Content Briefs That Convert: How to Use Frase and Surfer for Research

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Why Content Briefs Change Everything

Old workflow: dive into writing, research along the way, figure it out.

Result: 6+ hours per article. Missed topics competitors covered. Rankings suffered.

New workflow: 30-45 minutes on a brief before writing. Total time per article dropped to 3 hours. Ranking performance jumped because I stopped missing obvious angles.

Briefs are force multipliers.

What Makes a Great Content Brief?

A content brief answers these questions before you start writing:

1. Who is this for? (Search intent, audience context)
2. What must it cover? (Required topics, questions to answer)
3. How should it be structured? (Outline, heading suggestions)
4. What makes it unique? (Your angle, original contribution)
5. How do we measure success? (Target keywords, content score)

Method 1: Content Briefs with Frase

Frase is built around content briefs. It's the tool's core strength.

Step 1: Enter Your Target Keyword

In Frase's document creator, enter your primary keyword. Frase analyzes the top 20 SERP results.

What Frase does automatically:

• Pulls content from top-ranking pages
• Extracts common headings and structure
• Identifies questions from "People Also Ask"
• Compiles statistics and data points
• Lists key topics and terms

Step 2: Build the Questions Section

This is Frase's killer feature. The tool extracts questions from PAA boxes, top-ranking content, and related searches.

For each piece of content, identify 5-10 questions that must be answered. These become H2 headings or FAQ content.

Step 3: Generate the Outline

Frase can auto-generate outlines based on competitor analysis. Use this as a starting point, then:

1. Remove generic sections
2. Add your unique angle
3. Reorder for logical flow
4. Note where to include original examples

Step 4: Identify Your Unique Angle

This is the human part AI can't do. Every brief should answer:

• What can I add that competitors don't have?
• What personal experience is relevant?
• What data or examples can I include?

Method 2: Content Briefs with Surfer SEO

Surfer approaches briefs differently—more optimization-focused, less research-heavy.

Step 1: Create a New Document

In Surfer's Content Editor, enter your target keyword. Surfer analyzes SERPs and generates guidelines.

Step 2: Review the Content Editor Guidelines

Surfer's right panel shows:

• Recommended word count
• Number of headings
• Number of paragraphs
• Number of images
• Required keywords with usage counts

Step 3: Use the Outline Builder

Surfer's outline builder suggests H2 headings from top content and key points under each heading.

Frase vs. Surfer: Which Should You Use?

Use Frase When:

• You need deep research before writing
• Question-based content is important
• You're writing comprehensive guides
• Research is your bottleneck

Use Surfer When:

• You already know the topic well
• Speed is the priority
• Real-time optimization matters more
• You're optimizing existing content

Use Both When:

• Budget allows ($108/month combined)
• You want research depth AND optimization scoring

My Combined Workflow

For important content, I use both:

Research phase (Frase):

1. Generate content brief
2. Extract questions to answer
3. Identify unique angle
4. Create detailed outline

Writing phase (Surfer):

1. Create new document with target keyword
2. Follow Frase outline in Surfer's editor
3. Optimize in real-time
4. Hit 80+ content score

Content Brief Best Practices

1. Spend 30 minutes minimum — Rush briefs lead to mediocre content
2. Always include a unique angle — Without original contribution, you're just rewriting
3. Prioritize questions — Question-based structure matches how people search
4. Don't over-constrain — Leave room for writer creativity
5. Include visual direction — Note where images would add value

Conclusion

Highest-leverage activity in content creation: the brief. 30 minutes upfront saves hours downstream and improves rankings.

Frase for research. Surfer for optimization. Match tool to bottleneck—or stack both.