the page itself.
How to write a content brief
Write the brief in this order, because each step narrows the next. Most of the time goes into step two.
- Name the reader and the moment
Not "marketers" or "beginners", but a person at a point in their day: a teacher planning next week's lessons on Sunday night, a founder reading a contract before a call. Then write what they already know, so the writer knows what to skip.
- Read what already ranks
Search the main keyword and open the top results. Note the format they share (lists, step-by-step guides, tools, product pages), what every one of them covers, what none of them covers well, and the questions under "People also ask". The shared ground is the minimum. The gaps are where your angle will come from.
Check the intent while you're there. SEO tools sort it into four types (informational, navigational, commercial and transactional), and the results page tells you which one Google sees. If every result is a product page, an essay is unlikely to rank, however good it is.
- Write the job and the angle, one sentence each
The job: "After reading, the reader can ___." The angle: "Unlike the current results, this piece ___." Test the angle by imagining a competitor pasting it into their own brief. If it would fit unchanged, it is a topic, not an angle.
- Sketch the outline as questions
List the sections as the questions they answer, note the points each one must cover, and say whether the order is fixed or a suggestion. Stop there. An outline made by copying the headings of the top five results produces a sixth copy of them.
- Line up sources and experts
Name the expert, how to reach them and when they're free. List the facts that must be verified and the sources the piece should cite, and say what it must not claim: unreleased features, competitor names, anything legal hasn't cleared.
- Set the length from the job
Give a range, not a number. A how-to that solves one narrow problem may need 800 words, while a guide that compares five methods may need 2,500. Google's guidance on helpful content says plainly that it has no preferred word count, so treat a tool's average of the ranking pages as a description of competitors, not a target.
- Add logistics and a definition of done
Deadline with a date, a time and a time zone. Who reviews, how many rounds of revisions, what file format, and where it goes. Finish with two to four checks the draft must pass, written so that anyone could tick them. Send the brief and ask for questions within a day, before any drafting starts.
Content brief template
Copy this into a document and delete what doesn't apply. Square brackets are placeholders. It is plain Markdown, so it pastes cleanly into most editors, wikis and project tools.
content-brief.md
# Content brief: [Working title]
Writer: [Name] · Editor: [Name] · Draft due: [Day, date, time, time zone]
## The piece
- Working title: [A headline that states the promise]
- Format: [How-to / list / explainer / case study / opinion]
- Length: [Range, e.g. 1,200–1,600 words]
- Assets: [Images, tables, screenshots, charts]
- Publishes: [Where and when]
## Reader
[Who they are, the moment they arrive, what they already know,
and what they would skip. One short paragraph.]
## Search
- Primary keyword: [phrase]
- Secondary keywords: [3–6 phrases, used where they read naturally]
- Intent: [What the searcher wants back]
- Results to beat: [2–3 URLs, one line each on what they miss]
## Job and angle
- After reading, the reader can: [one sentence]
- Our angle: [Unlike the current results, this piece ...]
- Call to action: [The one next step]
## Outline (order: fixed / suggested)
1. [Section as a question] - must cover: [points]
2. [Section as a question] - must cover: [points]
3. [Section as a question] - must cover: [points]
4. [FAQ: questions searchers ask]
## Sources and links
- Expert: [Name, role, how to reach them, when they're free]
- Facts to verify: [claims, numbers, dates]
- Internal links: [URL - where it goes]
- External sources: [URL - what it supports]
- Don't say: [claims, competitors, words to avoid]
## Voice
[Link to the style guide. Two or three notes on person, tone
and reading level.]
## Review
- Reviewer: [Name] · Revision rounds: [number]
- Deliver as: [file format] to [folder or link]
## Done when
- [ ] [The draft does the job above for the reader above]
- [ ] [Every number and claim traces to a named source]
- [ ] [Title and first paragraph answer the search]
- [ ] [Links, assets and call to action in place]The outline section is deliberately short. If you want to hand the writer a fuller structure, with a hook, key points and SEO notes per section, attach the blog post outline template filled in, and keep the brief for the decisions.
A filled-in content brief example
Here is the template filled in for a fictional flour mill's blog. The topic is ordinary on purpose: most briefs are for ordinary topics, and the angle is what keeps the piece from being the eleventh version of the same article.
Working title: How to feed a sourdough starter (and how often, for the way you bake)
Writer: Dana Whitfield · Editor: Priya Natarajan · Draft due: Thursday, October 29, 5 p.m. CT
Format and length: How-to, 1,400–1,900 words, one table, two photos (a starter at its peak and one past it).
Reader: A home baker who started a starter, or was given one, in the last few months. They have baked a loaf or two and know the basic words. Their starter now rises slowly or smells sharp, and they suspect they are feeding it wrong. They are reading on a phone with the jar on the counter, so they will skip any story before the method.
Search: Primary keyword "how to feed a sourdough starter". Secondary: "sourdough starter feeding ratio", "how often to feed sourdough starter", "feeding a starter from the fridge". Intent: a method they can use in the next ten minutes, then a routine.
