How to run a content marketing squad

A content mission runs as a closed loop on the Marketing Squad. You draw the path in the mission goals: the reader, the piece, and the voice examples the draft has to follow. The Mission Commander works inside that path and assigns the plan to Nova and the draft to Quill. Steering is the approval step. Quill does not publish the post or send the newsletter.

The squad you import

The template is the Marketing Squad. It is one of the squads on /squads. It ships with five agents:

Nova, Growth Lead, turns the goal into a campaign plan with owners, dates, and success metrics.
Quill, Content Writer, drafts blog posts, landing pages, newsletters, and social posts, with a headline and two alternates.
Rank, SEO Specialist, audits the site and builds pages that can rank and be cited.
Spark, Paid and Creative Lead, writes ad variants and test designs.
Metric, Marketing Analyst, sets up tracking and writes performance notes.

This mission uses Nova and Quill. Rank, Spark, and Metric only get cards if the goals include search, ads, or a report. You can remove agents this mission does not need. The template has no required connection.

You do this in the xSquads desktop app, on a folder of your own files. Mac now, with Windows coming soon. The product page is xSquads for Work.

How the mission runs

Step 1. Import the Marketing Squad

Open the squad templates and import the Marketing Squad onto the mission. The template ships with Nova, Quill, Rank, Spark, and Metric. Keep Nova and Quill. Remove Rank, Spark, and Metric if this mission is only the article and the newsletter.

Step 2. Leave the connector list empty

This template has no required connection. Do not connect treg or Vapi for a content mission. The squad page does not list either one. The drafts come from the brief and the voice examples in your folder.

Step 3. Create the mission and set the goals

Create the mission and write the goals in plain language. Those goals are the path: who the piece is for, what it has to say, and which voice examples Quill must follow. Point the mission at the local folder that holds the brief and two or three past posts. The commander does not get to widen that path. A goal you can start from, as written on the squad page: draft a blog post and three social posts from this brief. For this mission, narrow it. Ask for the blog post and a newsletter in the same voice, and leave the social posts out so they do not become cards.

Step 4. Let the Mission Commander assign the work

Save the mission. The Mission Commander creates tasks on the task board and assigns each one to the agent whose role fits, and only inside the goals you wrote. Nova takes the plan: the piece, the date, and what done looks like. Quill takes the draft, a headline, and two alternates, written from the examples in the folder. Rank should not get an audit card, and Spark should not get an ad card, unless those jobs are in the goals.

Step 5. Add a task, steer, and approve before anything is published

Steering is the approval step. Add a task on the board, or correct the Mission Commander in the group chat, when a draft should not go out. A useful task to add yourself: cut the second section and use the example from the brief, not a new claim. Quill does not publish the post and does not send the newsletter. Start by approving every draft.

How much to review

Start by approving everything. Autonomy is a dial, not a switch you flip on the first draft.

Always sign off the reader, the offer, and the voice examples yourself. Raise the dial only when several drafts in a row needed light edits. A claim that is not in the folder goes back. xSquads does not set a quota for how many lines you rewrite.

What the goals have to name

The reader and the one job the piece does.
The voice examples Quill is allowed to learn from. You correct the voice when it drifts.
Claims that are allowed. Figures come from your data and cited sources. Quill does not invent a stat.
What is out of scope: social posts, ads, and an SEO audit, unless you add them.
Publishing and sending stay with you. The draft waits in Review.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which squad drafts blog posts and newsletters?

The Marketing Squad. Nova plans the piece and Quill writes it. There is no separate content template.

Can the squad publish the post?

No. Quill drafts. The post and the newsletter wait in Review until you approve them. The squad does not publish and does not send.

How do I keep the draft in our voice?

Put two or three past posts in the mission folder and name them in the goals. Quill learns the voice from those examples. If a line could have been written for any company, send it back.

What if I also want social posts?

Add that to the goals. The squad page includes a mission to draft a blog post and three social posts from one brief. This mission leaves social out on purpose, so those cards are not created unless you ask.

What should I check before I approve?

Check the headline and the two alternates, every claim against the brief, and that the newsletter says the same thing as the post. If a number is not in your folder, it does not go out.