How to Write the Perfect Content Brief

Writing the perfect content brief is the key to having content that aligns with your vision for that piece. A well-written brief ensures everyone involved in the content creation process understands exactly what needs to be done, how and why. 

Because a content brief outlines goals, target audience, key messages, and expected results, it makes the creative process smoother and reduces misunderstandings between everyone involved. Having content briefs increases your chance of having quality content from the get-go. This avoids spending too much time in a frustrating cycle of revisions and can enhance your content marketing strategy and internal communications.

How to write a content brief

At Bizwisdom, we prefer highly detailed content briefs that outline specific requirements, tone of voice, keywords, and even the structure of the content. We do this to ensure we produce on-brand quality content that resonates with our clients’ target audience.

Here’s how we write our content brief.

Start with goals and objectives

The goals and objectives of our content piece are always aligned with search intent. We identify the user’s primary goal when searching for information on the chosen topic. Are they seeking a solution to a problem, looking for specific information, or comparing different products or services?

Once the search intent is clear, we tailor the content’s goals and objectives to fulfil that intent. For example, if the intent is informational, we write content that educates and answers the user’s questions comprehensively. If the intent is transactional, the content should guide the user towards a purchase or conversion. 

Aligning the content with search intent increases its relevance, visibility, and potential to rank higher in search engine results, ultimately driving more targeted traffic to the website.

Identify your intended audience

A well-written content brief also involves understanding the people you’re creating for. It ensures the content created resonates with the right people. For example, a blog post targeting experienced marketers would employ industry-specific jargon and focus on advanced strategies, while a beginner’s guide would use simpler language and explain basic concepts.

So, what audience-specific details should you include in your content brief? Consider the following:

• Who are they? Describe their professional background, interests, and online behaviour. Are they tech-savvy professionals, busy parents, or students seeking specific information? Are they familiar with your brand or industry? What is their current level of knowledge on the topic you’ll be addressing?
• What are they searching for? What questions do they have? What problems are they trying to solve? What solutions are they actively seeking? Consider their search intent (see previous section). Are they looking to learn, compare options, purchase, or simply be entertained? 
• Why does this topic matter to them? What are their underlying motivations, desires, and fears? What emotional triggers drive their interest in your subject? Understanding their “why” helps you tailor your content to truly resonate with them personally.

Determine the content type and tone

Once you’ve identified your intended audience, the next step in creating content briefs is to decide how you’ll deliver your message, taking into account where they are in their buyer’s journey. Think about:

• The format. Consider which content type best aligns with your audience’s consumption habits, learning styles, and current stage in the buyer’s journey. Are they in the awareness stage, seeking general information through blog posts or social media content? Or are they further along in the consideration or decision stage, looking for more in-depth resources like whitepapers or comparison guides? Are they visual learners who prefer infographics and videos or textual ones who would rather read a blog post or case study?
• The tone. Remember your audience’s personality, preferred communication style, and position in the buyer’s journey. Do they respond well to a formal and authoritative voice, or would a friendly and conversational approach resonate better? If they are just becoming aware of their problem, a more educational and informative tone might be appropriate. If they are evaluating solutions, a persuasive and confident tone might be more effective. 

Mention key information and points

Identify the ​​central themes and ideas your content creator should cover. This section doesn’t need exhaustive details but rather a rough outline of the core message you want to convey. 

Are there specific statistics, research findings, or industry insights you want incorporated? Perhaps you wish the content to begin with a quote, include a blurb saying it’s a sponsored post, or have specific visual elements. Mention these in your content brief.

You can also include a suggested title but leave room for the creator’s expertise and creativity. They usually have their own content creation process. Trust their ability to research, analyse, and present information that aligns with your goals and style.

Include search engine optimisation considerations

While writing content for your audience is the first order of business, optimising it for search engines is equally crucial. So your content brief should also list:

• Primary and secondary keywords. Should the keyword phrase be used exactly as provided, or can it be modified with additional words? 
• Word count. Indicate if this is the minimum or maximum number of words expected and how strictly they should adhere to it.
• Internal and external links to relevant articles. Specify criteria for relevant internal/external links (e.g., reputable sources, additional context, supporting data). Include essential links, preferred placement (in-text, resource lists), and anchor text (keyword-rich, descriptive).
• Subheading structure (if creating a blog post). Outline key sections with subheadings if you have specific information that needs to be covered. 
• Meta description. While this can be omitted, providing a meta description is helpful if the content creator is also responsible for posting the content on your behalf.

