Using Briefs + Drafts to Accelerate Content Creation

In today’s fast-paced world, content creation has become a core part of any business or personal brand. Whether you're writing blog posts, social media updates, or marketing materials, it’s essential to produce high-quality content quickly and efficiently. One of the best ways to speed up your content creation process without sacrificing quality is by using briefs and drafts.

In this post, we’ll explore how using briefs and drafts can streamline your content creation process, making it easier to produce engaging content consistently.

Before we dive in, let’s break down what briefs and drafts are:

• Briefs are short, concise documents that provide an outline for your content. They typically include the main idea, goals, target audience, tone, and any other important details that help shape the content. Think of a brief as the roadmap to your content—it tells you where you need to go but doesn't provide every detail about how to get there.
• Drafts, on the other hand, are rough versions of the content. These are where you start putting your ideas on paper, and they may not be polished yet. A draft is a work in progress, and it's meant to be refined over time.

The power of using briefs and drafts together is that they allow you to break the content creation process into manageable steps. Let’s look at how each element contributes to the overall process.

1. Setting Clear Goals with Briefs

A brief sets clear goals for the content from the very start. When you sit down to write, it’s easy to get lost in the details or wander off-topic. A content brief helps you stay focused by defining your objectives. For instance, if you're writing a blog post, the brief might include:

• The purpose of the post (inform, persuade, entertain)
• The target audience (beginner marketers, tech enthusiasts, etc.)
• The main topic and key points to cover
• A call-to-action (CTA) or desired outcome for the reader

With these details laid out in a brief, you have a clear direction to follow, which makes the actual writing process much smoother and faster. You won’t have to pause midway to figure out what to say next or whether you’re on track.

2. Organizing Ideas with Drafts

Once the brief is ready, the next step is to create a draft. A draft is an opportunity to get all your ideas out of your head and onto the page, without worrying too much about perfection. The beauty of drafts is that they encourage free-flowing creativity. You don't need to worry about structure, grammar, or style just yet. The goal is to get the content down first.

Having a draft allows you to:

• Flesh out your ideas: You might have a general sense of what you want to say, but a draft helps you build upon those thoughts.
• Experiment with structure: You can try different ways to organize your content without committing to one structure. This flexibility allows you to find the best flow for your writing.
• Find your voice: The draft stage is where you discover your tone and style. It's a space to experiment and refine your writing.

Drafting can be done quickly without worrying too much about the finer details, which speeds up the overall content creation process.

3. Refining with Feedback

Once your draft is complete, it's time to refine it. This is where feedback comes in. Whether you’re working with a team or reviewing your work alone, getting feedback on your draft helps improve the quality of your content. This could be feedback on:

• Clarity: Is the content easy to understand? Does it make sense to your target audience?
• Tone: Is the tone appropriate for your audience? Does it align with your brand's voice?
• Structure: Does the content flow logically from one section to the next? Are there areas that need rearranging?

With the feedback, you can revise your draft, making sure it meets the goals set out in the brief.

4. Editing and Finalizing the Content

The last step is editing. After refining your draft with feedback, you’ll need to clean up any spelling or grammatical errors, format the content for readability, and ensure it’s aligned with your brand’s guidelines. At this point, your content will be polished and ready for publication.

Using briefs and drafts together accelerates the content creation process by allowing you to:

• Eliminate unnecessary work: Briefs help you stay focused on the key points, reducing the risk of going off-topic or wasting time on irrelevant ideas. With a draft, you don’t waste time making things perfect from the beginning.
• Foster creativity: Drafts encourage you to get your ideas down quickly. You can always revise later, but getting your initial thoughts on paper first lets you focus on creativity instead of perfection.
• Simplify revisions: Having a brief and a draft to refer to makes revisions easier. You can focus on improving specific sections based on feedback and align everything with the original goals.

1. Create a Simple Template for Briefs

You don’t need to overcomplicate the brief process. A simple template will help you stay on track. Here’s an example:

• Title/Topic: What is the content about?
• Goal: What do you want the reader to do or feel after reading?
• Target Audience: Who are you writing for?
• Key Points: What are the main ideas or sections?
• Tone: How should the content feel (formal, casual, inspirational, etc.)?
• Call to Action: What action do you want the reader to take?

2. Start with an Outline for Drafts

Rather than writing a draft from scratch, start with a basic outline. This can be as simple as bullet points for the introduction, main sections, and conclusion. The outline provides a structure for your draft, ensuring you stay on track while still allowing room for creativity.

3. Write Without Editing

When creating a draft, avoid the temptation to edit as you go. The goal is to get your ideas out quickly. You can always refine and polish later.

4. Set Deadlines for Drafts

Set a time limit for drafting to ensure you don’t get stuck in perfection mode. Whether it’s 30 minutes or a couple of hours, give yourself a deadline to complete the draft and move on to the next stage.

Briefs and drafts are incredibly powerful tools that can dramatically speed up the content creation process while ensuring you stay focused on your goals.

By setting clear objectives with briefs and using drafts to flesh out your ideas without worrying about perfection, you can create high-quality content more efficiently. This approach helps maintain creativity, save time, and improve the overall quality of your work.

So next time you sit down to create content, try using a brief to set the stage, followed by a draft to get your ideas flowing. With this combination, you’ll be able to create content faster and with greater clarity—allowing you to focus on what really matters: delivering value to your audience.