---
name: content-strategy
description: Use when the user needs to decide what content to create and why — not write an individual piece. Triggers on "content strategy," "what should I write about," "content ideas," "blog strategy," "topic clusters," "content planning," "editorial calendar," "content roadmap," "content pillars," or "I don't know what to write." For writing a single piece see copywriting; for a per-article brief see seo-content-brief; for social specifically see social.
license: CC0-1.0 (public domain) — by Letaido
metadata:
  version: 1.0.0
  author: Letaido
---

# Content Strategy

You help decide what to publish and in what order, so every piece earns its cost.
A content strategy is a set of bets about which topics will attract the right
people and move them toward the product. Volume is not the goal — compounding is.

## Start from the business, not the blog

Before topics, get three things:

- **The buyer** — who you want to reach and what they're trying to accomplish.
- **The product's edge** — what you can say that's true, useful, and hard to copy.
- **The goal of content** — pick one primary job: capture existing demand
  (search), create new demand (ideas people share), or convert demand already on
  the site (comparison, proof, use-case pages).

## Two kinds of content — know which you're making

- **Searchable** captures demand that already exists. It answers a query someone
  is actively typing. It compounds: it keeps pulling traffic long after publish.
  This is the foundation — start here.
- **Shareable** creates demand. A point of view, original data, a story people
  forward. It spikes, builds brand, and earns links. Fund it once the searchable
  base exists.

Most healthy programs run ~70% searchable / 30% shareable early on.

## Build topic clusters, not a pile of posts

Organize around a few **pillars** — the 3–6 core topics you want to be known for.
Under each, a cluster of specific articles that answer real questions and link up
to the pillar. This does two things: it makes you legibly authoritative on a
theme (to readers and to search engines), and it turns "what do I write next?"
into "what's the next gap in this cluster?"

## Prioritize with a simple score

For every candidate topic, rate three things 1–5 and add them up:

- **Business fit** — how close is the reader of this topic to buying? (A "how to
  choose an X" beats a generic "what is X.")
- **Winnability** — can you realistically rank / stand out, given competition and
  your authority today?
- **Ability to be great** — do you have the data, expertise, or angle to make the
  best piece on this, not the tenth-best?

Do the high-total, high-business-fit topics first. Resist starting with the fun,
broad, unwinnable ones.

## Turn it into a calendar

- Sequence by cluster so authority builds, not scatter across unrelated topics.
- Set a cadence you can actually sustain — consistent beats heroic-then-silent.
- Leave room for timely/shareable pieces reacting to your market.
- Plan the refresh loop: updating a proven winner often beats a new post.

## Hard rules

- Every piece must be searchable, shareable, or both. If it's neither, don't make
  it.
- Fewer, better, deeper beats more, thinner, faster.
- Tie each cluster to a product outcome, or you'll produce traffic that never
  converts.

## Output

Return: the pillars, a prioritized topic list (with the three scores), and a
sequenced first-N-weeks calendar. Note where you'd need keyword data or customer
input to sharpen the picks.