Article Create

Article Creator

Overview

The Article Creator transforms content briefs into ready-to-publish articles. It receives a complete brief (including outline), loads company context, selects the appropriate template, drafts each section following E-E-A-T guidelines, and outputs a polished article with embedded CTAs and links.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• You have a complete content brief (from /content-brief)
• The brief includes an article outline (H2/H3 structure)
• You need a full draft ready for quality evaluation
• You're ready to move from strategy to execution

When NOT to Use

Do NOT use this skill when:

• You don't have a brief yet (use /content-brief first)
• You only need an outline or content plan (that's in the brief)
• You want to evaluate existing content (use /content-quality-evaluator)
• The brief is incomplete (missing keyword, outline, or word count target)

What It Does

• Takes a content brief file path as input
• Extracts all brief data (keyword, outline, persona, CTAs, links)
• Loads relevant company context based on content type
• Selects and applies the appropriate article template
• Drafts each section following the outline
• Validates internal links via Google Search Console
• Outputs a ready-to-publish article with actual CTAs and embedded links

Output

1. Article File: Complete markdown with frontmatter ([slug].md)
2. Metadata File: Quality Evaluator metadata ([slug]-metadata.md)

Multi-language Support

Auto-detects language from brief content and writes article in the same language.

MCP Tool Requirements

Required Tools (harness-aware)

In Claude Code, load at workflow start:

ToolSearch: "select:mcp__gsc-mcp__inspect_url_enhanced"

In other harnesses: use an equivalent URL-inspection tool if exposed; otherwise apply the fallback (skip validation, flag links for manual review).

Fallback Strategy

If GSC tools unavailable:

• Notify user: "GSC not available. Skipping link validation."
• Add note to metadata: "Links not verified - manual check recommended"
• Continue workflow

Invocation

Command

/article-create [brief-file-path]

or

/article [brief-file-path]

Examples

/article-create Content-brief-creator/test-briefs/01-informational-brief.md
/article ./briefs/social-media-roi-brief.md

Without Path

If invoked without a brief path, prompt the user:

"Please provide the path to the content brief file."

Workflow (7 Stages)

Stage 1: Brief Ingestion & Validation

Parse content brief and extract all data.

Extract from brief:

Validation:

REQUIRED (fail if missing):

• Target keyword
• Content type/format
• Word count target
• Article outline (H2 sections)

RECOMMENDED (warn if missing, continue):

• Persona
• Information gain opportunities (3+)
• CTA
• Internal links (3+)

LANGUAGE DETECTION:

• Analyze brief content (keywords, descriptions, titles)
• Detect language (en, fr, es, de, etc.)
• Set article language to match

If validation fails, display missing fields and exit.

Stage 2: Company Context Loading (OPTIONNEL — sauté si pas de contexte)

Charge le contexte du CLIENT pour caler la voix/positionnement — seulement s'il existe et est rempli. Sinon, saute cette étape et rédige un article neutre, professionnel, basé sur le brief (sujet, plan, intention). Aucune société n'est codée en dur.

Où chercher : si un slug client est fourni → seo/clients/<slug>/context/. Sinon, pas de contexte.

RÈGLE : ne charge un fichier QUE s'il existe ET est rempli. Un template contenant « À remplir pour ce client » compte comme VIDE → l'ignorer. Si tout est vide/absent, ne charge rien et rédige un article neutre (ton pro, pas de marque, pas de CTA produit inventé, pas de persona fictif). Ne JAMAIS injecter une voix, un produit, un cas client ou un CTA qui ne viendrait pas d'un fichier de contexte réellement rempli. (Historique : ce skill chargeait un KB spécifique à une entreprise — supprimé. Le contenu n'est spécifique que si le client a fourni son contexte.)

Fichiers (si présents & remplis) : brand-voice, vocabulary, guidelines-donts, proof-points, positioning-messages, product-value (si l'article parle de l'offre), linking-clusters, writing-guide. Anciens noms (customer-stories, company-overview...) : charger si présents et remplis, ne pas les attendre.

Stage 3: Template Selection & Drafting Setup

Select template and prepare drafting context.

Template Selection Logic:

Drafting Setup:

• Load selected template structure
• Use outline from brief directly (already complete)
• Extract persona pain points
• Note information gain opportunities
• Set tone based on brand-voice.md + detected language

Stage 4: Section-by-Section Drafting

Draft each section following the brief outline.

See references/writing-workflow.md for complete drafting process.

Intent-First Rule (CRITICAL): The article MUST answer the primary search intent as early as possible — ideally within the first screen. Do NOT open a listicle with a definition section, do NOT open a how-to with background theory, do NOT open a comparison with a product overview. Match the opening content to what the user came for:

• Comparison/Orientation micro-intent → Start with the ranking/comparison table or verdict
• Definition micro-intent → Start with the clear definition (featured snippet format)
• Enablement micro-intent → Start with the first actionable step or process overview
• Expansional micro-intent → Start with the core framework or thesis
• Aggregation/Overview micro-intent → Start with the summary table or list Supporting context (definitions, background, methodology) goes AFTER the primary intent is served, for readers who want to go deeper.

