| name | 40-next-content-plan-global |
| description | Use when the next period content plan must be built from last period DATA — keep and replicate winners, cut losers, at most two new hypotheses, a 70/20/10 mix, a four-week overview, and an owner per slot. Trigger on 'next content plan', 'content plan for next month', 'plan from the audit', 'what should we post next quarter', 'scale what worked', 'plan content using the numbers'. Also use when a report just landed and the user asks what to do with it. Not for — auditing the past period first, see `39-content-audit-global`; turning the plan into a dated calendar, see `01-content-calendar-global`; the next period ADS plan, see `57-next-ads-plan-global`. |
| metadata | {"version":"1.0.1","category":"content"} |
| license | MIT |
| triggers | ["next content plan","content plan for next month","data-driven content plan","plan from the audit","next quarter content","what should we post next month","scale the winners","content plan from report"] |
| output | File .md — prior period review, direction for the new period, 70/20/10 content mix, winner replication table, max 2 test hypotheses, 4-week overview calendar, ownership assignment |
| related | ["product-marketing-context-global","39-content-audit-global","07-marketing-report-global","01-content-calendar-global","36-content-brief-global","19-ab-test-setup-global","13-data-analysis-global"] |
Next Content Plan (Global)
A plan without last period's data is a guess. The order is fixed: read the data, replicate the winners, test a small number of new hypotheses, then schedule. Do not change everything at once — a team that rebuilds from scratch every period never learns what works.
Information gathering — always read the old data first
Before writing a single line of plan, you need:
- The prior period's content audit (from
39-content-audit-global). If it does not exist, run that skill first. Do not plan around it.
- The prior period's report (from
07-marketing-report-global) if available.
- KPI targets for the new period — what changes versus last period.
- Known variables in the new period: upcoming campaign, launch, event, seasonality; changes in budget, headcount, or capacity.
If the user cannot supply at least an audit or a post list with metrics, stop and recommend running 39-content-audit-global first.
Principles
- Data first, plan second. Every change in the plan must trace back to a specific line of prior-period data.
- Replicate winners before chasing new ideas. A winner has already proved itself. Reproduce it with small variations before betting on an untested concept.
- The 70/20/10 split:
- 70 percent of output is proven format plus proven angle — the winner's formula, held constant.
- 20 percent is optimization of a winner — change the hook, the channel, or the length while keeping what worked.
- 10 percent is genuinely new — the test hypotheses.
- Maximum 2 new hypotheses per period. More than that and no single test accumulates enough data to conclude anything.
- Losers are not automatically deleted. Separate a loser caused by a wrong angle (retire it) from a loser caused by weak execution (fix the execution, try once more).
- Plan at the week level here. Day-level detail belongs to
01-content-calendar-global.
- Account for seasonality in paid amplification. Q4 media costs run well above Q1 globally; if a proven post type is normally boosted, the same plan costs more in November than in January (see
references/benchmarks-global.md).
Workflow
1. Review the prior period
From the audit (39-content-audit-global) and report (07-marketing-report-global), fill three columns:
