Content Strategy
Usage
Use when building or refreshing a content strategy from scratch, planning content pillars and topic clusters, creating an editorial calendar, or identifying high-priority content opportunities by buyer stage.
Process
Step 1: Gather Inputs
Ask the user for:
Business Context:
- What does the company do?
- Who is the ideal customer? (role, industry, pain points, language they use)
- What's the primary goal for content? (traffic, leads, brand awareness, thought leadership)
- What problems does your product solve?
Customer Research: 5. What questions do customers ask before buying? 6. What objections come up in sales calls? 7. What topics appear repeatedly in support tickets?
Current State: 8. Do you have existing content? What's working? 9. What resources do you have? (writers, budget, time) 10. What content formats can you produce? (written, video, audio)
Competitive Landscape: 11. Who are your main competitors? 12. What content gaps exist in your market?
If the user has previously run competitor-content-analysis, they can reference those outputs for richer competitive data.
Step 2: Define Content Pillars
Content pillars are the 3-5 core topics your brand will own. Each pillar spawns a cluster of related content.
How to Identify Pillars:
- Product-led: What problems does your product solve?
- Audience-led: What does your ICP need to learn?
- Search-led: What topics have volume in your space?
- Competitor-led: What are competitors ranking for?
Pillar Criteria — good pillars should:
- Align with your product/service
- Match what your audience cares about
- Have search volume and/or social interest
- Be broad enough for many subtopics
Pillar Structure:
Pillar Topic (Hub)
├── Subtopic Cluster 1
│ ├── Article A
│ ├── Article B
│ └── Article C
├── Subtopic Cluster 2
│ ├── Article D
│ ├── Article E
│ └── Article F
└── Subtopic Cluster 3
├── Article G
├── Article H
└── Article IMost content works fine under /blog with good internal linking. Only use dedicated hub/spoke URL structures for major topics with layered depth.
Step 3: Build Topic Clusters
For each pillar, generate subtopic clusters. Classify every piece of content as:
Searchable content captures existing demand. Optimized for people actively looking for answers.
- Target a specific keyword or question
- Match search intent exactly
- Use clear titles that match search queries
- Provide comprehensive coverage
Shareable content creates demand. Spreads ideas and gets people talking.
- Lead with a novel insight, original data, or counterintuitive take
- Tell stories that make people feel something
- Create content people want to share to look smart or help others
Content Types:
| Type | Category | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Use-Case Content | Searchable | Long-tail keywords — "[persona] + [use-case]" |
| Hub and Spoke | Searchable | Comprehensive overview + related subtopics |
| Template Libraries | Searchable | High-intent keywords + product adoption |
| Thought Leadership | Shareable | Naming concepts, challenging conventional wisdom |
| Data-Driven Content | Shareable | Product data analysis, original research |
| Expert Roundups | Shareable | 15-30 experts answering one question, built-in distribution |
| Case Studies | Both | Challenge → Solution → Results → Key learnings |
| Meta Content | Shareable | Behind-the-scenes transparency |
Step 4: Map Keywords by Buyer Stage
Map topics to the buyer's journey using proven keyword modifiers:
Awareness Stage — "what is," "how to," "guide to," "introduction to"
Consideration Stage — "best," "top," "vs," "alternatives," "comparison"
Decision Stage — "pricing," "reviews," "demo," "trial," "buy"
Implementation Stage — "templates," "examples," "tutorial," "how to use," "setup"
Step 5: Prioritize Content Ideas
Score each idea on four factors:
| Factor | Weight | What to evaluate |
|---|---|---|
| Customer Impact | 40% | How frequently did this topic come up in research? How emotionally charged? |
| Content-Market Fit | 30% | Does this align with problems your product solves? Can you offer unique insights? |
| Search Potential | 20% | Monthly search volume? How competitive? Long-tail opportunities? |
| Resource Requirements | 10% | Do you have expertise? What additional research is needed? |
Step 6: Source Content Ideas
Mine these sources for ideas:
Keyword data: If provided (from Ahrefs, SEMrush, GSC), analyze for topic clusters, buyer stage, intent, quick wins, and content gaps.
Call transcripts: Extract questions, pain points, objections, language patterns, competitor mentions.
Forum research:
- Reddit:
site:reddit.com [topic]— top posts, questions, frustrations - Quora:
site:quora.com [topic]— most-followed questions - Indie Hackers, Hacker News, Product Hunt, industry Slack/Discord
Competitor content: Use web search site:competitor.com/blog to find:
- Top-performing posts, topics covered repeatedly
- Gaps they haven't covered
- Content structure (pillars, categories, formats)
- Topics you can cover better, angles they're missing
Step 7: Build the Content Plan
Assemble the final strategy.
Output Format
# Content Strategy
**Date:** [current date]
**Company:** [company name]
**Goal:** [primary content goal]
**Audience:** [ICP description]
---
## Content Pillars
### Pillar 1: [Name]
**Rationale:** [why this pillar]
**Connection to product:** [how it ties to what you sell]
Subtopic clusters:
- [Cluster A] — [3-5 topic ideas]
- [Cluster B] — [3-5 topic ideas]
- [Cluster C] — [3-5 topic ideas]
### Pillar 2: [Name]
[Same structure]
### Pillar 3: [Name]
[Same structure]
---
## Priority Topics
| # | Topic/Title | Type | Buyer Stage | Keyword | Priority Score | Why |
|---|-------------|------|-------------|---------|---------------|-----|
| 1 | [title] | [searchable/shareable/both] | [awareness/consideration/decision/implementation] | [keyword] | [X/10] | [customer research backing] |
---
## Topic Cluster Map
[Visual or structured representation of how content interconnects]
---
## Content Calendar (First Month)
| Week | Topic | Type | Format | Buyer Stage | Notes |
|------|-------|------|--------|-------------|-------|
| 1 | | | | | |
| 2 | | | | | |
| 3 | | | | | |
| 4 | | | | | |
---
## Content Gaps vs. Competitors
| Gap | Competitor | Opportunity | Priority |
|-----|-----------|-------------|----------|
| [topic/format they have that you don't] | [who] | [what to do] | [high/med/low] |
---
## Recommended Next Steps
1. [Most important action]
2. [Second action]
3. [Third action]Rules
- Every piece of content must be searchable, shareable, or both. Prioritize search — search traffic is the foundation.
- Specificity beats breadth. "Project management for designers" is better than "project management tips."
- Content pillars should be broad enough for many subtopics but specific enough to match your product.
- Don't plan more content than you can produce. A realistic calendar beats an ambitious one that dies in week 3.
- Prioritize customer impact over search volume. Content that directly addresses known customer pain points converts better than high-volume generic topics.
- If no customer research exists, recommend gathering it before committing to a full content plan. Even 5 customer interviews dramatically improve content-market fit.