Plan an evergreen article about: $ARGUMENTS

$ARGUMENTS should be a topic, concept, or keyword. If none given, ask what article to plan.

What This Skill Produces

A complete article brief that can be handed directly to article-author. It covers:

Pillar assignment and article tier
Primary keyword + semantic variants
Full section outline with H2/H3 structure
Target word count
Source references to pull (which materials, which sections)
Internal link targets (pathways, courses, related articles)
CTA target
Meta title + description
URL slug
Competitor landscape notes

Step 1 — Assign to a Pillar

Every article lives in exactly one content pillar. Assign based on the primary concept being explored.

Read the pillar definitions from {{CONFIG_PATH}} or {{BRAND_CONFIG}} to determine which pillars exist. Each pillar should have:

A core question it answers
Flagship concepts associated with it

Then assign an article tier:

Tier	Type	Word Count	Competition
Tier 1 — Pillar Page	Broadest term in the pillar	3,500-4,500	High
Tier 2 — Cluster Article	Specific facet within the pillar	2,200-3,200	Medium
Tier 3 — Long-tail	Narrow, high-intent question	1,500-2,200	Low

Rule: Each pillar should have exactly one Tier 1 pillar page. Cluster articles link up to it. Long-tail articles link up to cluster articles.

Step 2 — Keyword Strategy

Primary keyword: The exact phrase your target audience would type into Google or ask an AI.

Should be 2-5 words
Should reflect real search intent (informational or definitional)

Semantic variants (3-5): Related phrases that should appear naturally in the article body.

Synonyms, related frameworks, question variants

GEO-priority terms: Phrases AI systems are likely to be asked. Include these in the Definition Anchor section specifically.

Usually the most literal "what is X" form
Include {{AUTHOR_NAME}} + the concept for entity disambiguation in AI citation

Step 3 — Section Outline

Generate a complete H2/H3 outline. H2s are the major sections; H3s are sub-facets within them. Headlines should mirror real search queries where possible.

Mandatory sections (all articles):

[Opening/Hero] -- No heading. Question, reframe, or tension. Primary keyword in first 100 words.
What Is [Term]? -- H2 -- GEO-optimized definition anchor
Why This Matters / The Problem -- H2 -- stakes, diagnosis, historical parallel
[Core Teaching -- 2-3 H2s] -- Main framework content, H3s within each
Common Misunderstandings About [Term] -- H2 -- 2-3 H3s (high GEO value)
[Foundational Evidence] -- H2 -- supporting evidence woven into argument (can merge with core teaching for Tier 3)
What This Means in Practice -- H2 -- application, earned after depth
[How This Connects] -- H2 -- optional for cluster; required for pillar pages
[CTA section] -- No heading or soft H2 -- invitation to go deeper

For the Core Teaching H2s: Write them as questions or strong declarative statements that would appear in "People Also Ask" results. Each H2 is a distinct facet of the concept, not just a continuation.

FAQ section (optional but high GEO value): 3-5 Q&A pairs at the end. These are what AI systems pull verbatim.

Step 4 — Source References

Based on the pillar and topic, identify which source materials to pull from. Reference {{CONTENT_CORPUS}} to determine available materials.

List the 3-6 specific sections most likely to contain what's needed. The article-corpus skill (if available) will retrieve the actual passages.

Step 5 — Internal Link Targets

Check for existing content to link to. Search:

Existing page routes in the site structure
Pathways: look for pathway pages related to this pillar
Courses: look for course slugs in the same pillar
Related articles: other articles in the same cluster

Minimum internal links per article:

Tier 1 (Pillar Page): 5-8 internal links (to cluster articles, pathways, courses)
Tier 2 (Cluster): 3-5 internal links (up to pillar page, sideways to related clusters, forward to pathway/course)
Tier 3 (Long-tail): 3-4 internal links (up to cluster, forward to pathway)

Step 6 — CTA Target

Every article has exactly one primary CTA. Priority order:

If a pathway exists for this pillar/topic -- link to the pathway (lower friction)
If no pathway but a course exists -- link to the course
If neither -- note that a pathway needs to be created before this article publishes

Step 7 — Meta and URL

URL slug rules:

Short, keyword-anchored, no stop words
Lead with the keyword: /what-is-[term], /[concept-name]
All lowercase, hyphens, no underscores
Max 5 words

Meta title (50-60 chars):

Lead with keyword
End with -- {{AUTHOR_NAME}} or | {{SITE_NAME}}

Meta description (140-160 chars):

Include primary keyword
Contain a question or tension (drives CTR)
Preview the value ("Discover how...", "Learn why...", "Explore...")

Output Format

Return the complete article brief as:

Article Brief: [Working Title]

Pillar: [pillar name] Tier: [1 / 2 / 3] Primary keyword: [exact phrase] Semantic variants: [3-5 phrases] Target word count: [range] URL slug: /[slug] Meta title: [50-60 chars] Meta description: [140-160 chars]

Section Outline

[Opening -- no heading] Reframe or tension: [brief note on the opening approach]

H2: What Is [Term]? Definition anchor -- GEO-optimized, ~[word count] words

H2: [Stakes/Problem heading] [Note on approach -- Diagnosis/Historical Parallel]

H3: [specific sub-point]
H3: [specific sub-point]

H2: [Core Teaching 1] [Note on what this covers]

H3: [sub-facet]
H3: [sub-facet]

H2: [Core Teaching 2] (if needed)

H3: [sub-facet]

H2: Common Misunderstandings About [Term]

H3: [Misunderstanding 1]
H3: [Misunderstanding 2]
H3: [Misunderstanding 3]

H2: [Foundational Evidence or integrated into core]

H2: What This Means in Practice

[CTA section]

FAQ (optional, 3-5 Q&A pairs)

Source References

Materials to pull from (run article-corpus for passages if available):

[Source identifier] -- sections [list]: [reason]
[Source identifier] -- sections [list]: [reason]

Internal Link Targets

[page/pathway/course title] -- [/route] -- link in [section]
[page/pathway/course title] -- [/route] -- link in [section]

CTA target: [pathway or course name] -- [/route]

Notes for Writer

[Any strategic notes: tone considerations, angle differentiation from competitors, specific stories to include, known quotes to feature, warnings about what to avoid]

article-plan

SKILL.mdcursor/article-plan/SKILL.md