The editor's desk
A content strategy isfour working documents
Not a mission statement — a decision rule, a cluster map, a modifier table and a scoring sheet. Here are all four, filled in with a real example: this site.
Document 01
Every piece is searchable, shareable, or it doesn't get written
Searchable
Captures demand that already exists. Compounds for years.
- Targets one specific query and answers it completely
- Title and headings mirror how people actually search
- Keyword in title, first paragraph and URL
- Leaves no follow-up question unanswered
- Structured so AI assistants can cite it — clear claims, real data, consistent naming
Shareable
Creates demand that didn't exist. Spikes, then feeds the brand.
- Leads with a novel insight or original data
- Challenges conventional wisdom — with receipts
- Names a thing everyone feels but nobody has named
- Makes the sharer look smart for sharing it
- Example from this site: half your opens are robots
Priority order: searchable first — it compounds without distribution. The best pieces are both.
Document 02
Pillars and clusters — here's one of ours, live
A pillar is a topic you intend to own; a cluster is the posts that own it, linked to each other and to a hub. This is this site's deliverability cluster — every node is a real page you can visit.
Product-led
What problems does your product solve? Each is a pillar candidate.
Audience-led
What does your ideal customer need to learn to succeed?
Search-led
Which topics in your space have search volume you can win?
Competitor-led
What do competitors rank for — and what did they skip?
Document 03
The modifier table — one keyword, four buyers
The words around a keyword tell you where the searcher stands. Write for the stage, not just the term.
Awareness
They're learning the problem exists.
"what is DMARC", "how to warm up an email domain"
Consideration
They're comparing ways to solve it.
"best cold email software", "smartlead alternatives"
Decision
They're choosing whom to pay.
"cold email software pricing", "[product] reviews"
Implementation
They bought — help them win.
"cold email templates", "SPF record setup tutorial"
Document 04
Where ideas come from, and how to pick between them
Keyword data
Group keywords into clusters, tag each by buyer stage, and hunt for low-competition terms with real volume. Quick wins live in the long tail.
export → cluster → stage → prioritySales call transcripts
Every question a prospect asks before buying is a post. Their objections are your FAQ. Their exact phrasing is your headline — voice of customer beats copywriting.
questions → posts · objections → FAQsSurveys
Mine open-ended answers for themes. Anything 30%+ of respondents mention is a priority topic; anything they wish existed is a lead magnet.
30%+ mention = write itForums
Reddit and Quora are keyword research that talks back: real language, real frustration, upvotes as validation. Steal the vocabulary, answer the question better.
site:reddit.com cold email deliverabilityCompetitor content
Map what competitors publish, what performs for them, and — more valuable — what they haven't covered or covered badly. The gap is your lane.
site:competitor.com/blogSupport tickets
Support tickets are content briefs written by customers. Recurring problems become tutorials; recurring confusion becomes better docs — which also rank.
recurring ticket = missing articleThe scoring worksheet
Score 1–10 per factor, multiply by the weight, write the total next to the idea. Argue about scores, not opinions.
40%
Customer impact
How often did this come up in research? How painful is it?
30%
Content-market fit
Does it lead naturally to what your product solves?
20%
Search potential
Volume, competition, and long-tail room around it.
10%
Resources
Can you write it with authority this month?
Strategy questions
- Should I write searchable or shareable content first?
- Searchable first. Search traffic compounds and captures demand that already exists; shareable content creates demand but depends on distribution you may not have yet. Once search brings a baseline, shareable pieces multiply it.
- How many content pillars should a SaaS have?
- Three to five. Pillars are the topics you intend to own — each one should map to a problem your product solves, matter to your ideal customer, and be broad enough to spawn ten-plus articles. More than five means you own none of them.
- Do I need a special URL structure for topic clusters?
- Most content works fine under /blog with strong internal linking between related posts. A dedicated hub URL only earns its keep for a major topic with layered depth — a full guide with chapters, not a category of posts.
- How do I decide what to write next?
- Score every idea on customer impact (40%), content-market fit (30%), search potential (20%) and resource cost (10%). The weighting forces the right argument: what customers repeatedly struggle with beats what's merely easy to rank for.
Keep reading the playbook shelf
All resources →- PlaybookThe marketing idea index139 proven growth ideas, indexed by category, stage and budget.
- PlaybookThe marketing psychology field guide48 mental models behind why people buy — each with the move it suggests.
- PlaybookThe product launch playbookOwned, rented and borrowed channels across the five phases of a launch that compounds.
- PlaybookThe ad creative playbookAngles, platform specs and the iteration loop for ad copy that earns its budget.
- PlaybookAdaptive communicationRead how a prospect communicates and answer in their language — the skill behind replies.
Content earns the audience. Outreach starts the conversation.
When a post brings the right company to your site, Norbelys is how you reach out — verified list, warmed mailbox, honest reply numbers.
Start the conversation