---
title: "Strategy"
description: "The third setup step: approving what the blog is for, which is what produces your Content Directions."
updated: "2026-08-18"
verifiedAgainst:
  - apps/web/lib/server/onboarding-status.ts
  - packages/shared/src/strategy.ts
---

The strategy is Blogged's reading of your product, written back to you for
approval. Approving it is what produces Content Directions, and Directions are
what everything downstream actually depends on.

## What the strategy contains

<PropertyList>
  <Property name="Product and category">
    What the product is and the category it competes in.
  </Property>
  <Property name="Audience and jobs to be done">
    Who is being written for, and what they are trying to get done.
  </Property>
  <Property name="Positioning and differentiators">
    How the product is placed against the alternatives.
  </Property>
  <Property name="Brand voice">
    Traits and guidelines inferred from your own writing, which you can override.
  </Property>
  <Property name="Content pillars">
    The themes the blog will keep returning to.
  </Property>
  <Property name="Confidence scores">
    Per field, marked high, medium, or needs check. Anything marked needs check
    is a claim Blogged could not confirm from your evidence, and it is the part
    worth your attention.
  </Property>
</PropertyList>

## The competitor rule

The strategy carries a policy for how generated content may mention
competitors: never mention them, mention them, or compare against them
directly. It is a founder level decision because it is visible in public writing
and hard to walk back.

## What completes the step

The strategy has to be approved **and** produce at least one Content Direction.
An approved strategy with no Directions leaves the Project with nothing to write
against, so the step waits for both.

<Callout variant="warning" title="Read the Directions before approving">
  Approval is where the blog's editorial shape is decided. Each Direction
  carries its own approval policy, and a Direction set to publish automatically
  will do exactly that once Autopilot runs. See
  [Content Directions](/content/directions).
</Callout>

## Next

[Competitors](/onboarding/competitors).