What the current results miss: The top results give one ratio and one schedule, often after a long introduction. None of them ask how often the reader bakes, which decides everything else.
Job: After reading, the reader can choose a feeding routine that fits their week and tell from the jar whether it is working.
Angle: Three routines by baking habit (most days, once a week, now and then), each with its ratio and timing, plus a "read the jar" table for diagnosing problems.
Outline (order fixed):
- The answer in four sentences: discard, add flour and water by weight, stir, wait for the peak.
- What a feeding ratio means, with 1:1:1 worked through in grams.
- Pick your routine: on the counter, in the fridge, or in long storage.
- Read the jar: rise, bubbles and smell, and what each means (the table).
- Fixes for a sluggish starter.
- FAQ from "People also ask": feeding without discarding, which flour, how long it keeps in the fridge.
Sources: Interview Inês Duarte, head baker, on routines and temperatures (Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, book through Priya). Use timings from our own test bakes, not from other blogs. Inês checks every number before publication.
Links: Our beginner starter recipe, in section 1. The whole rye flour product page, once, in section 5. No links to other baking blogs.
Voice: House style guide. Second person, grams first with cups in brackets, the method before any background. No "foolproof", no "easy".
Call to action: Sign-up for the Saturday Bake email, once, at the end.
Done when:
- A reader who stops after section 1 can still feed their starter correctly.
- Each routine has a ratio, a timing and a "you'll know it worked when" line.
- Inês has signed off on every number.
- Delivered as a Word file in the shared Drafts folder, with photo ideas as comments.
Three things make this brief work. The reader is a person in a kitchen, not a demographic, and that one detail settles the format (method first, short sections, a table that reads on a phone). The angle gives the piece a structure the competing articles don't have. And every "done when" line is something the editor can check in a minute.
Notice what it leaves out. It doesn't prescribe sentences, it doesn't set a keyword count, and it doesn't repeat the style guide. It links to the guide and names the two or three tone of voice rules this piece is most likely to break.
Common content brief mistakes
- A keyword list with a deadline. Keywords say what people typed, not what they need. Without a reader and a job, the writer can only produce the average of the search results.
- An outline copied from the top results. Use the results to find the minimum every piece covers, then add the sections only you can write: your data, your expert, your method.
- A word count from a tool, treated as a target. It tells you how long competitors are, not how long the answer is. Padding a piece to hit a number makes it worse to read.
- "Audience: small businesses." Too broad to decide anything. A bakery owner and a 40-person agency need different articles.
- A brief that changes after the draft arrives. If the angle moves, update the brief and say so. Otherwise the review compares the draft with a brief that exists only in the editor's head.
- The six-page brief. A writer who has to skim will miss the one line that mattered. Put the decisions first and move background research into links.
- "Due Friday." End of day Friday for an editor in Lisbon is mid-morning Friday for a writer in Denver. Write the time and the time zone.
When you're the writer receiving the brief
Freelancers often get half a brief: a keyword, a title and a deadline. Don't guess. Read it once, then send all your questions in one email before you write a word. Editors would rather answer five questions on Monday than read the wrong draft on Friday.
If you are proposing the piece yourself, the pitch does the brief's job from the other side: reader, angle, why now, why you. The guide to pitching an article to an editor covers that half, and a strong working title helps both. See how to write a headline for that.
Keep the brief beside the draft
A brief is only useful if it is open while you write and while you review. In Strokes, a project is a folder of documents, so the brief can sit next to the draft as its own file and stay there through every revision. Add the brief to a chat with the AI Assistant as context and ask questions against it: which "done when" items the draft misses, whether section three answers the question in the outline, what the reader described in the brief would skip. The Assistant points; you decide what changes.
If you draft with AI, the brief is a far better prompt than a one-line request, because it names the reader, the job and the angle. You still check every fact. Version history keeps earlier drafts, so after the editor's notes you can compare versions and restore a paragraph you cut too soon.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a content brief be?
One or two pages for a single article. Long enough to hold the reader, the job, the angle, the outline and the logistics, and short enough that the writer reads all of it. Put background research in links rather than in the brief.
What is the difference between a content brief and a creative brief?
A content brief covers one piece of writing: its reader, search intent, angle, outline and sources. A creative brief covers a campaign or design project: the objective, audience, key message, mandatory elements and budget, usually for designers or an agency.
Who writes a content brief?
Usually the editor, content strategist or SEO lead who commissions the piece, or the client. Freelancers often write one themselves from a short assignment and send it back for approval before drafting, which catches misunderstandings while they are cheap to fix.
Should a content brief include a word count?
Include a range that follows from the job, such as 1,200 to 1,600 words, and treat it as a guide. Google's guidance on helpful content says it has no preferred word count, so there is no reason to pad a piece that has already done its job.
Can AI write a content brief?
AI tools can draft the mechanical parts: summarizing the current results, listing the questions people ask, proposing headings. The reader, the job, the angle and the sources still need someone who knows the audience and the business, and every fact a tool suggests needs checking.
