content-funnel-design · git:20260603.668ed88 · 2026-06-03 · sha256 8c8dda08624a9678
content-funnel-design git:20260603.668ed88A
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--- model_tier: inherit name: content-funnel-design description: "Use when mapping funnel-stage to content shape — conversion-pathway, content-as-system, leverage-point selection. Triggers on 'design our content funnel', 'why does mid-funnel leak'." status: active tier: senior domain: product context_spine: [product, customer-segment, channel-stage, funnel-stage] recommended_for_user_types: [creator, gtm] workspaces: - gtm packs: - gtm-marketing trust: level: professional install: removable: true --- # content-funnel-design ## When to use - A team has content but no funnel — each asset is shaped to its author's preference, not to the funnel stage the audience is in. - The cadence (`editorial-calendar`) is locked but one funnel stage is leaking and there is no content shape that would catch it. - A new ICP requires re-mapping content shapes per stage because the previous mapping was inherited from a previous segment. Do NOT use to plan publishing cadence (route to `editorial-calendar`), diagnose quantitative drop-off (route to `funnel-analysis`), or draft the asset itself (downstream of this skill). ## Cognition cluster - **Mental model 14 — Meadows leverage points.** Some funnel stages are *parameters* (small change, small ripple) and some are *structure* (small change, system-wide ripple). The content funnel design is the discipline of placing the heaviest content investment at the structural leverage point, not the parameter one. See [`docs/contracts/mental-models.md`](../../../docs/contracts/mental-models.md) § 14. - **Mental model 6 — Theory of constraints.** The slow funnel stage caps the whole pipeline. Adding content elsewhere does not loosen the constraint. See `mental-models.md` § 6. - **Mental model 16 — Leading vs. lagging indicators.** Time-to- proof (asset → activation question) is leading; pipeline lift is lagging. The funnel design is gated on leading signals, not on the lagging ones the board sees a quarter later. See `mental-models.md` § 16. - **Context-spine — funnel-stage + channel-stage + customer-segment + product.** Read **funnel-stage** for which stage owns each content shape, **channel-stage** for where the audience meets the asset, **customer-segment** for whose questions the asset answers, and **product** for the proofs the asset can actually back. See [`context-spine`](../../../docs/contracts/context-spine.md). ## Procedure ### Step 0: Inherit the funnel diagnosis Identify the leaking stage from [`funnel-analysis`](../funnel-analysis/SKILL.md) and the cadence classification from [`editorial-calendar`](../editorial-calendar/SKILL.md). The content funnel design is a *response* to a diagnosed leak — without the diagnosis, content investment is uniform and the constraint stays where it is. ### Step 1: Analyze the inherited shapes Review existing assets stage-by-stage. For each, identify *shape* (awareness explainer, comparison, deep-dive, demo, case study, calculator, onboarding walkthrough) and *whose question* it answers. The output is a stage × shape grid with current investment weight. Most teams discover their grid is bottom-heavy or middle-empty. ### Step 2: Place the leverage-point bet The leverage point is the **structural** stage, not the leaking one. (The leaking stage is the *symptom*; the leverage point is where the design choice ripples.) Often: mid-funnel proof is the leverage point when the leak is decision-stage, because mid-funnel proof loads the decision-stage call with conviction. Name the leverage point explicitly; document why it is structural, not parameter. ### Step 3: Map shape per funnel stage For each funnel stage in the spine slot, lock the load-bearing content shape: - *Top — awareness:* one explainer per segment-question that earned pull last quarter (Pareto cut from `editorial-calendar`). - *Mid — consideration:* one comparison or deep-dive per load-bearing proof from the message stack. - *Bottom — decision:* one calculator, demo, or reference quote per audience-matrix cell that signals economic-buyer fear. - *Activation:* one onboarding walkthrough keyed to the first switch-event the customer faces. ### Step 4: Design the conversion pathway A pathway is **two assets in sequence** that an audience plausibly walks. For each pathway, name the *first-asset → second-asset* edge and the question the second answers that the first surfaced. Pathways without a credible edge are wishful inventory, not a funnel. ### Step 5: Validate against constraint and leverage Validate the design on three checks: 1. **Constraint coverage.** Verify the leaking stage from `funnel-analysis` has a shape designed for it — not just *more* content, but the shape the audience asks for at that stage. 2. **Leverage-point investment.** Verify the heaviest authoring investment lands at the leverage point, not at the leak. 3. **Pathway plausibility.** Walk three of the designed pathways end-to-end with the audience-matrix lens. Verify each second asset earns the click; if it requires a buyer leap, the pathway is fiction. ### Step 6: Hand back Hand the artefacts to [`editorial-calendar`](../editorial-calendar/SKILL.md) for cadence assignment, to [`funnel-analysis`](../funnel-analysis/SKILL.md) for a re-diagnosis four weeks after launch, and to [`activation-design`](../activation-design/SKILL.md) for the activation-stage handoff. ## Related Skills **WHEN to use this** - The unit of work is the funnel-stage × content-shape grid, not a single asset. - A diagnosed funnel leak needs a content shape, not more authoring volume. - The team is investing uniformly across stages instead of at the leverage point. **WHEN NOT to use this** - Planning publishing cadence and content-debt management — route to [`editorial-calendar`](../editorial-calendar/SKILL.md). - Quantitative funnel-stage diagnostics and leak detection — route to [`funnel-analysis`](../funnel-analysis/SKILL.md). - Activation-event selection inside the product — route to [`activation-design`](../activation-design/SKILL.md). - Drafting the asset copy itself — out of scope; downstream of this skill. ## When the agent should load this - "Mid-funnel leaks — design the content funnel to fix it." - "Map our content shapes to the funnel stages for the new ICP." - "Was ist unser Leverage-Point in der Content-Funnel?" - "Build conversion pathways from top-of-funnel to decision." - "Why is content investment uniform across stages?" ## Output 1. **`stage-shape-grid.md`** — stage × shape matrix, current investment vs. designed investment, leverage-point cell marked. 2. **`conversion-pathways.md`** — one row per pathway: first-asset → second-asset edge, question the second asset earns, audience-matrix cell it serves. 3. **`leverage-point-rationale.md`** — named leverage stage, *why structural, not parameter* argument, and the leading-indicator threshold the design will be re-checked against. ## Gotcha - The leaking stage is rarely the leverage stage; treating them as identical concentrates content where it does not move the constraint. - "More mid-funnel content" is not a design — it is volume. The shape and the question both have to land. - Pathways are usually fictional on the first draft because the second asset assumes a buyer leap. Walk them. ## Do NOT - Do NOT prescribe channel-specific tactics (subject lines, ad placements, video specs) — channel ownership is downstream and out of scope. - Do NOT design uniformly across stages; uniform design encodes uniform leverage, which is leverage-blindness. - Do NOT skip Step 0 — content funnel without a funnel diagnosis is content-as-impulse with extra steps. ## Runnable example Mid-market HR analytics, funnel-analysis diagnosed mid-funnel leak (decision-stage conversion is fine, but mid-funnel disqualifies before reaching it): - Stage-shape grid — top: 2 awareness explainers (current); mid: 0 comparison deep-dives (gap); bottom: 3 ROI calculators (over-invested). - Leverage point — *mid-funnel proof*, because the decision-stage call is starved of conviction; structural ripple. - Pathway — *"How HR directors lose 7 hours per board-quarter"* (top) → *"Cohort-retention deep-dive vs. spreadsheet rebuild"* (mid) → *ROI calculator* (decision). - Hand-off → `editorial-calendar` re-allocates campaign weight to mid-funnel; `funnel-analysis` re-diagnoses at week 4.