If you can, analyse the top-ranking articles or pages for your focus keyword, as this helps you see what Google considers good content to answer that query. Identify their strengths and weaknesses to inform your own content creation. Maybe you need to produce content with a higher word count or use long-tail keywords. Mention these in your content brief.

If your content writer or creator has SEO knowledge, you can give them SEO tools or keyword research tools and let them find related keywords, internal or external links and valuable insights that search engines understand.

Add call to action

A well-crafted call to action (CTA) is the final push that moves users from one stage of the funnel to the next. What do you want the reader to do after consuming the content? Do you want them to subscribe to your newsletter, download an ebook, visit a specific product landing page, or engage in social media discussions? Be specific and clear about what you want them to do, and add this to your content brief.

A clear call to action is also helpful to the content creator because it’s another cue regarding the intent of the piece and the search intent it should be filling if writing for SEO. If the blog is the journey, the CTA is the destination.

Writing content brief FAQs

How does a content brief help focus content marketing strategy?

A content brief is your guidebook for creating quality content. It tells your content team who to reach, what to say, and how to say it, ensuring that every piece works together to achieve your content marketing goals.

If you’d like to learn more, view our content marketing guide for everything you need to know about crafting perfect content for your team and audience.

How does a content brief improve content marketing workflow?

A good content brief simplifies content marketing by providing a clear content plan. Because it outlines goals, target audience, key messages, and expected results, it makes the creative process smoother and reduces misunderstandings between everyone involved. Having content briefs increases your chance of having quality content from the get-go.

Is it useful to have a content brief template?

Yes. Having a content brief template is incredibly useful for several reasons:

• Saves time and effort. It pre-fills essential sections, eliminating the need to start from scratch every time. It helps your content team produce content faster.
• Ensures consistency. A content brief template promotes brand consistency across all content pieces.
• Improves communication and collaboration. It establishes clear expectations for everyone involved in the content creation process.
• Boosts efficiency and productivity. It allows for easier scaling of content production as needed.

48% of content marketing is outsourced to third parties, so having a clear and detailed brief can save you time and stress further down the track.

You can search for different brief templates online or use the one below.

What’s the difference between a content brief and a content outline?

While both guide content creation, a content brief provides the big picture and strategic direction, while a content outline is about the specific details and structure. The brief answers who, what, why, and how (audience, message, goals, tone), while the outline focuses on the specific steps (headings, subheadings, key points, supporting information). Both are crucial for effective content but serve different purposes in the creation process.

Can I use AI to create content briefs?  

Yes, you can, but no, you shouldn’t. While AI can help you brainstorm potential topics, relevant keywords, and angles for your content based on your target audience and goals, it can’t do it all.

AI doesn’t truly understand your audience or goals, identify keywords, or access top-ranking articles on the search results page. This means you may need to revise the content briefs significantly. Also, AI can’t generate original ideas or perfectly capture your brand voice. Hence, it can’t make strategic decisions about content goals and alignment. AI outputs can also be inaccurate, which means you have to spend extra time fact-checking information in the content briefs.

Free content brief example

Topic: Writing your first blog

• Goals
  • Educate aspiring bloggers to take the first step and create their blog
  • Increase website traffic and engagement by attracting new readers interested in blogging
  • Establish ourselves as a valuable resource for new bloggers
• Target audience
  • Individuals interested in starting a blog but feeling overwhelmed or unsure where to begin
  • Beginners with basic computer skills and internet access
  • Age range: 18-35
• Content type
  • In-depth blog post with visual elements
  • Word count: 1500-2000 words
• Tone
  • Conversational and engaging, like a helpful friend offering advice. No technical jargon
• Key information to include
  • Speak to the common fears and misconceptions about starting a blog.
  • Mention setting up your blog: platform selection, domain name, and basic design.
  • Include monetisation options for beginner bloggers.
  • Bonus: Common mistakes to avoid and resources for further learning.
• SEO considerations
  • Primary keywords: “beginner blogging tips” “blogging for beginners”
  • Secondary keywords: “writing a blog” “start a blog” 
  • Include relevant internal links to other blog posts on our website about blogging and content creation.
  • External links: Link to a website with high-quality content and high DA (domain authority), but avoid linking to Wikipedia even if it contains relevant information. Also, do not link to competitor blogs.
  • Optimise title tags, meta descriptions, and image alt text with target keywords.
  • Ensure the content is well-structured with headings and subheadings.
• Call to action
  • Invite readers to subscribe to our email list for more blogging tips and updates.

Need help writing your content brief?

Want someone else to manage your content briefs and steer your content marketing to success? Contact us.