# content-strategy

> A Claude Code skill that plans content programs around topic clusters and editorial pillars — searchable, shareable, or both — instead of one-off blog posts.

**Use case**: Plan content that compounds, not one-offs

**Canonical URL**: https://agentcookbooks.com/skills/content-strategy/

**Topics**: claude-code, skills, marketing, content

**Trigger phrases**: "content strategy", "what should I write about", "topic clusters", "editorial calendar", "blog strategy"

**Source**: [Corey Haines](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/tree/main/skills/content-strategy)

**License**: MIT

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## What it does

`content-strategy` is a Claude Code skill from Corey Haines's [marketing-skills repo](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills). It turns Claude into a content strategist who plans around two distinct value modes — searchable (SEO-led, traffic-compounding) and shareable (perspective-led, distribution-dependent) — and refuses to lump them together. The skill activates when you mention "content strategy", "what should I write about", "topic clusters", or "editorial calendar".

The output of a session is a content plan: topic pillars, cluster maps showing pillar-to-cluster relationships, an editorial calendar with format mix (long-form, listicle, comparison, original research), and a distribution plan tied to each piece.

## When to use it

Reach for it when:

- You're publishing one-off posts and traffic isn't compounding
- You want to know which topics to own vs. ignore
- You have an inherited content backlog and need to know what to keep, refresh, or kill

When *not* to reach for it:

- You need a single piece written — that's `copywriting`, not strategy
- You haven't defined an ICP yet; strategy without an audience is wishlist

## Install

The skill is distributed via Corey Haines's [marketing-skills repo](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills). Install via the repo's recommended path — copy the [`content-strategy` SKILL.md](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/tree/main/skills/content-strategy) into your project's `.claude/skills/content-strategy/` directory, or use the repo's plugin install if you've set it up.

Once installed, the skill activates on the trigger phrases above. The first time it runs, it will check for `.agents/product-marketing-context.md` (or `.claude/product-marketing-context.md`) — populating that file with your product context first dramatically improves output quality across all of Haines's marketing skills.

## What a session looks like

A typical session has three phases:

1. **Pillar selection.** What 3–5 topics are you willing to be the most-cited source on? The skill pushes back on ten pillars (you'll cover none deeply) and on one pillar (no surface area for SEO).
2. **Cluster mapping.** For each pillar, the cluster pages — definitions, comparisons, how-to, listicles — that link back. The shape is hub-and-spoke, not a flat blog feed.
3. **Calendar + distribution.** Format mix per month, audit of existing content (keep / refresh / kill), and a distribution plan because shareable content without distribution is just sad SEO.

The discipline that makes it work: the searchable-vs-shareable split. Most content programs fail because they try to optimize one piece for both modes; the skill assigns each piece to exactly one mode and judges it on the right metric.

## Receipts

Honest reporting on what `content-strategy` produces and where it has limits:

**Where it works well:**
- The pillar/cluster structure converts a vague backlog into a publishing system with internal-link logic baked in
- The audit (keep/refresh/kill) is often where the biggest traffic wins live — most teams skip it
- Format-mix recommendations stop the all-listicles trap

**Where it backfires:**
- Without keyword data the cluster suggestions can be aspirational; pair with `seo-audit` for grounding
- It assumes you can ship — strategy is cheap, execution is the wall

**Pattern that works:** trigger on a quarter boundary. The output is a quarter-shaped plan, and trying to use it as a 12-month plan loses fidelity fast.

## Source and attribution

Originally written by [Corey Haines](https://corey.co). The canonical SKILL.md and any supporting files live in the [`content-strategy` folder](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/tree/main/skills/content-strategy) of his [marketing-skills repository](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills).

License: MIT. You can install, adapt, and redistribute the skill, with attribution preserved.

This page documents the skill from a practitioner's perspective. For the formal spec and any updates, defer to the source repo.