A content brief that works specifies the query and its intent, the audience, the angle, the required evidence, the internal links, the call to action, the structure and the success measure. Word count is the least useful field in it.
TL;DR
- Eight fields remove most revision cycles.
- Brief the intent, not the word count.
- Name the internal links before the writer starts.
The eight fields
Target query and what the searcher actually wants. Audience and their level. Angle, stated as a sentence someone could disagree with. Required evidence, named specifically. Internal links, chosen in advance. The call to action and its funnel stage. Structure as headings. And the measure of success.
Everything else is negotiable. These eight remove most of the back-and-forth that makes editorial expensive.
Decide the links before writing
If internal links are chosen after drafting, they become decoration. Chosen before, they shape the argument and guarantee cluster coherence.
This is the single cheapest structural improvement available to most content teams.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a brief be?
One page. If it needs three, the article needs splitting.