Content Brief Template, With a Filled Example

• A content brief is a one or two page document that tells a writer what to make, for whom, by when and from what evidence.
• The template has 25 fields in four parts. Eight of them are enough when you are both the researcher and the writer.
• Two groups of fields are Kanso's additions: information gain (why the piece should exist) and sources (what each claim rests on).
• The filled example is a real brief for this page, built from the research behind it. Where the research had no answer, the field says so.

What is a content brief?

HubSpot's guide calls it a guide or blueprint for creating content, and says it should answer top-level questions about the content, its format and who talks to whom. The details change with the kind of content and who the brief is for.

HubSpot separates a content brief from a creative brief. A creative brief outlines a whole campaign, with broader messaging and deliverables from several contributors, while a content brief covers one specific piece.

The case for writing one is practical. HubSpot says briefs save more time than they take to write, and that a clear one cuts the revisions and rewrites an editor has to request.

What does a content brief template need to include?

At minimum it needs a point person, a way to reach them, a description of the assignment with its audience and word count, links to the supporting materials, and deliverables with deadlines. That is the list of essentials in HubSpot's guide, as of 20 October 2026.

HubSpot adds optional extras: approved messaging, KPIs, funnel stage, links to similar content to use as a model, links to the competition and links to audience personas. Its assignment description is the longest part, and it covers purpose, keywords, experts and sourcing, required headings, formatting, sharing, filing, naming and what happens after the work is handed in.

Two details are easy to copy. HubSpot calls the time and time zone in a due date essential, and it suggests the whole brief can be a one-page document with a two-column table, the elements on the left and the entries on the right.

Which fields do the top pages list, and which do they leave out?

Of the pages read for this article, none lists information gain, evidence limits or a planned source log, though HubSpot comes closest by asking the writer for the sources used. The table shows the match field by field.

The method is simple. A field counts as listed when the extracted text of the page names it. The Notion category page was left out of the table because its extracted text covers project-management templates and names no brief fields.

Two limits apply. The Zoom page extracted to 28 words, so its column shows what its short description says, not what its templates contain. And the search results also listed pages from Pinterest, Jasper, Asana, Canva, ContentHarmony and Reforge, which were not read, so this table does not speak for them.

The content brief template: 25 fields in four parts

The template has 25 fields in four parts, and each is a prompt to answer in a line or two. Copy the first two columns of each table into one document, keep the order and replace each prompt with your entry.

assignment → search and reader → information gain and sources → structure, links and delivery

The third column names where each field comes from. Fields credited to HubSpot appear in its guide, with the wording rewritten here, and fields marked as Kanso's additions are not in the pages read.

Part 1: the assignment

Part 1 holds the logistics, and it has five fields. A writer should never have to ask who owns the piece or when it is due.

Part 2: search and reader intent

Part 2 fixes what the piece is for in search terms, and it has five fields. It is where the keyword, the questions and the state of the results are written down with a date.

Part 3: information gain and sources

Part 3 is the part most briefs lack, and it has seven fields. It decides why the piece should exist and what every claim in it may rest on.

Part 4: structure, links and delivery

Part 4 turns the decisions into a shape the writer can follow, and it has eight fields. It ends with who edits the work next.

How do you complete the information gain fields?

You complete them by reading what already ranks before you decide what to write, in five steps. Information gain here means what your piece adds beyond the pages a reader has already seen. The weekly growth checklist explains where the term comes from and links the Google material behind it.

1. Open the results for the primary keyword and record the format and length of the first results, with the date.
2. List the headings and facts that at least two pages share. That is the ground everyone covers, and the piece should cover it briefly.
3. List the secondary questions that no page answers. Those are the piece's opening.
4. If that list is empty, choose one original element that has to carry the page: a table of sourced figures under stated criteria, a worked example, a decision framework or a process.
5. Write the reason to exist as one sentence. If the sentence could describe a generic list of tips on any competitor's blog, rewrite the piece around the element or drop it.

The filled example below shows the empty-list case. For this page, every secondary topic was touched by at least one page read, so the original element had to carry the piece.

How do you complete the source and evidence fields?

You complete them by deciding, before the draft, which sources the writer may use and what each one can support. HubSpot asks the writer to supply links to the sources used, which lets an editor do light fact-checking afterwards. Planning the sources first moves that check to the start.

Kanso's content standards rank sources by kind. A primary document comes first, then original data or a named study that states its method, then reputable trade reporting, and last a competitor's or practitioner's article, which is used only as a pointer or as an attributed opinion. That ranking is Kanso's practice, not a published standard.

• Source log. One row per source with its link, the date you read it and the exact claim it supports. A claim with no row is not written.
• Evidence limits. Name what the writer must not claim, such as results, tests, quotes or customers that nobody supplied.
• Facts that expire. Mark each figure, price or policy that can change, and write it as “as of [month, year], per [source]”.
• Derived numbers. If the writer calculates a figure, the brief asks for the inputs and the arithmetic to be shown.

HubSpot also notes that firsthand experience matters, and says the brief should state it when the writer is expected to interview experts. The experts field covers that, and writing “none” there is a legitimate entry that tells the writer not to imply any.

What does a filled-in content brief look like?

A filled-in brief reads like the table below, which is the brief for this page. Every entry comes from the research package or the strategy brief behind it, and where those had no answer the entry says so.

The example is deliberately honest about its gaps. The owner, the due date, the success measure and the first-hand material are all marked as not supplied, because a brief that guesses them would hide the gap from the person who must fill it.

