---
title: "Recipe: Generate a content brief"
description: "TL;DR: From a topic and audience, this playbook researches the web, synthesizes the competitive landscape, and produces a structured, ready-to-write content brief — target keywords, key messages, a suggested outline, tone, and word count — then delivers it by email or saves it to Notion. Trigger is manual or a new-brief webhook; output is a content brief."
canonical_url: "https://docs.ballet.dev/articles/recipe-generate-a-content-brief-oatxIlpMYt"
md_url: "https://docs.ballet.dev/articles/recipe-generate-a-content-brief-oatxIlpMYt.md"
---
# Recipe: Generate a content brief

**TL;DR:** From a topic and audience, this playbook researches the web, synthesizes the competitive landscape, and produces a structured, ready-to-write content brief — target keywords, key messages, a suggested outline, tone, and word count — then delivers it by email or saves it to Notion. Trigger is manual or a new-brief webhook; output is a content brief.

## Who this is for

Content and SEO teams who want a consistent, research-backed brief before anyone starts writing.

## What you'll need

* **Connectors:** Web research (built-in), email (built-in) or Notion for delivery.
* **Secrets:** Notion token if saving to Notion (stored in Secrets — never hardcoded).
* **Trigger:** Manual run, or a webhook when a new brief request is created.

## How to build it with Ask Ballet

1. Open the Console on Home.
2. Paste the prompt below; set your audience, goal, and delivery target.
3. Review the proposed plan and confirm.
4. Connect Notion if you want briefs saved there (email works out of the box).

```text
Build a playbook that takes a topic, audience, and content goal as input. Search the
web and synthesize a short competitive summary of how others cover the topic. Then
produce a content brief that includes: target keywords, the angle and key messages,
a suggested H2 outline, recommended word count, and tone guidance for our audience.
Email the finished brief to the requester with the subject "Content brief: <topic>".
```

## What the playbook does

1. **Manual/webhook trigger** — accepts the topic, audience, and goal.
2. **Code step (research)** — runs web search plus a synthesized answer to map the competitive landscape.
3. **Code step (draft brief)** — an agent turns the research into a structured brief.
4. **Code/HTTP step (deliver)** — emails the brief or creates a Notion page.

## Variations and tips

* Pair this with [Content and marketing operations](/articles/recipe-content-and-marketing-operations-FHMcpIJmBl): this recipe produces the brief, that one drafts, reviews, and publishes from it.
* Add a keyword-volume or SERP source if you have an SEO API connector.
* Keep a human review gate before the brief is used for high-stakes pieces.

## Related articles

* [Content and marketing operations](/articles/recipe-content-and-marketing-operations-FHMcpIJmBl)
* [Competitor monitoring digest](/articles/recipe-competitor-monitoring-digest-ZQv9Oa3xEf)
* [What is a connector?](/articles/what-is-a-connector-and-how-do-i-browse-the-registry-6PxIdsLTWe)
* [How do I build a playbook with the Console?](/articles/how-do-i-build-a-playbook-with-the-console-ask-ballet-oHptRP9mI4)