Clients often ask us “do you have an example of a good content brief template I can use?”

The thing is, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. There are numerous ways to write a content brief and the format you choose will be based on the goals of your content and the audience it targets. To assist you in creating the perfect content brief that’ll help your writers produce great content, we’ll share some content brief examples and the most important elements for each template. But before we dive in, let’s quickly cover what a content brief is and the advantages it provides.

What is a Content Brief and Why Does it Matter?

A content brief is a communication tool that’s used to ensure that both the client and the content writer are on the same page. It’s a short document created by the client, content strategist, or editor which provides writers with context and direction. The set of instructions in the content brief guide the writer through the content creation process so that the end result is a piece of content that meets your objectives and expectations.

Here’s what a good brief accomplishes:

• Sets clear expectations and equips writers with the most important information so they’re able to do their best work.
• Ensures that no critical information is omitted.
• Saves both time and money by greatly reducing the editing process. This way the writer is able to produce more content instead of having to go back to that one piece multiple times after each revision by the editor.
• Ensures consistency, which is especially important if multiple writers produce content for your blog/website or if you’re dealing with an inexperienced writer.
• Contributes to better search rankings by providing the necessary SEO information to the writer.

Now that you know the importance of a well-crafted content brief, let’s see the most important elements it should contain.

What Should You Include in Your Brief?

Briefs will vary depending upon the type of content, your content goals, and your overall content strategy.

A good and effective content brief can be as simple as a keyword & title, Best Rainfall Showerheads, for example. This is great for when you are ordering a lot of content and you want to invest the least time and effort in creating the content brief. The title will give some direction to the writer, and the keyword will help the piece of content rank in search engines and drive organic traffic.

If, however, you want to ensure that the piece of content meets your specific requirements, or you have a more niche content, such as your specific insight on a concept that relates to your customers, a more detailed content brief will be more effective.

Content Brief Examples

Here are a few examples of content briefs that will help you get started and create your own content brief template.

1. The Quick & Dirty

Title: Your Great Article Title Here

Keyword: a great article

• ✅ Pros: Quick, easy, may encourage writer freedom and creativity.
• ❌ Cons: Prone to produce sub-optimal content without experienced writers.

2. The Effective SEO

Title:

URL:

Title tag:

Meta description:

Main keyword:

Secondary keyword:

Outline & headings:

Target word count:

Searcher intent: navigational, informational, or transactional/commercial

External links:

Internal links:

SEO Tool link: e.g. Clearscope, Surfer SEO, Dashword, Content Harmony, etc.

• ✅ Pros: SEO optimized for increased ranking & traffic, organized information for publishing, ensures consistency.
• ❌ Cons: More time-consuming, additional cost of SEO tools (this is optional).

3. The Thought Leader

Title:

URL:

Title tag:

Meta description:

Outline & headings:

Target word count:

Detailed description and purpose:

Links and/or statistics:

Competing articles: both good (as a guide) and bad (to avoid)

Custom graphic guidance:

Podcast link:

Video link:

Course link:

Research guidance:

Audio commentary:

Links and references to brand & style guide:

Links and references to target customer personas:

• ✅ Pros: Detailed, helps ensure unique content and insight, helps ensure “on-brand” content.
• ❌ Cons: Time and effort required.

When creating your content brief, we encourage you to ask for your writer’s feedback and customize these examples to work best for you. Another recommendation is to provide the tone of voice and the target audience that the piece of content is aimed at, to help your writer create content that resonates and stays on-brand.

We hope you found our article on content briefs useful. If you have any questions about content briefs or other content questions, please contact us. We are always happy to help!