blog-post

Blog Post

• IS: long-form editorial articles meant to be read top to bottom: listicles, editorial tutorials, how-to articles, narrative essays, thought leadership.
• IS NOT: short marketing or product copy (use copywriting), slide decks (use presentation-creator), or technical documentation tutorials, how-to docs, reference docs, and API pages (use docs-writing).

Workflow

Blog post progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Lock format and angle
- [ ] Step 2: Read every source completely
- [ ] Step 3: Extract insights and outline
- [ ] Step 4: Draft from the matching template
- [ ] Step 5: On-page SEO and polish
- [ ] Step 6: Run the quality gate

Step 1: Lock format and angle

Pick the format first; it dictates the Step 4 template. If ambiguous, ask one question.

Format	Best for	Spine
Listicle	Surprising takeaways from sources	Numbered insights, each with analysis
Tutorial / how-to	Teaching a process	Problem, steps, result
Narrative	Personal experience or journey	Scene, tension, resolution
Thought leadership	Industry opinion or commentary	Thesis, evidence, implications

Lock the angle in one sentence: what does the reader believe or do differently after reading? Without one, the post is just a summary, the top failure mode.

Step 2: Read every source completely

Read every file, URL, or pasted text end to end before outlining; skimming misses the buried lede. Accept messy input (scattered notes, bullet dumps, half-formed observations): mess in, structure out.

No sources, only a topic? Research first, then build a research packet before outlining:

Source	URL/path	Published/updated	Credibility reason	Claims used	Conflicts/caveats	Current-sensitive?

Step 3: Extract insights and outline

• Pull the most surprising, counter-intuitive, or high-impact takeaways; rank by reader value and lead with the strongest.
• Mark 2 to 4 quotes worth blockquoting (only the strongest); discard the rest.
• Find the curiosity gap or concrete problem that anchors the intro.
• Check for a narrative thread worth tracing: a shift from one understanding to another.

Outline one purpose line per section before drafting; cut any section whose only purpose is "more detail."

Step 4: Draft from the matching template

Load only the matching format block from references/format-templates.md, not all four. Follow its structure, then write through.

Step 5: On-page SEO and polish

• Title: under 60 chars, keyword near front, sentence case, no trailing period.
• Meta description: 150 to 160 chars that sell the click, not a dry summary.
• Keyword: in the title, first paragraph, and 2 to 4 times across the body. Do not stuff; unnatural repetition hurts more than it helps.
• Headers: descriptive H2/H3 that stand alone in a table of contents.
• Internal links: suggest 2 to 3 if the user has related content; never invent URLs.

Step 6: Run the quality gate

Walk this list, then fill the Quality Report table below, which owns the numeric checks (title, meta, quote count, sources, links, facts). Fix every failing item before declaring done.

- [ ] Hook lands in the first 1-2 sentences
- [ ] Headline is specific and the body delivers on its promise
- [ ] Every paragraph is 2-4 sentences
- [ ] Each section adds analysis or insight, not just restated source
- [ ] Conclusion looks forward (question, CTA, or provocation), not a recap
- [ ] Voice is conversational throughout, no academic register
- [ ] Markdown renders: headings nest, blockquotes/bold/code are well-formed

End with a compact quality report:

## Quality Report

| Check | Result | Fix applied |
|---|---|---|
| Title length under 60 | pass/fail | |
| Meta description 150-160 | pass/fail | |
| Source count and credibility | pass/fail | |
| Quote count 2-4 | pass/fail | |
| Internal links invented? | pass/fail | |
| Current-sensitive facts checked | pass/fail/NA | |

Blog-specific voice

These cut against Claude's defaults (neutral, hedged, summary prose):

• Write to one smart friend, not a committee; authenticity beats authority.
• Bold the load-bearing phrase in a dense paragraph; readers skim before committing.
• Show, don't tell: one concrete example with real names and numbers beats three vague claims.
• Admit genuine uncertainty instead of bluffing; readers trust the seams.

Headline patterns

Pick one: number + insight ("7 Things [Source] Reveals About [Topic]"), surprising tension ("Why [Common Belief] Gets [Topic] Wrong"), how-to framing ("How to [Outcome] Without [Common Obstacle]"), or provocative question ("What If [Reframe of the Obvious]?").

Gotchas

• A conclusion that restates the body teaches nothing; close with a forward look, CTA, or provocation.
• Blockquoting every source makes a clip reel; cap at 2 to 4 and paraphrase the rest.
• Drafting from assumptions when sources exist yields confident wrong claims; read every source in Step 2 first.
• Keyword-stuffing reads like spam and risks search penalties; place keywords naturally and stop.
• Paragraphs over four sentences kill mobile scannability; split them.
• Clickbait the body cannot pay off burns trust and raises bounce; promise only what the draft delivers.
• Inventing internal-link URLs ships dead links; suggest only links the user confirms exist.

Skill handoffs

When	Run
Audit finished prose against doc/style rules	docs-writing
Turn the post into a slide deck	presentation-creator
Sharpen hooks, CTAs, or strip AI writing tells	copywriting
Deepen on-page SEO beyond the basics	optimise-seo