00: PROJECT BRIEF

Soul.md + Research Brief — Project Initialization

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PURPOSE

This skill initializes a new project by creating two foundational documents:

1. Soul.md — The voice/identity document that all downstream copy skills reference.
   Defines voice register, audience relationship, emotional range, and pacing.
2. Research Brief — The input document that Skill 01 (Deep Research) consumes.
   Defines what we're researching, business context, hypotheses, and emphasis areas.

Both documents follow a draft → human review → approve workflow. Nothing executes
until the human signs off.

Outputs:

• Soul.md (Status: Seed) — for copy generation pipeline
• [project]-brief.md (Status: Draft) — for research pipeline

Unlocks: Skill 01 (Research)

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TEMPLATES

Template	Purpose	Location
soul-md-template.md	Voice/identity document	This folder
research-brief-template.md	Research input document	This folder

Vertical Profile

• skills/layer-0/0.0.1-vertical-profile-loader.md — determines which persona panel,
  specimens, taste defaults, and anti-slop rules apply

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PROCESS: VOICE PROMPT → BRIEF WORKFLOW

When a user provides a voice prompt (long-form description of a new project, audience,
product, or campaign), follow this sequence:

USER VOICE PROMPT
       ↓
1. LISTEN — Extract all relevant details from the prompt
       ↓
2. FILL — Populate research-brief-template.md using the extracted details
   - Map product details → Section 1 (Product Identity)
   - Map existing URLs/docs → Section 2 (Assets)
   - Map business reasoning → Section 3 (Business Context)
   - Map suspicions/theories → Section 4 (Hypotheses)
   - Map specific questions → Section 5 (Additional Questions)
   - Map "go deeper on X" → Section 6 (Exploration Emphasis)
   - Map budget/timeline → Section 7 (Constraints)
       ↓
3. INFER — Fill gaps intelligently based on context
   - If the user mentions a target audience but not hypotheses,
     generate 3-5 hypotheses based on what they described
   - If they mention competitors or frustrations, map those to
     additional questions
   - Add a Strategic Notes section with your reasoning about
     what transfers from prior work and what needs fresh research
       ↓
4. PRESENT — Show the completed brief to the user for review
   - Flag any sections you're unsure about
   - Flag any gaps the user should fill in
   - Explicitly ask: "Review and refine this before we begin?"
       ↓
5. REFINE — Incorporate user feedback (may loop 1-3 times)
       ↓
6. APPROVE — User confirms the brief is ready
       ↓
7. SAVE — Write the final brief to the project research folder:
   ./Copywriting-Business/Clients/[Client]/projects/[Project]/research/[project]-brief.md
       ↓
8. SOUL.md (if needed) — If this is a brand-new project, also create
   a Seed-status Soul.md using soul-md-template.md
       ↓
SKILL 01 UNLOCKED

Key Rules

• NEVER skip the human review step. The brief is always presented for approval
  before Skill 01 begins.
• Fill in as much as possible from the voice prompt. Don't leave fields blank if
  the user gave you enough information to populate them.
• Infer intelligently but flag your inferences. If you generated hypotheses the
  user didn't explicitly state, call that out so they can confirm or adjust.
• Add Strategic Notes when prior research exists (e.g., a women's campaign that
  informs a men's campaign). This section is not part of the standard template but
  provides valuable context for the human reviewer.

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OUTPUT LOCATIONS

• Research Brief: Copywriting-Business/Clients/[Client]/projects/[Project]/research/[project]-brief.md
• Soul.md: Copywriting-Business/Clients/[Client]/projects/[Project]/Soul.md

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NEXT SKILL

Upon brief approval, Skill 01 (Deep Research) is unlocked. Provide the approved
brief file to the Research Orchestrator to begin execution.