Free tool
A brief a writer can actually work from
This turns a target query, an audience, an angle, and your key points into a brief a writer can work from without asking questions. It specifies the direct answer that must open the piece, an H2 skeleton with word budgets, the sources to gather, the internal links to place, and what to avoid.
Last reviewed 27 August 2026
Result
Sections to write
6
About 220 words each, after the 60 word answer
Sources required
3
Each one primary, named, and dated
Writer brief
CONTENT BRIEF Target query how long does seo take for a startup Audience Technical founders at seed stage with no marketing hire Angle Honest timelines, including the months where nothing visible happens Format Direct answer page Length 1400 words, plus or minus 15 percent 1. DIRECT ANSWER (required, first thing on the page) Answer "how long does seo take for a startup" in 40 to 60 words, before any context. It must stand alone if quoted with nothing around it. No wind-up, no restating the question, no promise to explain later. 2. H2 STRUCTURE (6 sections, about 220 words each) H2 01 What actually happens in months one to three H2 02 Why the first rankings arrive on terms nobody searches H2 03 The difference between a new domain and an established one H2 04 What to measure while you are waiting H2 05 What this depends on H2 06 What to do next 3. SOURCES REQUIRED (3) Acceptable: official documentation, terms of service, regulator filings, published surveys with a stated sample size and date, primary research. Not acceptable: vendor blogs, statistics roundups, undated figures, anything that cites another blog rather than a source. Every figure carries its source and its date inline. 4. INTERNAL LINKS (2) /tools/seo-roi-calculator /channels/seo Each one placed in body text where it answers the next question, never in a list at the end. 5. DO NOT No opening paragraph that restates the question before answering it. No figure without a named primary source and the date it was retrieved. No vendor blog, statistics roundup, or listicle used as a source. No claim about a competitor that their own published material does not support. No subheading that exists only to hold a keyword. No conclusion that summarises what the reader has just read. No hedging where the answer is known. Say it, then say what it depends on. 6. DONE WHEN The direct answer is 40 to 60 words and answers "how long does seo take for a startup". All 6 sections are present and near their word budget. 3 sources are cited inline with dates. All 2 internal links are placed in body text. A reader who stops after the first paragraph still got the answer.
Before you send this to a writer
- Check the target query is one a person would type, not a phrase you would write.
- Check the angle is a claim rather than a topic. A topic produces a summary, a claim produces a piece.
- Name the source for any figure you already expect to appear, so the writer is not left to find one that agrees with you.
- Confirm 6 sections is the right shape. If two of the key points overlap, cut one rather than padding both.
- Decide who reviews the sourcing before it publishes, and put their name on the brief.
This brief specifies structure, sourcing, and failure modes, which is most of what a writer needs. It does not specify the argument. Someone still has to decide what is true before anyone writes a word.
How this works
What the numbers mean.
- 01The direct answer comes first because it is what a search snippet and an AI summary both extract. A piece that warms up for two paragraphs gives either of them nothing to quote, and gives a reader nothing to stay for.
- 02Every key point becomes an H2 with a word budget, so the writer knows where the length is meant to go instead of padding whichever section is easiest to pad.
- 03Sources are specified as a count and a standard rather than left to the writer. Most weak content is weak at the sourcing step, not the writing step, and the standard is cheaper to set than to enforce afterwards.
- 04The avoid list saves the most editing time of anything in the brief. Naming the failure modes up front costs four lines. Fixing them in review costs a round trip.
Assumptions and limits
- This produces structure, not research. Someone still has to find the sources and establish that the angle is true.
- Word budgets are a guide. If a section only needs half its budget, cut the section rather than padding it to hit the number.
- The brief assumes one piece answers one query. If your key points pull in three directions, that is three briefs.
- Nothing here checks whether the query is worth targeting. Search volume and intent are a separate question from how the piece should be built.
Questions about this tool
Why does the brief demand a direct answer in the first paragraph?
Because that paragraph is what gets extracted. Search snippets and AI summaries both pull from the top of the page, and a reader deciding whether to stay makes that decision in the same place. A piece that answers the question in paragraph one loses nothing, because the reader who wants the detail keeps reading anyway.
How many key points should a brief have?
Three to five for most pieces. Fewer than three and the piece is thin, and the writer will pad it. More than five and the sections get too short to say anything, or the piece runs long enough that nobody finishes it. If you have eight, you have more than one piece.
Should the writer follow the H2 structure exactly?
Treat it as a floor rather than a cage. Every specified section should exist, because each one maps to something the reader needs. Adding a section that the material demands is fine. Silently dropping one is not, because it usually means the hard part got skipped.
What makes a source acceptable?
It is primary, it is dated, and you can see how the figure was produced. Official documentation, terms of service, regulator filings, and surveys with a stated sample size all qualify. A blog citing another blog does not, and that chain is where most fabricated statistics in this market come from.
This tool is free and there is nothing to sign up for. If you would rather have the work done than calculate it, that is what Zway does.