content-engine

# Content Engine From blank page to published, optimized, and promoted — in one workflow. This skill turns a topic or keyword into a researched, drafted, optimized, and publish-ready piece of content. ## Why This Exists Content creation with OpenClaw today requires manually chaining 4-5 skills: web research, writing, SEO optimization, CMS formatting, and social scheduling. This skill connects the full pipeline so you go from idea to published post in one flow. ## The Pipeline Content Engine runs in 5 phases. The user can run the full pipeline or start from any phase. ### Phase 1: Research When the user provides a topic or target keyword: 1. **Competitor analysis**: Use web_search to find the top 5-10 ranking articles for the target keyword 2. **Structure extraction**: For each competitor article, note: - Word count (approximate from snippets) - H2/H3 headings and structure - Key angles and arguments - What's missing or weak 3. **People Also Ask**: Search for "[keyword]" and extract related questions 4. **Content gap identification**: What do all competitors cover? What does nobody cover? The gap is the opportunity. 5. **Research brief output**: ``` 📊 Research Brief: [Keyword] Top competitors (by ranking): 1. [Title] — [URL] — ~[word count] words Key angle: [one sentence] 2. ... Common structure: - All cover: [topics everyone mentions] - Gap opportunities: [topics nobody covers well] People Also Ask: - [question 1] - [question 2] - [question 3] Recommended angle: [your unique take based on gaps] Recommended word count: [based on competitor average + 20%] ``` ### Phase 2: Draft Generate a structured first draft using the research brief: 1. **Check for brand voice**: look in OpenClaw memory for stored brand guidelines, tone preferences, or writing style notes. If none exist, ask the user on first run and store for future use. 2. **Outline first**: generate an outline with H2/H3 structure before writing. Show the user and get approval (or auto-proceed if they said "just write it"). 3. **Write the draft** following these principles: - Open with a hook that addresses the reader's problem directly - Use the gap opportunities from research as unique sections - Include data points and specific examples (from research) - Write for the target keyword naturally — no keyword stuffing - End with a clear conclusion and call-to-action 4. **Output**: Markdown file saved to workspace ### Phase 3: Optimize SEO and readability optimization: 1. **Meta description**: Generate a compelling meta description under 155 characters that includes the target keyword 2. **Title tag**: Optimize the title for search (include keyword, keep under 60 chars, make it compelling) 3. **Internal link suggestions**: if the user has provided a sitemap or list of existing content, suggest internal links. Otherwise, note where internal links could go. 4. **Image alt text**: suggest alt text for any images mentioned or planned 5. **Readability check**: - Flag paragraphs longer than 4 sentences - Flag sentences longer than 25 words - Suggest subheadings every 300 words if missing - Check for passive voice overuse 6. **Keyword integration check**: verify the target keyword appears in title, first paragraph, at least one H2, and meta description Output an optimization report appended to the draft: ``` 🔍 SEO Optimization Report Title tag: [optimized title] ([char count]) Meta description: [meta] ([char count]) Target keyword: [keyword] └─ In title: ✅ └─ In first paragraph: ✅ └─ In H2: ✅ └─ In meta: ✅ Readability: [score/assessment] Suggested internal links: [list or "provide sitemap for suggestions"] ``` ### Phase 4: Format & Publish Format the content for the user's CMS and prepare for publication: 1. **Detect CMS**: check memory for CMS preference. Common options: - **WordPress**: use WordPress skill if available, or output HTML-ready content with featured image suggestions - **Ghost**: output in Ghost-compatible Markdown - **Notion**: create a Notion page via Notion skill if available - **Markdown/Hugo/Jekyll**: output as .md with proper frontmatter - **No CMS**: just output clean Markdown 2. **Frontmatter generation** (for static site generators): ```yaml --- title: "[optimized title]" description: "[meta description]" date: [today] tags: [relevant tags] categories: [relevant categories] --- ``` 3. **Publish or save**: if CMS integration is available, offer to publish directly. Otherwise, save the final file and tell the user where it is. ### Phase 5: Promote Generate social media promotion content: 1. **Platform-specific posts**: generate posts optimized for each platform: - **LinkedIn**: professional tone, 1-3 paragraphs, relevant hashtags - **Twitter/X**: hook + link, under 280 chars, 2-3 hashtags - **Reddit**: genuine value-add framing (not promotional), suggest appropriate subreddits - **Hacker News**: technical angle, factual title 2. **Schedule**: if Mixpost or Buffer skill is available, offer to schedule posts 3. **Email newsletter**: offer to generate a newsletter blurb for the article Output all promotional content in a single block: ``` 📢 Promotion Kit for: [Article Title] LinkedIn: [post text] Twitter/X: [tweet text] Reddit (suggested subreddits: r/[sub1], r/[sub2]): [post text] Newsletter blurb: [2-3 sentence summary for email] ``` ## Usage Modes ### Full Pipeline **User**: "Write a blog post about AI agent security best practices" → Run all 5 phases sequentially, showing output at each stage ### Research Only **User**: "Research what's ranking for 'openclaw tutorial'" → Run Phase 1 only, output the research brief ### Draft from Research **User**: "I already researched this topic, here are my notes: [notes]. Write the draft." → Skip Phase 1, run Phases 2-5 ### Optimize Existing Content **User**: "Optimize this blog post for SEO" + [attached content] → Skip Phases 1-2, run Phases 3-5 ### Promote Existing Content **User**: "Generate social posts for this article: [URL or content]" → Skip Phases 1-4, run Phase 5 only ## Content Calendar If the user asks for a content plan or calendar: 1. Research trending topics in their niche using web_search 2. Cross-reference with their existing content (if known) to avoid duplication 3. Suggest 4-8 topics for the next month with: - Target keyword - Estimated search volume (use web research clues) - Difficulty assessment (how strong is the competition?) - Recommended publish date 4. Store the calendar in memory for tracking ## Storing Brand Context On first use, ask the user about their brand voice and store in memory: - **Tone**: professional, casual, technical, friendly, authoritative? - **Audience**: developers, marketers, business owners, general public? - **Formatting preferences**: short paragraphs? lots of headers? code examples? - **Things to avoid**: jargon level, competitors not to mention, topics to skip - **Existing content URL**: for internal linking and avoiding duplication Once stored, use these preferences for every future content generation without asking again. ## Edge Cases - **No keyword given**: if the user just says "write about AI agents", help them choose a specific keyword first using research - **Very competitive keyword**: warn the user and suggest long-tail alternatives - **Existing content**: if the user's site already has a similar article, flag it and suggest updating instead of creating new - **Multiple languages**: support content creation in any language the user requests, adjusting SEO practices for that language's search engine norms - **Short-form content**: for social posts or email copy (not blog posts), skip Phases 1 and 3, go straight to writing + formatting