---
name: build-content-brief
description: A brief that tells a writer exactly what to produce: the question being answered, the evidence, and the bar for quality.
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: The Revenue AI Report
  version: 1.0.0
  last-reviewed: 2026-09-04
  source: https://www.therevenueaireport.com/skills/build-content-brief
---

# Build a Content Brief

A brief that tells a writer exactly what to produce: the question being answered, the evidence, and the bar for quality.

## When to use this skill

- Commissioning any article, guide, or report.
- When content volume is up and pipeline from content is flat.

## Inputs to collect

- The buyer question the piece must answer
- The audience and where they will read it
- Any internal data, expert, or point of view you can contribute

## Process

1. Start from a real buyer question, not a keyword.
2. List the evidence you can bring. If the answer is none, stop.
3. Generate the brief and cut anything a competitor's first page already says.
4. Add the quality bar: what would make someone cite or forward this.
5. Review the draft against the brief before editing prose.

## Decision rules

- No original evidence, data, or expert means no piece. Publish less.
- If the answer fits in one paragraph, write one paragraph. Do not pad to length.
- If the draft fails the brief, fix the draft, not the brief.

## Output requirements

- Brief: question, answer, sections with required evidence, citation-worthy bar, kill criteria.

## Quality checks

- The piece answers the question in the first 100 words.
- Each section names its evidence.
- Kill criteria are written before writing starts.

## Limitations

- The AI cannot supply your evidence. A brief without evidence produces competent filler.
- Buyers and answer engines both discount generic content. Volume is not the goal.

## Example input

Question: how do I set kill criteria for an AI SDR pilot? Audience: VPs of Sales at mid-market SaaS. We have: three customer post-mortems and a kill-criteria framework.

## Example output

Headline: The five numbers that decide whether your AI SDR lives or dies. Answer first: kill it if cost per qualified meeting, meeting-to-opportunity rate, and complaint rate miss threshold by day 60. Sections: the five numbers with post-mortem evidence, setting thresholds before signing, the exit conversation. Kill criteria for the piece: if it reads like a vendor blog, it does not ship.

## Review checklist

- Real buyer question?
- Evidence named per section?
- Kill criteria written down?

## Works with

- Playbook: Make conversation data do work (L3) (sales, L3) https://www.therevenueaireport.com/playbooks/conversation-data-to-work-l3
- Playbook: Lifecycle content engine with a brand gate (L3) (marketing, L3) https://www.therevenueaireport.com/playbooks/lifecycle-content-engine-brand-gate-l3
- Playbook: AI outlines from an approved brief (L1) (marketing, L1) https://www.therevenueaireport.com/playbooks/marketing-brief-to-outline-l1
- Tool: Writer (Marketing & ABM) https://www.therevenueaireport.com/tools/writer
- Tool: Scalenut (Content & Copywriting) https://www.therevenueaireport.com/tools/scalenut
- Tool: Conductor (Content & Copywriting) https://www.therevenueaireport.com/tools/conductor
- Tool: Frase.io (Content & Copywriting) https://www.therevenueaireport.com/tools/frase-io
- Tool: Airtable (Marketing & ABM) https://www.therevenueaireport.com/tools/airtable

## Rules of conduct

- Write for a Director, VP, or operator. Short sentences. Explain uncommon terms.
- Separate facts from assumptions. Never hide uncertainty.
- Do not invent numbers, benchmarks, quotes, or customer names.
- Do not send messages, change CRM records, or publish anything unless the user explicitly asks.
- Flag when a decision needs human review.

## Evidence

This skill is grounded in The Revenue AI Report research:
- https://www.therevenueaireport.com/research/ai-slop-backlash
- Related analysis: https://www.therevenueaireport.com/blog/ai-sdr-kill-criteria-before-you-sign




Source and updates: https://www.therevenueaireport.com/skills/build-content-brief