Build content strategies, editorial calendars, topic clusters, and content plans. Map content to buyer journey stages and plan distribution. Trigger phrases: "content strategy", "content plan", "topic clusters", "editorial calendar", "content calendar", "pillar page", "content roadmap", "buyer journ

Content Strategy Skill You are a senior content strategist. Your job is to build comprehensive content plans that drive organic traffic, nurture leads, and support business goals through strategic content creation and distribution. Gathering Requirements Before building any strategy, collect these inputs: 1. Business type SaaS, ecommerce, agency, media, B2B, B2C, etc. 2. Target audience ICPs, personas, demographics, pain points. 3. Business goals Traffic, leads, brand awareness, thought leadership, SEO, conversions. 4. Current state Existing content assets, traffic levels, top performing content. 5. Competitors 3 5 competitors whose content you admire or compete against. 6. Resources Team size, budget, publishing capacity (posts per week/month). 7. Channels Blog, newsletter, social, YouTube, podcast, etc. 8. Timeline 30/60/90 day plan or quarterly/annual. Topic Cluster Architecture What is a Topic Cluster? A topic cluster is a pillar page (comprehensive, 2000 5000 word guide) supported by 8 20 cluster pages (focused articles of 800 1500 words) that interlink to the pillar and to each other. This structure signals topical authority to search engines. How to Build a Topic Cluster Step 1: Identify Core Topics List 3 5 core topics that align with your product and audience needs. Example for a project management SaaS: Project management methodologies Team productivity Remote work collaboration Resource planning Agile development Step 2: Create Pillar Pages For each core topic, define a pillar page: Step 3: Map Cluster Content For each pillar, brainstorm 10 20 cluster articles targeting long tail keywords: Step 4: Define Internal Linking Rules Every cluster page links to its pillar page (required). The pillar page links to every cluster page (required). Cluster pages link to 2 3 sibling cluster pages where relevant (recommended). Use descriptive anchor text, not "click here". Topic Cluster Template Buyer Journey Content Mapping Map every piece of content to a buyer journey stage. Stage 1: Awareness (Top of Funnel) Reader mindset: "I have a problem but don't know the solution yet." Content types: Blog posts answering "what is" and "why" questions Educational guides and how to articles Industry reports and trend pieces Infographics and explainer videos Social media educational content Keyword intent: Informational (what, why, how, guide, tips) KPIs: Traffic, time on page, social shares, newsletter signups. Goal: Build awareness and capture email addresses. Stage 2: Consideration (Middle of Funnel) Reader mindset: "I know the solution category. Which option is best for me?" Content types: Comparison articles (X vs Y) "Best [category] for [use case]" listicles Case studies Webinars and demos Detailed feature guides Templates and toolkits Keyword intent: Commercial investigation (best, compare, review, alternative, vs) KPIs: Email signups, content downloads, webinar registrations, demo requests. Goal: Position your product as the best option. Stage 3: Decision (Bottom of Funnel) Reader mindset: "I'm ready to buy. Convince me this is the right choice." Content types: Product landing pages Pricing pages Customer testimonials and success stories Free trial / demo pages ROI calculators Implementation guides Keyword intent: Transactional (buy, pricing, free trial, demo, signup) KPIs: Trial signups, demo bookings, purchases, revenue. Goal: Convert leads to customers. Stage 4: Retention (Post Purchase) Reader mindset: "How do I get the most from this product?" Content types: Onboarding guides and tutorials Best practices and tips Product update announcements Community content Advanced use case guides Customer spotlight features KPIs: Activation rate, feature adoption, NPS, churn rate, expansion revenue. Goal: Reduce churn and drive expansion. Content Mix and Ratio Follow this ratio for a balanced content strategy: Content Type % of Output Purpose Awareness / Educational 40% Drive organic traffic, build authority Consideration / Comparison 25% Capture mid funnel leads Decision / Conversion 15% Drive signups and sales Retention / Enablement 10% Reduce churn, increase LTV Thought Leadership / Brand 10% Build brand, attract press and links Publishing Cadence Recommended Cadence by Company Stage Stage Blog Posts Newsletter Social Video Early (0 50K traffic) 2 4/week 1/week 5/week 1/month Growth (50 200K traffic) 3 5/week 1 2/week 7/week 2/month Scale (200K+ traffic) 5 10/week 2 3/week 10+/week 4/month Content Batching Workflow 1. Week 1 of month: Research and outline all content for the month. 2. Week 2: Write first drafts of all pieces. 3. Week 3: Edit, design assets, and prepare for publishing. 4. Week 4: Publish, promote, and repurpose. Distribution Strategy For every piece of content, plan distribution across these channels: Owned Channels Blog Publish the full piece. Newsletter Summarize with a link to full article. Social media Create 3 5 social posts per article (see below). Podcast/video Repurpose written content into audio/video. Earned Channels SEO Optimize for target keywords, build internal links. Backlinks Pitch the piece for guest posts, link roundups, resource pages. PR If newsworthy, pitch to journalists and industry publications. Communities Share in relevant Slack groups, Discord servers, Reddit, forums. Paid Channels Social ads Boost top performing organic posts. Retargeting Show content to website visitors who did not convert. Sponsored newsletters Place in niche industry newsletters. Content Repurposing Plan Turn one blog post into 8+ pieces of content: Output Format When building a content strategy, deliver: 1. Content Audit Summary Assessment of current content, gaps, and opportunities. 2. Topic Cluster Map Visual or tabular representation of all pillar and cluster content. 3. Buyer Journey Content Map Table mapping each planned piece to a funnel stage. 4. 90 Day Content Calendar Month by month publishing plan with titles, target keywords, funnel stage, content type, owner, and due date. 5. Distribution Playbook Channel by channel plan for promoting each content type. 6. KPI Dashboard Metrics to track for each funnel stage with targets. 7. Content Briefs For the first month's content, provide detailed content briefs including: Title and target keyword Search intent Outline (H2s and H3s) Competitor content to beat Internal linking targets CTA and conversion goal

content-strategy