Content Strategy Template for Startups

Most startup content strategies fail before they publish a single word. They're either too vague ("we'll write helpful blog posts") or too ambitious (a 47-page document nobody reads after month one). What you actually need is a lean, executable framework that ties content to revenue — and can be updated as you learn.

This template gives you exactly that. It's built around how high-growth startups actually operate: fast, iterative, and always accountable to outcomes.

Why Startups Need a Different Kind of Content Strategy

Enterprise content strategies are built for scale and consistency. Startup content strategies need to do something different: prove that content works before you invest heavily in it.

That means your strategy should answer three questions first:

1. What business problem is content solving right now?
2. How will we know it's working in 90 days?
3. What's the minimum viable content operation to test this?

Only after you answer those do you start thinking about channels, formats, and publishing cadence.

Section 1: Business Objectives

Before you write a single brief, get alignment on what content is supposed to do for the business.

Fill in this section:

Primary Goal (pick one for this quarter):

• Drive organic traffic to generate inbound leads
• Support sales with bottom-funnel content
• Build brand awareness in a new market
• Improve trial-to-paid conversion with educational content
• Reduce support burden through self-serve documentation

Secondary Goals (pick up to two):

• Build email list
• Establish thought leadership
• Improve SEO domain authority
• Enable partner/affiliate content

Revenue Connection:

If content succeeds, it will directly impact [metric] by [amount] over [timeframe].

Example: "If our organic content strategy works, we'll add 500 MQLs/month from SEO 
within 12 months, reducing our CAC by ~30% vs. paid."

Content Budget:

• Monthly budget: $___
• Resources: ___ (internal writers / freelancers / agency / AI-assisted)
• Hours per week committed from team: ___

Section 2: Audience Definition

The most common content strategy mistake is targeting "founders" or "marketers" — categories so broad they're meaningless. You need to get specific.

Ideal Content Reader Profile

For each content segment you're targeting, complete this profile:

Segment Name: ___

Job Title(s): ___

Company Stage/Size: ___

Primary Pain Points:

1. ---

2. ---

3. ---

What They Search For (before they know you exist): ___

What They Search For (when evaluating solutions like yours): ___

Content Formats They Prefer: ___

Where They Discover Content: ___

What Would Make Them Share Your Content: ___

Jobs-to-Be-Done Mapping

Pain Stage	What They're Trying to Do	Content That Helps
Unaware	Trying to solve a symptom	Educational, problem-aware content
Problem-aware	Researching the problem	Frameworks, guides, data
Solution-aware	Evaluating approaches	Comparisons, case studies
Product-aware	Evaluating vendors	Reviews, demos, ROI calculators
Customer	Getting value from product	Tutorials, best practice guides

Section 3: Competitive Content Landscape

You need to know what you're competing against in the search results and in your readers' feeds.

Top 3 Content Competitors (not necessarily product competitors):

Competitor	Their Content Strength	Their Gap	Your Opportunity
[Competitor 1]
[Competitor 2]
[Competitor 3]

Content Differentiation Statement:

Unlike [Competitor], our content is [differentiator] because we [reason].
We are uniquely positioned to cover [topic area] because [unfair advantage].

Example: "Unlike HubSpot's content, ours is written specifically for 
Series A-B SaaS founders, not marketing managers at enterprise companies. 
We're uniquely positioned to cover growth-stage content ops because our 
founding team has scaled content at three startups from 0 to $10M ARR."

Section 4: Content Pillars

Content pillars are the 3-5 core topic areas your brand will own. Everything you publish should map to one of them.

How to choose your pillars:

• Intersection of what your audience cares about + what you know better than anyone
• Related to the problems your product solves, but not just about your product
• Broad enough to generate 20+ pieces of content, narrow enough to be ownable

Pillar Template:

Pillar 1: [Name]

• Description: What this covers and why it matters to your audience
• Target Audience Segment: Which ICP this serves
• Business Goal: What this pillar supports (e.g., top-of-funnel awareness, SEO)
• Core Topics: 5-10 specific topics that live under this pillar
• Content Types: Blog posts / long-form guides / videos / newsletters / etc.

Pillar 2: [Name] (repeat)

Pillar 3: [Name] (repeat)

Sample Pillar Structure for a B2B SaaS Content Tool

Pillar	Topics	Volume	Goal
Content Operations	Workflow SOPs, editorial processes, team structure	High	SEO + brand
Content Performance	Analytics, attribution, reporting	Medium	SEO + sales
AI in Content	Using AI for drafts, strategy, research	High	Awareness
Startup Content Strategy	Early-stage content, resource constraints	Medium	ICP alignment

Section 5: Channel Strategy

Not every channel is right for every startup. Choose based on where your audience actually is and what you can realistically execute.

