Creating great content isn’t easy. It’s a skill that requires a lot of practice and hard work.
That’s why it’s important to have tools and templates that can help make the process easier.
In this blog post, we’ll share some of the best content brief templates and examples to help you create great content. We’ll also provide tips on how to use these templates effectively. So, if you’re looking to create better content, keep reading!
TL;DR
- Content brief templates outline all the key information about a piece of content you’re going to write.
- The template provides a structure for content writers to follow as they develop content, and ensures that all stakeholders are on the same page regarding the purpose and goals of the content.
- SEO content brief templates are a more strategic approach to creating the roadmap of what you’re going to write, focusing not only on creating value for the reader but also building it in such a way so that it generates traffic.
- Using content briefs might be particularly helpful when you want to create a lot of standardized written content, start delivering content with a new freelance writer or an agency partner, avoid handling a lot of editing requests and rewrites, produce content at a fast speed with consistent quality, or have a content marketing strategy that generates predictable results.
- Benefits of using a content brief template include saving time, optimizing workflow, creating better content, and improving consistency.
- To maximize the benefits of a content brief template, keep it simple, informative, and organized with clearly defined sections and headers for major points/topics.
- Use tools like SEOwind to speed up the process and maximize the time invested in creating each brief.
What is a Content Brief Template?
A content brief template is simply a document that outlines all the key information about a piece of content you’re going to write. This can include things like the topic, the tone of voice, the target audience, the desired outcome, and any other relevant details.
A content brief template is a great way to organize your thoughts and plan out your content before you start writing. It can be helpful to think of it as a road map for your content.
It provides a structure for content writers to follow as they develop content, and ensures that all stakeholders are on the same page regarding the purpose and goals of the content. The template includes questions and topics that content creators must answer in order to develop a clear and effective piece of content that resonates with their target audience..
By taking the time to fill out a content brief template, you can save yourself time and hassle later on.
Do you know the saying about chopping down the tree and sharpening the axe? So it goes!
“If I had five minutes to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first three sharpening my axe.”
This is what we mean.
The content brief template can help content creators optimize their workflow and save time. By having all of the necessary information in one place, content creators can avoid spending hours researching and planning their content. Ultimately, the content brief template is an essential tool for any content creator who wants to produce high-quality content efficiently.
Besides it also saves time on rewrites and changes once the article draft is provided.
In short, a content brief template will help you produce better content, faster.
What is an SEO Content Brief Template
You can treat SEO Content Brief Template as a content brief on steroids. It’s a more strategic approach to creating the roadmap of what you’re going to write, focusing not only on creating value for the reader but also building it in such a way so that it generates traffic.
The process of creating such a template starts with looking into top SERPs, their content, and the keywords they rank for. By taking it from there you can make a comprehensive search-engine-optimized content brief template.
SEO Content Brief Template Example [Infographic]
To help you get started, we’ve created an SEO Content Brief Template Example infographic that you can use as a guide to creating compelling, search-engine-optimized content that resonates with your audience.
Content Brief Template – is it worth using one?
Yes, yes, yes.
The content brief template makes you focus on what is important. It’s like a checklist that guides you toward your goal.
It’s great to experience a writing flow and get creative. So if you are writing just for that you don’t need a template. You can go with the flow.
However, if you want the content to be found, if you want it to create great value for your audience, and if you want to drive traffic through the articles you’re writing, it’s not only an art. It’s a science. And template can bring you closer to that.
When to use a Content Brief Template?
So you’ve been asked to write a content piece, and you’re not sure where to start. Or maybe you’ve written content before, but you’re looking for a way to streamline the process. Either way, using a content brief template can be a helpful way to get organized and make sure you’re covering all your bases.
When should you use a content brief template?
Any time you’re starting a new writing project, it can be helpful to sit down and fill out a content brief template. This will help you to focus your thoughts and make sure you’re clear on what’s expected of you. And if you ever find yourself feeling stuck or lost during the writing process, refer back to your content brief template – it may just give you the inspiration or clarity you need to move forward.
There are a few different content types that a content brief template can be useful for blog posts, social media posts, eBooks, and email content.