Quick Reference - For Each H2 Section:

1. Reference brief for section purpose, word count, information gain opportunities
2. Draft content addressing section topic with persona pain points and proof points
3. Embed actual CTAs and links (not placeholders)
4. Add detailed visual placeholders for design team
5. Apply E-E-A-T checks (author credentials, experience examples, sources, methodology)

Brand Voice:

• Follow tone from brand-voice.md
• Use approved terminology from vocabulary.md
• Respect guidelines-donts.md constraints
• Never use em dashes (use parentheses or commas instead)

Stage 5: SEO Optimization Pass

Verify and optimize SEO elements.

See references/seo-optimization-checklist.md for complete checklist.

Quick Reference:

KEYWORD PLACEMENT:

• Primary keyword in H1, first 100 words, meta description
• Secondary keywords distributed naturally

STRUCTURE:

• PAA questions as H2 or H3 sections
• Featured Snippet opportunity formatted (if applicable)

LINK VALIDATION (if GSC available):

• Verify each internal link using mcp__gsc-mcp__inspect_url_enhanced
• Flag non-existent URLs for manual review

LINK EMBEDDING:

• All internal links from brief with proper anchor text
• External links to authoritative sources
• No forbidden domains (check linking-clusters.md in the client context)

WORD COUNT:

• Compare actual to target
• Flag if >10% above or below (Quality Evaluator will assess)

Stage 6: Article Assembly & Polish

Assemble complete article with frontmatter.

See assets/templates/base-article-structure.md for complete template.

Structure:

• Frontmatter (title, slug, author, date, category, tags, meta description, word count)
• H1 Title
• Introduction
• H2 sections from outline (with CTAs where specified)
• Frequently Asked Questions (PAA questions from brief)
• Conclusion (reinforcing Think-Feel-Do framework)

Final Polish:

• Consistent heading hierarchy (no skipped levels)
• Proper markdown formatting
• Horizontal rules between major sections
• No orphaned placeholders

Stage 7: Output & Handoff

Save files and present summary.

Save Article File:

• Filename: [slug].md (from brief, remove leading/trailing slashes)
• Location: Current directory or specified output folder

Save Metadata File:

• Filename: [slug]-metadata.md
• Contents: Author info, article stats (H2/H3 counts, links, CTAs, visuals), flags, source file paths

Present Summary: Display article title, slug, word count (actual vs target), language, quick stats, any flags, file paths, and recommended next steps (review, create visuals, run quality evaluation, schedule publication).

Error Handling

Input Errors

Brief Not Found: Display file path, ask user to check and retry.

Brief Validation Failed: List missing required fields (keyword, content type, word count, outline), ask user to update brief and retry.

Tool Errors

GSC Unavailable: Notify user, skip link validation, add note to metadata recommending manual check before publishing.

Unknown Persona: Notify user persona not found in audiences-personas.md, use closest match and continue.

Output Errors

Word Count Variance: If >10% above/below target, flag for review (Quality Evaluator will assess).

Mid-Workflow Failure: Display stage and error, save partial draft to [path]-partial.md, provide resume command.

User Interaction Points

No outline validation - outline is created in Content Brief Creator and used directly.

Related Files

Reference Documents

• references/company-context-integration.md - Context loading logic
• references/article-structure-guide.md - Structure patterns by content type
• references/writing-workflow.md - Section-by-section drafting process
• references/seo-optimization-checklist.md - SEO requirements
• references/eeat-guidelines.md - E-E-A-T signal requirements
• references/quality-handoff-guide.md - Quality Evaluator integration

Templates

Located in assets/templates/:

• base-article-structure.md - Base assembly template
• educational-guide.md, how-to-guide.md, comparison-article.md, listicle.md, problem-solution.md, case-study.md, pricing-analysis.md, review-article.md, alternative-roundup.md

Company Context (KB Files)

Located in ../references/:

• Always loaded: brand-voice.md, vocabulary.md, guidelines-donts.md, proof-points.md, linking-clusters.md
• Conditional: product-value.md, technical-architecture.md, competitive-landscape.md

Test Cases

• test-articles/00-test-index.md - Test overview
• test-articles/01-educational-article.md - Example output

Version History

v1.0.0 (2026-01-25)

• Initial release
• 7-stage workflow implementation
• 9 article templates (4 TOFU/MOFU + 5 BOFU)
• GSC integration for link validation
• E-E-A-T checks during drafting
• Multi-language support (auto-detect from brief)
• Ready-to-publish markdown output
• Quality Evaluator metadata generation