Channel Prioritization Matrix:

Channel	Audience Fit (1-5)	Execution Capacity (1-5)	Time to ROI	Priority
SEO Blog			6-12 months
LinkedIn Organic			2-4 months
Email Newsletter			1-3 months
YouTube			9-18 months
Podcast			12-24 months
Twitter/X			1-3 months
Reddit/Communities			1-2 months

Primary Channel: ___ Secondary Channel: ___ Experimental Channel (test for 1 quarter): ___

Publishing Cadence

Set a sustainable cadence you can maintain for 6 months minimum. Under-promising and over-delivering is better than the reverse.

Channel	Frequency	Format	Owner
Blog	2x/week	1,500-2,500 words
LinkedIn	3x/week	Text posts + carousels
Newsletter	1x/week	400-600 words

Section 6: Content Workflow

Roles and Responsibilities:

Role	Responsibility	Person/Tool
Strategy	Topic selection, pillar direction
Research	Keyword research, competitive analysis
Drafting	First drafts
Editing	Quality review, brand voice
SEO	On-page optimization
Publishing	CMS upload, formatting
Distribution	Promotion across channels
Reporting	Performance tracking, insights

Content Production SLA:

• Brief to first draft: ___ days
• Draft to editorial review: ___ days
• Review to publish: ___ days
• Total cycle time target: ___ days

Section 7: Success Metrics

North Star Metric: ___

This is the one number that, if it's moving in the right direction, tells you content is working.

Supporting Metrics by Stage:

Stage	Metric	Current Baseline	90-Day Target	12-Month Target
Awareness	Organic sessions
Engagement	Time on page / scroll depth
Conversion	Email subscribers / leads
Revenue	Content-influenced pipeline

Reporting Cadence:

• Weekly: Quick pulse check (traffic, leads, top performers)
• Monthly: Full performance review vs. targets
• Quarterly: Strategy review, pillar reassessment

Section 8: 90-Day Action Plan

A strategy without a timeline is a wish list. Build your first 90 days before you launch.

Month 1: Foundation

• Complete Brand Core (voice, positioning, ICP)
• Finalize content pillars
• Build editorial calendar for next 60 days
• Set up analytics tracking
• Publish first 4-6 pieces

Month 2: Acceleration

• Identify top-performing content types
• Begin link-building or distribution push
• Launch email capture if not live
• Publish 8-12 pieces
• First performance review

Month 3: Optimization

• Double down on what's working
• Cut or deprioritize what isn't
• Begin repurposing top performers
• Set Q2 targets based on Q1 data

How Averi Accelerates This Process

Building and executing a content strategy from scratch typically takes weeks of planning before you publish your first piece. Averi compresses this by starting with your Brand Core — locking in your positioning, ICP, and voice — then using that foundation to generate a content strategy and editorial calendar automatically.

From there, every piece you create in Averi is anchored to your strategy. You're not starting from a blank page; you're working from a brief that's already aligned with your pillars, audience, and SEO targets. The platform tracks what you publish, monitors performance, and helps you make smarter content decisions over time.

Start building your content strategy in Averi →

Further Reading

• content marketing strategy for early-stage SaaS startups
• content strategy software built for B2B SaaS startups
• build your content engine with a guided playbook
• Averi's Strategy Map to turn your content strategy into an always-active visual plan

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should a startup content strategy document be?

For most early-stage startups, a one-page strategy outline is more useful than a 20-page document. Focus on the three things that matter most: who you're writing for, what topics you'll own, and how you'll measure success. Add detail as you learn.

How often should we revisit our content strategy?

Revisit the high-level strategy quarterly and do a lighter check-in monthly. The goal isn't to change direction constantly — it's to validate that your pillars and audience assumptions are still accurate as you learn from the market.

Should we focus on SEO or social media first?

This depends on your sales cycle and audience. If your buyers are active on LinkedIn and your sales cycle is short, social will pay off faster. If your buyers search for information before buying, SEO has a better long-term ROI. Most startups should pick one primary channel and go deep before spreading thin.

How many content pillars should we have?

Three to five is the sweet spot. Fewer than three and you'll run out of topics; more than five and you'll struggle to build authority in any area. The best pillars are specific enough to be ownable but broad enough to sustain 12+ months of content.

What's the biggest content strategy mistake startups make?

Publishing without a distribution plan. Most startups spend 90% of their effort creating content and 10% promoting it. Flip that ratio in the early days. Your content won't get found on its own — you need to actively put it in front of people.