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

1. People Also Ask: Search for "[keyword]" and extract related questions
2. Content gap identification: What do all competitors cover? What does nobody cover? The gap is the opportunity.
3. 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

1. 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

1. 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

1. Frontmatter generation (for static site generators):

---
   title: "[optimized title]"
   description: "[meta description]"
   date: [today]
   tags: [relevant tags]
   categories: [relevant categories]
   ---

1. 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

1. Schedule: if Mixpost or Buffer skill is available, offer to schedule posts
2. 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

1. 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