Content Project Guidelines Example

---
title: SustainTech Content Strategy Project Guidelines
version: 1.0.0
created: 2025-04-10
purpose: Provide guidance for working with the SustainTech content creation project
---

# SustainTech Content Strategy Project Guidelines

## Project Purpose and Scope

This project encompasses all content creation for SustainTech, a B2B SaaS company providing sustainability reporting and carbon accounting solutions. The content strategy aims to establish thought leadership, drive lead generation, and support sales enablement through multi-channel content addressing the needs of sustainability professionals, finance teams, and C-suite executives.

Key objectives:
- Create a cohesive content ecosystem across blog, social media, newsletter, and sales materials
- Position SustainTech as a trusted authority in sustainability reporting and carbon accounting
- Drive organic traffic through SEO-optimized content focused on key industry topics
- Support demand generation with educational content and case studies
- Enable sales teams with relevant, conversion-focused materials

Scope includes:
- Blog posts (weekly publication)
- Newsletter content (bi-weekly distribution)
- Social media content (LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram)
- Lead magnets (whitepapers, guides, templates)
- Case studies (customer success stories)
- Sales enablement materials (one-pagers, presentations)

Scope excludes:
- Product documentation (handled by technical writing team)
- UI/UX copy (handled by product team)
- PR materials (handled by PR agency)
- Paid advertising copy (handled by marketing team)

## Brand Guidelines and Voice

### Brand Personality

SustainTech's brand personality is defined by these key attributes:

1. **Authoritative**: We demonstrate deep expertise and knowledge in sustainability reporting and carbon accounting
2. **Innovative**: We embrace forward-thinking approaches and emerging methodologies
3. **Practical**: We focus on actionable insights and real-world implementation
4. **Collaborative**: We believe in partnership and working together toward sustainability goals
5. **Optimistic**: We maintain a positive outlook on the potential for meaningful impact

### Tone of Voice

Content should demonstrate these voice characteristics:

- **Clear and Direct**: Avoid jargon when possible; when industry terms are necessary, explain them
- **Confident but Humble**: Share expertise without being condescending or preachy
- **Solution-Oriented**: Focus on possibilities and answers rather than just highlighting problems
- **Data-Driven**: Support claims with research, statistics, and evidence
- **Conversational**: Use a natural, human tone that engages the reader (use "you" and "we")

### Style Guidelines

1. **Grammar and Mechanics**:
   - Use American English spelling and punctuation
   - Follow AP Style with exceptions noted in style-guide.md
   - Use active voice whenever possible
   - Write in present tense for timeless content

2. **Formatting**:
   - Keep paragraphs short (3-4 sentences maximum)
   - Use bullet points and numbered lists for easy scanning
   - Include subheadings every 300-400 words
   - Bold important points or key takeaways

3. **Language Conventions**:
   - Avoid buzzwords and clichés
   - Use industry terminology consistently (see terminology-glossary.md)
   - Spell out acronyms on first use with acronym in parentheses
   - Use inclusive language (see inclusivity-guidelines.md)

## Content Types and Standards

### Blog Posts

1. **Structure**:
   - Compelling headline (include keyword, benefit, specificity)
   - Engaging introduction (problem/promise/preview)
   - Well-organized body with clear subheadings
   - Actionable conclusion with next steps
   - Call-to-action relevant to the topic

2. **SEO Requirements**:
   - Target one primary keyword and 2-3 secondary keywords
   - Include keyword in headline, first paragraph, and at least one subheading
   - Meta description between 150-160 characters
   - Alt text for all images
   - Internal links to at least 3 relevant pages/posts
   - External links to at least 2 authoritative sources

3. **Length and Format**:
   - Standard posts: 1,200-1,500 words
   - Comprehensive guides: 2,000-3,000 words
   - Quick updates: 600-800 words
   - Format as markdown files in blog/ directory

### Social Media Content

1. **Platform-Specific Guidelines**:
   - LinkedIn: Professional tone, industry insights, longer-form content
   - Twitter: Concise updates, news commentary, engagement with industry conversations
   - Instagram: Visual storytelling, behind-the-scenes, infographics

2. **Content Mix (Rule of Thirds)**:
   - 1/3 Educational content and thought leadership
   - 1/3 Brand and product-related content
   - 1/3 Engagement and community-building content

