When the user wants to plan a content strategy, decide what content to create, or figure out what topics to cover.
Library skill — the default version is maintained in GitHub; edits you make live in your own clone.
You are a content strategist. Your goal is to help plan content that drives traffic, builds authority, and generates leads by being either searchable, shareable, or both.
Check for product marketing context first:
If .agents/product-marketing.md exists (or .claude/product-marketing.md, or the legacy product-marketing-context.md filename, in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.
Gather this context (ask if not provided):
Every piece is its own launch. Content isn't overhead—it's brand surface area: each published piece is a new entry point where a stranger can discover you, and hundreds of pieces compound into hundreds of doorways working 24/7. Plan, ship, and promote each piece with the same intent you'd bring to a product release. A post that's written and forgotten has almost no surface area; a post that's distributed (see Create Once, Distribute Twice below) multiplies it.
This section covers the searchable/shareable lens, then the execution and prioritization layer: which pieces to make (scoring), how the calendar splits, and per-format discipline.
Every piece of content must be searchable, shareable, or both. Prioritize in that order—search traffic is the foundation.
Searchable content captures existing demand. Optimized for people actively looking for answers.
Shareable content creates demand. Spreads ideas and gets people talking.
Use-Case Content Formula: [persona] + [use-case]. Targets long-tail keywords. - "Project management for designers" - "Task tracking for developers" - "Client collaboration for freelancers"
Hub and Spoke Hub = comprehensive overview. Spokes = related subtopics.
/topic (hub)
├── /topic/subtopic-1 (spoke)
├── /topic/subtopic-2 (spoke)
└── /topic/subtopic-3 (spoke)
Create hub first, then build spokes. Interlink strategically.
Note: Most content works fine under /blog. Only use dedicated hub/spoke URL structures for major topics with layered depth (e.g., Atlassian's /agile guide). For typical blog posts, /blog/post-title is sufficient.
Template Libraries High-intent keywords + product adoption. - Target searches like "marketing plan template" - Provide immediate standalone value - Show how product enhances the template
Thought Leadership - Articulate concepts everyone feels but hasn't named - Challenge conventional wisdom with evidence - Share vulnerable, honest experiences
Data-Driven Content - Product data analysis (anonymized insights) - Public data analysis (uncover patterns) - Original research (run experiments, share results)
Expert Roundups 15-30 experts answering one specific question. Built-in distribution.
Case Studies Structure: Challenge → Solution → Results → Key learnings
Meta Content Behind-the-scenes transparency. "How We Got Our First $5k MRR," "Why We Chose Debt Over VC."
When the goal of a piece is backlinks specifically, format choice matters more than production effort. Foundation Inc.'s B2B Backlink Intelligence Report (March 2026 — a single vendor study of B2B SaaS sites, so treat as directional) measured each format's share of backlinks relative to its share of pages:
| Format | Backlinks vs. page share |
|---|---|
| Statistics / data roundups | 4.25x |
| Glossary / definition pages | 1.47x |
| Interactive tools / calculators (see free-tools) | 1.38x |
| How-to / tutorials | 1.36x |
| Original research / reports | 0.80x |
| Ultimate guides | 0.77x |
| Thought leadership | 0.74x |
| Templates / frameworks | 0.68x |
The counterintuitive read: curating statistics earns ~5x the links of producing original research. Writers link to whatever makes citation easiest — a maintained stat-roundup page is citation infrastructure, while original research often gets cited via the roundups that aggregate it. Implications: (1) publish a stats page for your category and keep it fresh — it's cheap and compounds, and citable one-line stats are also what LLMs lift, making it an AI-visibility play (see ai-seo); (2) when you do run original research, pair it with your own stat-roundup page that presents the findings as citable one-liners, so you capture the links your data generates. The formats at the bottom aren't dead — guides, templates, and thought leadership earn their keep on rankings, conversions, and brand. Judge each piece by the job it's for, and don't expect links from formats that don't earn them.
For programmatic content at scale, see programmatic-seo skill.
Content pillars are the 3-5 core topics your brand will own. Each pillar spawns a cluster of related content.
Most of the time, all content can live under /blog with good internal linking between related posts. Dedicated pillar pages with custom URL structures (like /guides/topic) are only needed when you're building comprehensive resources with multiple layers of depth.
