Create Content From Scratch

Overview

Most CntX content flows calendar → brief → generate draft → editor. Create from scratch reverses the entry point: you start in Contents or the editor with a blank or minimal item, then optionally link or align it with calendar planning later.

From-scratch items still use the same editorial and CMS status model. They may appear on the Manual calendar layer if you create them with a planned date and strategy link.

When to use

• You need a landing page, email, or post outside the current planning horizon.
• You are importing or pasting existing copy into CntX for centralized review and CMS publish.
• A stakeholder request cannot wait for the next Generate calendar cycle.
• You want an empty shell to write manually without AI generation from a brief.

Before you start

• Decide whether the piece needs a calendar slot (planned date + strategy) or can live only in Contents.
• Pick channel and content type up front—they drive available fields and publish destinations.
• If the topic should appear on the unified calendar, note which content strategy owns it for reporting consistency.

Steps

1. Open Contents from the sidebar.
2. Click Create content (or New content).
3. Select Channel, content type, and workspace if prompted.
4. Enter a working title and save to open the content editor.
5. Write or paste intro and body content. Fill SEO fields if the type supports them.
6. Set Editorial status to In progress while drafting.
7. Optional — link to planning:

– Add or associate a brief from the item summary if your UI exposes brief linking, or – Create a Manual calendar item on the same date with matching title and approve it for traceability.

1. Follow your review path: Submit for review → approver sets Approved.
2. Publish to WordPress or Webflow when editorially approved.

Expected result

• A content item exists in Contents with editorial status reflecting your progress.
• Optional calendar visibility on the Manual layer when you tied the item to a dated slot.
• The same publish and status rules apply as brief-generated content—no shortcut to CMS live without editorial approval policy.

Tips

• Prefer calendar manual briefs for planned work — If the piece has a publish date, create the manual brief on Calendar first, approve it, then generate—or create from scratch and align dates manually.
• No brief is OK — Short-lived or operational content may never need a brief; editorial workflow still applies.
• Do not double-create — Check Contents and calendar filters for an existing item on the same topic before adding another from scratch.
• Generation later — You can approve a manual brief and run Generate draft even if you started empty; save first to avoid overwrite surprises.
• CMS-only teams — Editorial Approved remains the recommended gate even if writers live primarily in WordPress or Webflow.

Next step

Use the Content Editor for drafting details, then Optimize and Approve Content before publish.