Turning a saved idea into content

Use a saved Brainstorm idea as the starting point for a content brief, then develop the channel outputs you need in Grow → Content. The original idea stays in Brainstorm, so your team can keep the discussion and the content work in their respective places.

This guide covers importing a Brainstorm idea. You can also create content manually when you do not have its idea ID.

Choose an idea worth developing

Open Brainstorm and review the saved card, its summary, and its notes. A useful starting point explains the audience, the message, and why someone would care. For help shaping that starting point, see Capturing and developing ideas in Brainstorm.

For example, an idea about preparing for a first consultation could become a practical blog, an email reminder, and a short social post. Decide which versions actually help the audience before adding outputs.

Check that the idea's notes have finished saving before importing. Keep important facts, decisions, and unresolved questions in the saved notes; text left only in a conversation is not the same as a saved idea.

To use Import source, you need permission to create content and read site settings. The separate option to mark the Brainstorm idea Accepted requires Settings write access. You can leave that option off if you only want to create the content record.

Import the saved Brainstorm idea

Import requires the exact Brainstorm idea ID. Ask your administrator for it, or follow the manual steps under If you cannot import or need to recover. Use the saved idea’s ID rather than its title, conversation text, or page address.

1. Open Grow → Content and select More actions → Import source.
2. In Import into Content, set Source to Brainstorm idea.
3. Paste the identifier into Brainstorm idea ID.
4. If Initiative is offered, choose the existing initiative the work belongs to, or leave Independent content selected.
5. Decide whether to select Mark the Brainstorm idea Accepted after import. Leave it off when you want to preserve the idea's current status.
6. Select Import source and wait for the content item to open.

For a newly imported idea, check the title, Core thesis, and Notes against the original card. The title comes from the idea's title, the thesis from its summary, and notes from its saved notes. Very long notes may be shortened, so compare them before relying on the imported copy.

The item starts at Proposed and retains a reference to the original idea. Importing does not copy every detail from the idea's structured content or create channel outputs, strategy assignments, evidence attachments, or publication schedules. Bring across any important details that are still missing.

Importing the same idea again opens its existing content item rather than making another copy. It does not refresh the brief from the latest Brainstorm notes or move the existing item to a newly selected initiative. Review and edit that item directly when the plan changes.

Complete the brief before writing outputs

In Brief, turn the imported summary into instructions another teammate can use:

• Core thesis: the central message or argument.
• Audience promise: what the reader will understand or be able to do.
• Why now: the timing or reason the content matters.
• Desired outcome: the useful result you want from the content.
• CTA intent: the next step you want the reader to take.
• Notes: supporting details, boundaries, references, and open questions.

Select Save brief after editing. Importing preserves the source relationship, but it does not establish that a claim is true or current. Check dates, prices, product availability, and supporting references yourself. Add missing evidence deliberately; the original idea reference is not a substitute for evidence supporting a factual claim.

For the consultation example, specify who the advice is for, what they should prepare, what the consultation includes, and the correct booking destination. Keep uncertain promises out of the finished copy until someone confirms them.

Review ownership and reviewer assignments before handing off. The current Owner ID and Reviewer IDs fields expect team identifiers rather than display names. Ask your administrator for the correct IDs when needed.

Use Planning content across channels to place the item in the appropriate strategy view, adjust its scope, and coordinate its editorial progress.

Add and save the channel outputs

A newly imported Brainstorm idea has no channel outputs yet. Add only the ones you intend to develop:

1. Open Deliverables in the content item.
2. Choose Social, Blog, Email, or Video under Output type.
3. Select Add output.
4. Fill in the output's draft fields and select Save output.
5. Repeat for each additional channel, checking that the saved outputs agree on the underlying facts.

Add output creates a draft to fill in; it does not generate finished copy. Adapt the angle and length to each destination. A blog can explain the full preparation process, an email can emphasize what to do before an appointment, and a social post can offer one useful tip.

Save edited social variants separately with Save variant. Saving the brief does not save unsaved text in each output or variant.

Importing and adding empty outputs do not run AI generation. If you choose a separate AI drafting action, review AI usage and costs before using it.

Keep acceptance, approval, and publication distinct

The optional Accepted checkbox records a decision about the Brainstorm idea. It does not approve the content brief or any channel output. An idea already marked Completed stays Completed when imported with this option.

Review the actual content and its current revision before approving it. The brief and its outputs have separate review state, and later material changes can invalidate an earlier approval. Keep missing facts and requested changes visible for the next reviewer.

Importing does not schedule or publish anything. Planned dates organize the work; later scheduling and destination actions determine when and where approved content is delivered. Check the resulting destination record when you eventually publish or schedule an output.

Before handing off, confirm that the brief is saved, each intended channel has an output, unfinished copy is clearly identified, and someone knows what to review next.

If you cannot import or need to recover

You do not have the idea ID. You can still develop the idea manually. In Content, choose the first channel view, select New content, enter a Working title and Core thesis, and select Create content. Copy the relevant notes into Brief and save. Record enough information to find the original card again. This creates a separate manual item without the import's automatic source relationship; check for an existing item first, and avoid importing the same idea later without reviewing whether that would duplicate your work.

Import source is missing, or the Accepted option is disabled. These actions require different permissions. Ask an administrator to review your feature access. A missing Settings write permission need not prevent importing with the checkbox left off.

The identifier is invalid or the idea cannot be found. Use the exact saved idea ID from the same Cedros site. Check for copied spaces or punctuation and confirm that the idea still exists. Do not substitute its title or another record's identifier.

The message says content was created but the idea could not be marked Accepted. Retry the same import to finish that pending status update. Cedros reuses the content item for that idea. Check the item's saved content and the source card's status afterward.

The request fails without a clear result. Look for the item in All content before assuming nothing was created. Widen the planning horizon and clear filters if necessary. Reusing the same idea ID is safer than manually creating another item while the first result is uncertain.

The imported item is missing from a channel board. An imported brief may not have a channel output or strategy assignment yet. Find it in All content, open it, and add the needed output or assignment. Use Proposed when filtering for a newly imported idea.

Brainstorm changed after the import. Compare the original idea with the saved brief and update the content deliberately. Re-importing is not a refresh action. If another teammate changed the content while you were editing, preserve your unsaved text before using Reload saved version.