Using content briefs might be particularly helpful when you want to:
- create a lot of standardized written content, e.g., blog posts, whitepapers, articles, etc.,
- start delivering content with a new freelance writer or an agency partner,
- handling a lot of editing requests and rewrites,
- produce content at a fast speed with consistent quality,
- have a content marketing strategy that generates predictable results.
The benefits of using a Content Brief Template
The idea here is that once you’ve got your content brief template down pat, all future briefs will be a breeze.
You can just grab one of these and apply it without issue each time there’s new content to create. Once you have the framework the process goes quickly too.
Have the Content Brief Template simple and clean
The key here is to keep things simple – use clearly defined sections; utilize headers for major points/topics so readers know exactly what topic area they should be focusing on next–this will help them navigate through.
Make the Content Briefs informative
Planning your content brief is straightforward if you use our templates and examples.
But, don’t overdo it so that the time invested in creating each brief pays off by saving you both effort! Be smart. You can always use tools like SEOwind to speed up the process.
Educate your team on why SEO Content Briefs are essential
Writing content based on the content brief is different than writing from the top of your head. If your team hasn’t used briefs so far make sure to explain to them why the content creation process is changing and what benefits you are planning to get.
If a writer is not part of their SEO department, they may find it difficult at first since this writing task requires greater expertise than just generating basic blog posts or news stories with headlines – but don’t be concerned! Still, it is pretty straightforward so any content writer can gain enough experience in producing excellent material quickly and efficiently.
When using a Content Brief Template can be helpful
A content brief can help you create:
- High-quality, engaging articles
- Engaging blog posts
- Webpage content that is SEO friendly
- Insightful infographics
- Educational videos
- And more!
Content brief is essential not only for content managers but also for content writers themselves.
Content writer perspective
A content brief template can help to provide structure and organization for your content creation process. It can also help to ensure that all of the important details are included in your content piece.
If you find yourself struggling to come up with ideas for your content, a content brief template can also give you a jump start. By having a specific prompt to work from, you can get your creative juices flowing and come up with some great ideas for your next piece of content
Content manager perspectives
A content brief template can be beneficial if you work with a writers or content creators team. By having a content brief template, everyone will be on the same page as far as what needs to be included in the final piece
What to include in SEO Content Brief Template
Let’s go through the essentials to cover in an SEO Content Brief Template:
Due Date
When you are expecting the content to be delivered.
Target audience / Buyer persona
The buyer persona is a critical component of any content brief. By understanding who your buyers are, you can create content that is relevant and helpful.
Intended result
This ensures that your content is effective and meets your marketing needs. Decide what’s the goal of the content you’re creating. Is it generating traffic, building brand awareness or maybe generating leads?
Tone of voice
Each brand is communicating in a specific way. Is your brand serious or funny, are you professional or friendly?
Content type
Define the type of content the brief concerns. Is it a blog post, expert article, landing page, whitepaper, ebook, or maybe a different type of copy?
Content-Length
How long your content should be? This is important for a couple of reasons.
Make sure that the content length is appropriate for the keyword and topic you’re targeting.
Practical note: content writers’ salary is often based on how many words they write so this will serve as a basis for your contract with the copywriter.
Content Title
The title should be catchy and include the keywords you’re targeting. It should also be relevant to your topic, and it should be short enough so that it can be easily read on a page without taking up too much space.
SEO Meta description
It’s a brief description of your page that is shown in the search engine results pages (SERPs). You must include keywords in your meta description so that your page will show up when people are searching for information about that topic.
URL slug
It is worth adding a website slug If you have any recommendations regarding it.
Focus keyword / Primary keyword
By using a focus keyword / primary keyword in your content, you’ll be able to generate more traffic and improve your website’s visibility.
To find your focus keyword / primary keyword, first, decide what topic you want to write about. This will help you narrow down your options, and it will also help you determine the keywords that are most relevant to your topic.
Once you have a strong idea of what you’re writing about, start brainstorming ideas for content. Remember to keep your focus keyword in mind, and make sure each article includes some relevant information about that keyword.
Secondary keyword / Topics
Top Search Engine Result Pages rank not for one focus keyword, but often for dozens of them. List all the topics and secondary keywords relevant to the content you’re writing to expand your reach.