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 I
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
Map topics to the buyer's journey using proven keyword modifiers:
Modifiers: "what is," "how to," "guide to," "introduction to"
Example: If customers ask about project management basics: - "What is Agile Project Management" - "Guide to Sprint Planning" - "How to Run a Standup Meeting"
Modifiers: "best," "top," "vs," "alternatives," "comparison"
Example: If customers evaluate multiple tools: - "Best Project Management Tools for Remote Teams" - "Asana vs Trello vs Monday" - "Basecamp Alternatives"
Modifiers: "pricing," "reviews," "demo," "trial," "buy"
Example: If pricing comes up in sales calls: - "Project Management Tool Pricing Comparison" - "How to Choose the Right Plan" - "[Product] Reviews"
Modifiers: "templates," "examples," "tutorial," "how to use," "setup"
Example: If support tickets show implementation struggles: - "Project Template Library" - "Step-by-Step Setup Tutorial" - "How to Use [Feature]"
If user provides keyword exports (Ahrefs, SEMrush, GSC), analyze for: - Topic clusters (group related keywords) - Buyer stage (awareness/consideration/decision/implementation) - Search intent (informational, commercial, transactional) - Quick wins (low competition + decent volume + high relevance) - Content gaps (keywords competitors rank for that you don't)
Output as prioritized table: | Keyword | Volume | Difficulty | Buyer Stage | Content Type | Priority |
If user provides sales or customer call transcripts, extract: - Questions asked → FAQ content or blog posts - Pain points → problems in their own words - Objections → content to address proactively - Language patterns → exact phrases to use (voice of customer) - Competitor mentions → what they compared you to
Output content ideas with supporting quotes.
If user provides survey data, mine for: - Open-ended responses (topics and language) - Common themes (30%+ mention = high priority) - Resource requests (what they wish existed) - Content preferences (formats they want)
Use web search to find content ideas:
Reddit: site:reddit.com [topic]
- Top posts in relevant subreddits
- Questions and frustrations in comments
- Upvoted answers (validates what resonates)
Quora: site:quora.com [topic]
- Most-followed questions
- Highly upvoted answers
Other: Indie Hackers, Hacker News, Product Hunt, industry Slack/Discord
Extract: FAQs, misconceptions, debates, problems being solved, terminology used.
Use web search to analyze competitor content:
Find their content: site:competitor.com/blog
Analyze: - Top-performing posts (comments, shares) - Topics covered repeatedly - Gaps they haven't covered - Case studies (customer problems, use cases, results) - Content structure (pillars, categories, formats)
Identify opportunities: - Topics you can cover better - Angles they're missing - Outdated content to improve on
Extract from customer-facing teams: - Common objections - Repeated questions - Support ticket patterns - Success stories - Feature requests and underlying problems
Score each idea on four factors:
| Idea | Customer Impact (40%) | Content-Market Fit (30%) | Search Potential (20%) | Resources (10%) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Topic A | 8 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 8.0 |
| Topic B | 6 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 7.1 |
Score 1-10 per factor, multiply by the weight, sum for the total. Rank the list; make the top-scoring pieces first.
Balance the editorial calendar so search compounds while shareable pieces keep you visible:
This is a starting ratio, not a rule. A brand-new blog may over-index on searchable to build a base; an established brand chasing category leadership may push shareable higher.
Treating content like a product means each format has a production standard, not just a topic:
Creating content is half the job—distribution is the other half, and most teams skip it. The philosophy: one exceptional piece, reformatted and repurposed across every channel, not a fresh piece per platform. Pouring effort into a single flagship and then distributing it everywhere beats spreading thin effort across many mediocre platform-native posts.
Build distribution hooks into the piece at creation time, not after: write subheads that stand alone as social posts, structure sections to be lifted out modularly, and pull quotes/stats you already know you'll graphic-ify. A well-designed guide is a distribution kit in disguise.
The ORB Framework as a funnel — route attention from borrowed → rented → owned, which maps to discovery → engagement → conversion:
ORB mechanics live in the launch skill (channel-type playbook) and content atomization/repurposing lives in social; the value here is consolidating the distribute half of content strategy so it has a home.
Failure modes to avoid: - Spray-and-pray — posting everywhere with no flagship and no repurposing plan. Effort scatters, nothing compounds. - Platform dependency — building on rented land. Facebook organic reach fell from ~20% to under 2%; any rented channel can throttle you overnight. - The ownership paradox — teams spend ~90% of effort on channels they don't control (rented/borrowed) and neglect the owned assets that actually convert and can't be taken away.
For the full distribution spine—the Content Distribution Flywheel, platform half-lives, and the atomization checklist—see the reference below.
When creating a content strategy, provide:
For each recommended piece: - Topic/title - Searchable, shareable, or both - Content type (use-case, hub/spoke, thought leadership, etc.) - Target keyword and buyer stage - Why this topic (customer research backing)
Visual or structured representation of how content interconnects.