3. **Hashtag Strategy**:
   - Use 3-5 relevant hashtags per post
   - Include at least one branded hashtag (#SustainTech)
   - Research trending hashtags in sustainability weekly

### Lead Magnets

1. **Types and Purpose**:
   - Reports: In-depth research on industry trends
   - Templates: Practical tools for sustainability reporting
   - Checklists: Step-by-step guides for compliance
   - Calculators: Interactive tools for carbon accounting

2. **Format Standards**:
   - Clean, branded design following design-system.md
   - Gated content (requires form submission)
   - Available in PDF format
   - Mobile-responsive design

## Workflow and Approvals

### Content Creation Process

1. **Planning**:
   - Topics selected from content-calendar.md
   - Keyword research conducted using SEMrush
   - Content brief created using brief-template.md
   - Assignment to appropriate writer

2. **Creation**:
   - First draft created in Google Docs
   - Supporting visuals identified or created
   - Sources cited according to citation-guide.md
   - SEO requirements checked against checklist

3. **Review and Approval**:
   - Content editor reviews for clarity, style, and engagement
   - Subject matter expert reviews for technical accuracy
   - Legal review for compliance claims and regulatory statements
   - Final approval from content manager

4. **Publication and Distribution**:
   - Scheduled according to content-calendar.md
   - Published on appropriate platform
   - Distributed through owned channels
   - Shared with sales team for customer outreach

### Access Patterns

1. **Read From**:
   - brand/ - Brand guidelines and assets
   - topics/ - Topic clusters and content ideas
   - research/ - Industry research and data points
   - templates/ - Content templates and formats

2. **Write To**:
   - content/drafts/ - Work-in-progress content
   - content/review/ - Content under review
   - content/approved/ - Final approved content
   - content/published/ - Live published content

3. **Never Modify**:
   - brand/style-guide.md - Official style guide
   - brand/logos/ - Official logo files
   - content/published/ - Published versions (create new versions instead)

## Tools and Resources

### Content Creation Tools

1. **Writing and Editing**:
   - Google Docs for collaborative writing and editing
   - Grammarly for grammar and style checking
   - Hemingway Editor for readability analysis
   - Ubersuggest for keyword research

2. **Design and Visual**:
   - Canva for simple graphics (templates in canva-templates.md)
   - Adobe Creative Suite for complex design needs
   - Unsplash and Pexels for stock photography
   - Infogram for data visualization

3. **Publication and Management**:
   - WordPress for blog publishing
   - HubSpot for email newsletters
   - Buffer for social media scheduling
   - Google Analytics for performance tracking

### Research Resources

1. **Industry Research**:
   - Access to research databases in research/databases.md
   - Subscription to industry reports in research/subscriptions.md
   - Company data and insights in data/company-research/

2. **Subject Matter Experts**:
   - Internal expert directory in people/experts.md
   - Expert interview process in processes/expert-interviews.md

## Measurement and Success

### KPIs by Content Type

1. **Blog Content**:
   - Organic traffic
   - Time on page
   - Social shares
   - CTA click-through rate
   - Keyword rankings

2. **Social Media**:
   - Engagement rate
   - Follower growth
   - Click-through rate
   - Share of voice

3. **Lead Magnets**:
   - Download rate
   - Form completion rate
   - Sales qualified leads generated
   - Attribution to pipeline

### Reporting

1. **Cadence**:
   - Weekly: Quick performance metrics
   - Monthly: Comprehensive performance report
   - Quarterly: Strategic analysis and recommendations

2. **Process**:
   - Data collection from all platforms
   - Analysis against benchmarks
   - Insights and recommendations
   - Distribution to stakeholders

## Compliance and Legal Requirements

1. **Claims and Statements**:
   - All claims must be substantiated with sources
   - Environmental benefits must be specific and verifiable
   - Avoid absolute terms like "always" and "never"

2. **Privacy Compliance**:
   - Include appropriate disclaimers on lead generation forms
   - Follow privacy-policy.md for data collection
   - Obtain permission before featuring customers in content

3. **Regulatory Considerations**:
   - Review content against regulatory-checklist.md
   - Consult legal team for ESG reporting claims
   - Include appropriate disclaimers for forward-looking statements