Effective Content Structure Outline
List the headings and subheadings to cover. Topics you want to discuss and expand. Questions you want to answer.
Links for inspirations / Links to relevant reports
Provide the content writer with a list of links to any inspirations, reports, or materials relevant to the topic you’re writing about. This will enable the copywriter to get familiar with the topic they are writing about.
Should Your Content Brief Template Include an Outline?
As a content writer, you might be wondering if your content brief should always include an outline. The answer is that it depends on the scope of the project. For some projects, an outline is essential in order to ensure that all of the necessary information is covered. For other projects, an outline might be helpful but not strictly necessary.
When an Outline Is Necessary
If you’re writing a long-form piece of content, such as a comprehensive blog post, an eBook, or a white paper, then it’s definitely worth including an outline in your brief. This is because a long-form piece of content needs to be carefully structured in order to keep the reader’s attention focused throughout. An outline will help you to organize your thoughts and figure out what information needs to be included in each section.
Another situation when you might want to consider including an outline is if you’re writing about a complex topic that requires a lot of explanation. In this case, an outline can help to make sure that you cover all of the key points without getting too bogged down in the details.
When an Outline Isn’t Necessary
Some say that if you’re only writing a short blog post or article, then there’s no need to include an outline in your brief. This is because a short piece of content doesn’t need to be as carefully structured as a longer one. As long as you have a clear idea of what you want to write about, you should be able to just start writing and see where the piece takes you.
Still, from my experience, it is worth writing the outline whenever you’re creating content. It makes the whole process better organized and efficient.
3 Effective SEO Content Brief Templates and Samples with Outline Examples
Now the templates you’ve been waiting for. We created a couple of them using SEOwind – a tool for generating SEO content briefs – to show you what a comprehensive SEO content brief should look like.
Are there any coffee lovers here? I’ll base the content briefs on keywords related to brewing coffee and coffee types.
#1 Article SEO Content Brief Template
Let’s create a brief for writing an article or a blog post. We’ll write an SEO Content Brief for the primary keyword “how to brew coffee at home”.
Based on the data generated from SERPs (competitive analysis, competitor outlines, questions to answer, and secondary keywords), we’ve compiled this brief in no more than 10 minutes.
Once the content brief is ready you can either copy-paste it to the document or share it directly with your content writer.
Click the link to see what the word content brief example looks like.
#2 Website Content Writing Brief Template
Content briefs can be used not only to write articles or other long-form content. They are also a great source of inspiration on what to write about when we are creating websites like landing page. This time let’s look at Content Writing Brief for a more product-oriented keyword like “Chemex coffee maker”.
Click the link to see what the landing page content brief template looks like.
#3 SEO Content Brief Example
Let’s take a look at another example of an SEO content brief. This time for a keyword. types of coffee.
Click the link to see what the landing page content brief template looks like.
Free Content Brief Templates
If you would like to get free content brief templates just create SEOwind account. On our free plan, you can create up to 4 content briefs and get familiar with the tool.
How To Automate Your Content Brief Templates
The content brief generator can be an invaluable tool for any content marketer or marketing manager aiming to generate organic traffic.
It automates and streamlines the creation of content brief templates, enabling businesses to quickly create high-quality briefs that meet their requirements.
With a content brief generator, you no longer need to spend hours manually creating a content brief. Just provide us with your focus keyword and the generator produces a polished brief for them to use. This makes content creation easier, faster, and more efficient, allowing businesses to focus their resources on other areas. Additionally, this type of automation also saves companies time and money by eliminating the need to manually create briefs or hire outside help. Content brief generators can be an essential part of any business’s content strategy.
For more information on Content Brief Generators go to How to create a Content Brief with Content Brief Generator
Final thoughts
The best way to ensure that you are creating great content is to use a content brief template as a guide. This will help you to organize your thoughts and ensure that you are covering all of the key points that you want to make. In addition, it can be helpful to look at examples of great content so that you have a model to follow. By using these resources, you should be able to create content that stands out from the competition and engages your audience.
What tips do you have for creating great content? What works best for you?