The source log for the same brief looks like this. Each row gives the page, the date it was read, the claim it supports and how much weight the source can bear.

The Notion row shows why the weight column matters. Notion's page argues that spreadsheet templates are static and its own database templates are not, which is a vendor describing its product. The brief records it as a claim to attribute, not a fact to state.

What is an SEO content brief, and which fields are SEO-specific?

An SEO content brief is a content brief with the search fields filled in, not a separate kind of document. In this template those are the primary keyword and intent, the secondary questions, the topics to avoid, the demand evidence, what ranks now, the required headings and the technical extras.

HubSpot's guide supports the core of that list. It asks what the writer needs to know about target keywords, which keywords or topics to avoid so pieces do not compete with each other, and which H2 or H3 headings keyword research suggests. It also says its own assignments often include the monthly search volume, required calls to action and the SEO and conversion strategy, and that putting these in a table makes them easy to parse.

The template adds the dated look at the results and the demand field. The demand field matters because a brief can run without a volume figure: for this page the keyword data returned none, and the brief records that instead of estimating one. Check Search Console for the real numbers when the page is yours; the striking-distance workflow shows how to read them without rewriting pages that do not need it.

Does every article need a brief, or is it double work?

Not every article needs the full brief, and a writer who also does the research can keep eight fields and drop the rest. The research for this page does not measure how many teams brief every piece, so this is a judgment and is labelled as one.

HubSpot makes the same point from the other side. It suggests two templates, one for in-house writers and one for freelancers, because freelancers may not need KPIs and in-house writers who upload their own work do not need a deliverables folder. It also says to ask your writers what they find most helpful and to avoid overloading them.

A short brief still earns its place. It forces the reason to exist and the source log onto paper before the draft grows around a weak idea, and that is the cheapest moment to find the idea is weak.

Word, Google Docs or a database: where should the brief live?

It should live wherever your writers already work, in a single canonical copy. HubSpot says to build the template in your word processor of choice and not to assume that everyone uses Google Workspace or Word, so the brief should state the file type it expects back.

The search results for the Word and Google Docs versions of the query, as of 20 October 2026, include template libraries and tool vendors such as Template.net, Smartsheet, Workona and ClickUp. The keyword research supplied no search volumes, so this page does not rank the formats against each other.

A database changes the trade-off. Notion's page claims its templates create databases you can relate, filter and view as a board, timeline or calendar, unlike static spreadsheet templates. That is Notion's description of its own product, but it points at a real question: whether you need to filter briefs by status or owner. If you do not, a document is enough.

Whichever you choose, keep the source log in the same file as the brief. A log kept in another tool is the one nobody opens when the draft arrives.

Can the same template work for video, social or creator briefs?

Yes for the evidence and logistics fields, and partly for the format fields. HubSpot says its examples are for written content but the same elements work for a brief for video, podcasts or anything else you produce, and it offers a video brief template among its three downloads, as of 20 October 2026.

Zoom's gallery lists briefs by name for social media posts, influencers, press releases, marketing projects and campaign requests. The extracted text does not show their fields, so this page cannot say how they differ.

The adaptation below is Kanso's suggestion. Replace the word range with a runtime or a post length, add the platform and the asset list, and keep the reason to exist, source log and evidence limits as they are. Those three matter more when a script or caption goes out under a person's face or a brand's name.

Where does the brief sit in the content workflow?

The brief sits between research and drafting, and every later stage reads it. One community thread asks what the whole path should look like, from research to brief, writing, editing, search optimisation, publishing and performance tracking. The table maps that path onto the brief.

Tools can speed up the stages, but the checks stay human. Kanso's Writer Agent turns Search Console opportunities into long-form article drafts in your brand voice, for you to review and publish yourself. Whatever drafts the piece, the edit stage is the place to hold it to the reason to exist, the source log and the evidence limits, and the limits of AI in marketing explains why a human review step pays for itself. Plans are on the pricing page.

Above the brief sits the strategy it serves. If you do not have one written down, the one-page marketing strategy is the shorter document to write first.

What is documented and what is Kanso's analysis?

The facts below come from the named pages as of 20 October 2026, and the judgments are Kanso's. Keep them apart when you decide how far to rely on each.

• Documented: HubSpot describes a content brief as a short guide of one or two pages, lists its essentials and extras, details the assignment description and separates content briefs from creative briefs.
• Documented: HubSpot suggests building a one-page template with a two-column table, putting the time zone in due dates and keeping two versions for in-house and freelance writers.
• Documented: Zoom's gallery says its brief templates clarify goals, audience, tone, channels and key messaging, and names several brief types.
• Documented: Notion says its database templates can be related, filtered and viewed in several layouts, unlike static spreadsheet templates. This is a vendor claim.

• Analysis: the 25-field template, its four parts and the choice of which fields to add.
• Analysis: the coverage table's judgment that information gain, evidence limits and a planned source log are missing from the text read.
• Analysis: the eight-field solo set, the workflow table and the video adaptation.
• Analysis: the filled-in example is built from the research package, and its entries are decisions, not results.

What this page lacks is a brief that a team used and a measured result from using it. No test, survey, customer or Kanso data was supplied for this topic, so the page claims none, and it does not show that these fields improve a draft.

Content brief template: frequently asked questions

Sources

• How to Write a Content Brief [Template + Examples], HubSpot Blog
• Content Brief Templates, Zoom Gallery
• Best Content Brief Templates from Notion, Notion Marketplace