A Claude skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file that teaches Claude one repeatable job, like writing in your brand voice or auditing a landing page. Claude reads the short description first and loads the full instructions only when a task calls for it. For marketers, that means you write your process down once and stop pasting it into every chat.
What are Claude skills?
A skill is a set of instructions, and optionally reference files or scripts, packaged in a folder Claude can find. The SKILL.md file opens with a name and a one-line description. Claude keeps only those descriptions in view. When your request matches one, it reads the rest of the file and follows it.
Skills work in Claude Code, in the Claude apps and through the API. A plugin can bundle several skills with commands and connectors, which is how most skill packs are sold.
How are skills different from prompts and CLAUDE.md?
A prompt does one job once. CLAUDE.md is always loaded, so it suits rules that apply to every task. A skill is loaded only when needed, so it suits procedures: how you write a brief, run an audit or recap a campaign. Use CLAUDE.md for who you are and skills for how you work.
That split matters as your system grows. A CLAUDE.md stuffed with every procedure costs context on every turn and gets ignored in the middle. Our CLAUDE.md setup guide for marketers covers what belongs in the always-on file.
Which Claude skills should a marketer build first?
Start with the five jobs you repeat every week: a brand voice check, a content brief, an SEO page audit, a repurposing pass and a campaign recap. Each one replaces a long prompt you already retype. Build the voice skill first, because every other skill can call it before anything ships.
- Brand voice check. Your attributes, banned words and a pre-publish checklist. We run one on every post on this site.
- Content brief. Audience, search intent, the question each section answers, internal links and the call to action.
- SEO page audit. Title length, description, headings, schema and internal links, checked against your own rules.
- Repurposing. One post into a LinkedIn post, an email and three social posts, each in the right format.
- Campaign recap. Pull the numbers, compare them to the goal, and write the three findings that change next week.
How do you write a Claude skill?
Create a folder named for the job, add a SKILL.md file, and write a description that says exactly when to use it. Then write the procedure as numbered steps with your real rules and one good example. Test it on a task you already know the answer to, and fix whatever it gets wrong.
---
name: brand-voice-check
description: Check any public copy against our brand voice before it ships. Use for blog posts, emails, landing pages and social posts.
---
1. Read the draft in full.
2. Flag every banned word: leverage, unlock, robust, synergy.
3. Flag em dashes and replace them with periods or commas.
4. Check the first line states the point.
5. Return the edited draft and a list of what changed.In Claude Code, a project skill lives in .claude/skills/brand-voice-check/SKILL.md and a personal one in ~/.claude/skills/. The description does most of the work. "Writing help" never triggers. "Use for blog posts, emails, landing pages and social posts" does.
What makes a marketing skill work well?
Good skills are narrow, specific and tested. One job per skill, real examples from your own work, and rules stated as checks Claude can verify. Vague skills produce vague output. If a skill needs your positioning or audience, point it to the files that hold them instead of copying them in.
That last point is where most marketing skills fall down. A brief skill is only as good as the brand context it reads. If your positioning, audience and voice live in one place, every skill can use them. That is the job of a knowledge base: the source of truth your skills read before they write.
Should you buy Claude skills or build your own?
Buy skills for craft that is not specific to you, like UI design or a proven workflow. Build skills for anything that depends on your brand, your audience or your process. A bought skill gives you a working pattern on day one; your own skills make the output sound like you.
We sell both kinds. Our UI skills for Claude Code give Claude design systems and templates for landing pages and forms. The Claude Code Service OS is a packaged workflow that turns your experience into a service offer, a pricing plan and a website. For running several agents together, see our free agent teams skill and the Hermes first handoff guide.
Where should you start?
Start with one skill this week: the brand voice check. Write your rules, run it on your last three pieces of content, and fix what it misses. Once it works, add the content brief skill and have it call the voice check before it returns anything. Two skills that work beat ten you never trust.
If you have not set up Claude Code yet, our Claude Code for marketing guide covers the install and the first week.
Your skills write better when they read a real brand foundation. In Brand Architect, Ophelia builds your knowledge base from your website or materials and keeps it current as the market moves. Build your knowledge base →