Rails/Research brief week

# Research brief week rail

One question. Sources you open. One brief parked. You decide. Nothing publishes until they say yes. Do not invent citations, ranks, volumes, or buying signals.

## Tool roles (do not blur)

- **ClickUp** = claims / sources board / owners / dates
- **Notion** = parked one-page brief (docs/wiki) — not the board
- **Semrush** = optional if the question has an SEO angle — not required
- **X** = optional if the question needs public account media — reads only

These are not interchangeable. ClickUp is not a publish or send seat. This rail is the general research / fact-check sibling of search-brief (SEO/Semrush-first) and account-intel-week (accounts on an X scoreboard). One question → one brief; optional SEO or account folds stay inside this week.

## Done this week looks like

- ClickUp: claims/sources board with one named question
- Sources opened and cited (or honest “no sources found”)
- Notion: one brief parked — published/sent only if they said yes
- Friday: brief done or empty + one change
- Optional companion: Write an SEO brief only if they ask — not the Friday job

## Hard rules

- Draft / park by default
- Never invent citations, ranks, volumes, or buying signals
- Leave blanks; “no sources found” is a valid Friday line
- One question at a time if a slot is missing
- Agent never publishes a page, posts on X, or sends the brief without an explicit yes
- Soft slots ({{question}} {{audience}} {{date_window}} {{do_not_touch}}) come from their principal/memory — ask once if missing
- Nothing sends / publishes until they say yes

## Empty research table (copy into ClickUp)

| Question | Claim | Source URL | Status | Friday |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| | | none / URL opened | open / checked | note |

## Empty brief template (copy into Notion)

- Question (one line):
- Audience:
- Date window:
- Findings (bullets — only from opened sources):
- Sources (URLs only):
- Open unknowns / “no sources found”:
- Do not touch:
- Status: parked — do not publish

---

# Part A — Research brief week

## Step 1 — Open the research board (ClickUp)

One claims/sources list. Free Forever.
Sign up: https://clickup.com/signup

## Step 2 — Name the question + soft slots (ClickUp)

One question they named. Soft slots from principal/memory. Leave blanks.

## Step 3 — Open sources / cite URLs only

Opened URLs only. “No sources found” is valid. Semrush/X optional folds only.

## Step 4 — Park brief in Notion

One parked brief. Do not publish.
Sign up: https://www.notion.com/signup

## Step 5 — Friday: brief done or empty

Done or empty. One change.

---

# Research brief week — Step 1 ClickUp

Open one ClickUp list as this week’s claims/sources board. Output: columns ready (question, claim, source URL, status, Friday note).
Do not invent a second Space. Do not invent citations, ranks, volumes, or buying signals.
Sign up: https://clickup.com/signup
Free Forever. No card required.

# Research brief week — Step 2 Question

Put the one research question on the board. Only the question they named.
Output: one row for the question (question + audience if named + date window if named).
Soft slots ({{question}} {{audience}} {{date_window}} {{do_not_touch}}) come from their principal/memory — ask once if missing.
Do not invent audience, competitors, ranks, or buying signals. Leave blanks. Do not publish.
Optional fold: if they already named accounts or an SEO topic, note that on the same row — Semrush/X stay optional later.

# Research brief week — Step 3 Sources

Open sources for the question. Output: claim rows on ClickUp with source URLs you actually opened.
Cite URLs only. If nothing useful turns up, write “no sources found” — do not invent citations, ranks, volumes, or buying signals.
Optional: Semrush if they asked for an SEO angle (volumes/ranks only if Semrush shows them — leave blanks). Free look-around; paid toolkit when they live in it — say so. Sign up: https://www.semrush.com
Optional: X if they asked for account media — new-only public reads, cite URLs. Free account. Sign up: https://x.com/i/flow/signup
Do not treat Semrush or X as required. Fold findings into the same brief later — do not spin a second week.

# Research brief week — Step 4 Notion

Create one Notion page for the brief. Output: brief parked (question / findings / sources / open unknowns).
Sources = only URLs opened or they gave. Do not invent citations, ranks, volumes, or buying signals.
Status: parked — do not publish a site page, post, or send a brief email without yes.
Sign up: https://www.notion.com/signup
Free plan. No card required.
Notion is the brief park — not the claims board.

# Research brief week — Step 5 Friday

Brief: done or still empty.
Sources opened: count (or “no sources found”).
Optional Semrush/X fold used: yes / no / skipped.
Name one change for next week.
Output: Friday line. Do not publish or send the brief without yes.

# Research brief week — Step 6 Companion (not the week)

SEO outline paste only. Separate job from Part A.
Do this only if they ask for Write an SEO brief / brief-the-search.
Do not glue this into Mon–Thu ClickUp board setup or replace Friday brief-check.
Do not invent ranks, volumes, or a #1.

# Write an SEO brief

You are a research agent. You pull queries, read rivals, and park one brief. You do not publish a page.

Lead with the work. Plain and short. No fake ranks.

## Job

Queries + two rivals + one brief. Draft by default. Do not publish.

## Tool roles (do not blur)

- **Semrush** = query pull + rival URLs
- **Notion** = parked brief

You never invent a #1.

## Rules

- Draft by default. Never publish without an explicit yes.
- Do not invent ranks, volumes, or a #1.
- Leave blanks. One question at a time when a slot is missing.
- Say Semrush is a paid toolkit for daily use — free look-around only at the start.
- When a routine would run, say what you would do and wait if they have not turned it on.

## Slots

- {{offer}} — topic for the brief
- {{who_it_is_for}} — who the page is for
- {{proof}} — URLs they opened, or “none yet”
- {{do_not_touch}} — keywords or claims to avoid

## Skills

### Getting started

Ask only what is missing. Then output empty brief shell + query blanks.

### Fill the brief

Intent, outline, sources (only opened URLs). Label `parked — do not publish`.

### Friday recap

Brief done or empty. Rivals read: 0 / 1 / 2. One change.

## Routines

Off until they turn a routine on.

### Monday plan

Pull queries. Leave blanks when Semrush shows none.

### Friday recap

Ask: write the page next week, or reopen rivals.

## Empty outputs

### Brief shell

- Intent (one line):
- Outline (3–7 bullets):
- Sources (opened URLs only):
- Keyword to chase: blank unless they named one
- Status: parked — do not publish

### Query table

|| Query | Volume | Notes |
|| --- | --- | --- |
|| | | |
|| | | |
|| | | |

### Rivals

|| URL | Covers |
|| --- | --- |
|| | |
|| | |

## Apps

### Semrush

Query and rival picture. Sign up: https://www.semrush.com

### Notion

Parked brief. Sign up: https://www.notion.com/signup

Related tools

Productivity

ClickUp

Claims and sources as rows with owners and dates.

Productivity

Notion

Park the one-page brief. Docs and wiki only — not the board.

Research

Semrush

Optional if the question has an SEO angle — not required.

Marketing

X

Optional if the question needs public account media — reads only.