// Use when planning a multi-article content strategy from a research corpus, creating domain maps for content topology, building production plans for pillar and cluster articles, or tracking cross-article production.
Use when organizing raw material into a coherent structure, defining the throughline of a piece, building an outline, or making strategic decisions about what to include and cut from generated content.
Use when writing prose from a structured outline, building draft content section by section, or constructing clear sentences and paragraphs from an approved blueprint.
Use when editing a draft, checking for AI voice patterns, reviewing prose quality, running readability analysis, auditing consistency, or validating SEO requirements on finished content.
Use when brainstorming ideas, generating raw material, or starting the creative phase of a writing project. Invoke for topic exploration, idea generation, angle discovery, or producing abundant raw content before organizing.
Use when creating nonlinear outlines, generating mindmap diagrams for article structure, mapping a knowledge domain visually, or bridging raw ideas into structured options for the user to select from.
Use when capturing research artifacts to a vault or knowledge base, formatting source citations, saving synthesized connections from a writing project, or enriching a knowledge base with produced content.
| name | content-strategist |
| description | Use when planning a multi-article content strategy from a research corpus, creating domain maps for content topology, building production plans for pillar and cluster articles, or tracking cross-article production. |
| license | MIT |
| metadata | {"author":"https://github.com/dmitry","version":"1.0.0","domain":"strategy","triggers":"content strategy, content plan, pillar article, cluster articles, domain mapping, content topology, multi-article planning, editorial calendar, content production","role":"specialist","scope":"design","output-format":"document","related-skills":"research-intake, whirlybird, knowledge-harvester"} |
The Content Strategist plans content topology from a research corpus. This skill maps an entire knowledge domain, identifies what types of content to produce, determines production order, and tracks cross-article progress.
Lead: Human decides content topology -- which articles to write, what format, what priority. Support: AI generates the domain whirlybird, proposes content types, builds the production plan, and tracks status.
This skill uses the domain-level whirlybird (not the article-level whirlybird) to map the full knowledge domain before carving it into individual pieces. The domain whirlybird shows everything you could write about. The content topology shows what you will write, in what order, and how the pieces connect.
The Content Strategist sits between research-intake (which builds the knowledge map) and the Flowers cycle (Madman through Judge) which produces each individual article. It is the planning layer that ensures multiple articles form a coherent body of work rather than disconnected pieces.
Receive knowledge map from research-intake -- Read the complete knowledge map including topics, claims, connections, gaps, and sources. Confirm with the human that the knowledge map is final and ready for content planning. If no knowledge map exists, route back to research-intake first.
Generate domain-level whirlybird -- Build a Mermaid mindmap of the entire knowledge domain using the whirlybird skill's domain template. The center is the knowledge domain itself. Branches are major theme areas. Feathers are potential article topics or specific angles. Present 2-3 whirlybird options with different centers of gravity to the human. See references/content-topology.md for how the whirlybird maps to content types.
Present domain whirlybird and determine content topology -- Use AskUserQuestion to present the selected whirlybird and ask the human to identify the content topology: one pillar covering the whole domain, a pillar with cluster articles, multiple standalone pieces, or request more time to study the map. The human's choice determines the content plan structure. See references/content-topology.md for topology options and derivation rules.
Build content plan -- Based on the human's topology decision, build a detailed content plan with production order, target lengths, keyword assignments (if SEO applies), and cross-linking strategy. Each planned article maps back to specific branches or feathers of the domain whirlybird. See references/content-plan-template.md for the full plan format.
Track production status -- As articles enter the Flowers cycle (Madman through Judge), update the production status tracker. Each article's current phase, status, and any cross-linking opportunities are recorded. See references/production-tracking.md for the tracking format and efficiency patterns.
| Topic | Reference | Load When |
|---|---|---|
| Content types, topology decisions, whirlybird-to-content derivation | references/content-topology.md | Mapping whirlybird branches to article types |
| Full content plan format with all sections | references/content-plan-template.md | Building the production plan |
| Production status tracking and cross-article efficiencies | references/production-tracking.md | Tracking articles through the Flowers cycle |
MUST DO:
MUST NOT DO:
The primary output is the Content Plan. See references/content-plan-template.md for the full template.
A minimal content plan contains:
Production Status Tracker Format
Track each article's lifecycle through the Flowers cycle:
| Column | Values |
|---|---|
| Phase | Not started, Research-intake, Madman, Whirlybird, Architect, Carpenter, Judge, Quality-rubric, Complete |
| Status | Queued, In progress, In review, Blocked, Complete, Rework |
Update the tracker at every phase transition, when a quality-rubric evaluation sends an article back for rework, and when cross-links become insertable because both linked articles are complete.
Topology Decision Prompt Format
Present topology options using a structured prompt that covers: a single pillar article, a pillar with cluster articles (one per branch), multiple standalone articles, or a request for more study time. Include estimated word counts for each option. Do not proceed until the human selects.
Common hybrid topologies to accept: pillar with only selected clusters (some branches stay in the pillar), two pillars splitting a large domain, or clusters without a pillar (a linking page replaces the traditional hub).
A feather qualifies for a standalone targeted piece when it addresses a specific question, targets a distinct long-tail keyword, or covers a sub-topic the cluster article cannot adequately address in a single section.
The three content types derive directly from the domain whirlybird structure. A pillar article maps to the whirlybird center plus all branches -- a comprehensive overview of 2,500-5,000 words that links to all clusters. Cluster articles map to individual branches -- focused deep-dives of 1,500-3,000 words that link back to the pillar. Targeted pieces map to specific feathers -- tight content of 800-1,500 words answering a specific question or targeting a long-tail keyword.
The pillar-first production strategy provides three downstream efficiencies: it establishes the domain framework and terminology that cluster articles adopt, it creates anchor points for cross-linking so clusters do not require retroactive link insertion, and it surfaces gaps early so weak branches get additional research before their cluster article begins.
Cross-article efficiency comes from the shared research corpus. The research-intake phase happens once for the domain, not once per article. When any article enters its Madman phase, it begins with the relevant subset of the knowledge map rather than starting research from scratch.
When a cluster article enters its Flowers cycle, its article-level whirlybird is scoped to the branch it covers in the domain whirlybird. The branch label becomes the article whirlybird center. The feathers from that branch become the article whirlybird branches. Additional feathers may emerge from the article's Madman phase. This scoping prevents article-level whirlybirds from sprawling into adjacent branches that belong to other cluster articles.
The content initiative is complete when all planned articles show "Complete" status, all cross-links are inserted in both directions, the pillar links to every cluster, every cluster links back to the pillar, and targeted pieces link to their parent clusters.