How to Use Scalenut to Plan a Cluster and Draft One Post

The short answer: run the Keyword Planner on one primary keyword or a list of 10 to 200, open the report and pick the cluster whose intent and difficulty fit, click Create SEO Article, set the context in Cruise Mode (reference articles, prompts, key terms, brand kit), choose a title, edit the outline, review the first draft, polish it in the editor with Fix It, and send it to WordPress as a draft. Starter allows 5 articles and 5 clusters a month for $59 on monthly billing, per the Scalenut pricing page, checked on 24 October 2026.

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A cluster plan answers the question a content calendar usually skips: which articles belong together, and which one to write first. Scalenut builds the plan from keyword data and then drafts against it, so the first article inherits the cluster's keywords and prompt. For what the plans include and cost, see the Scalenut glossary entry.

Before you start:

1. Fit the trial. The 7-day trial is the only refund window, per the refund policy. One cluster report and one finished article fit comfortably inside it, and Starter's 5 articles a month at $59 work out at $59 ÷ 5 = $11.80 each, using the pricing page figures.
2. Feed it your own keywords. A list upload takes 10 to 200 keywords. Your Search Console queries or an export from your keyword tool make a better input than a single guess.
3. Set the yardstick. Pick one existing page in the same topic and note its clicks in Search Console; the new article should be measured against that, not against the in-app score.

What you need first

• A Scalenut trial or plan, with one workspace per domain.
• A primary keyword, or a CSV of 10 to 200 keywords.
• Two to five URLs of articles you consider strong on the topic.
• A WordPress user with Author rights or higher, and an Application Password, for the publishing step.

Step 1: Build the clusters

Open Keyword Planner from the left panel under GEO Core. Choose By Primary Keyword, enter the keyword and target region, and click Plan; or choose By List of Keywords and upload a file of 10 to 200 keywords, per the Keyword Planner guide. Keyword settings are only available on the Pro plan.

Step 2: Read the report

Click Open Report and expand a cluster. Each shows its clustered keywords, the primary keyword, an AI Prompt that reflects the search intent, and per-keyword intent, relevance, search volume, difficulty and CPC. Top Domains lists the ten ranking domains and what share of the cluster each ranks for, per the Keyword Planner guide; a domain covering most of the cluster has already built the topic.

Step 3: Pick one cluster

Scalenut's cluster selection guide suggests weighing demand, intent and entity relevance, and looking at low-difficulty clusters where the AI prompt exposes a gap. Add your own filter: the cluster should match something you sell. Export the cluster list to CSV so the plan lives outside the tool too.

Step 4: Set the context in Cruise Mode

Hover over the cluster and click Create SEO Article, selecting the keywords to keep. In Cruise Mode's Context step, choose the article type, add instructions for the AI, pick up to five reference articles, manage the Prompt Library and Key Terms, and apply a saved Brand Kit, per the Cruise Mode guide. The Brand Kit carries voice, preferred and banned keywords, and readability settings.

Step 5: Choose the title and shape the outline

In the Title step, pick from suggested or top-ranked titles, rephrase, or write your own, then click Create Outline. Edit the H2s, H3s and calls to action, drag sections into order, and pull headings from top-ranked outlines; selected headers are struck through to avoid duplicates, per the Cruise Mode guide. This is the cheapest place to fix the article, so spend the time here.

Step 6: Review the first draft

The first draft shows the structure on the left and the text on the right, with a word count per section. Each section can be regenerated, rephrased, expanded, shortened, simplified or turned into bullets, per the first draft guide. Check the content score and key term usage at the bottom, then click Export to Editor.

Step 7: Polish it in the editor

In the editor, work through the recommendations on prompt coverage, schema, headings, meta tags and links. For most parameters, Fix It offers a suggestion you accept with Replace or reject with Dismiss; content depth and keyword density need manual edits. Gaps shows topics competitors cover and you do not; Gains shows what only you say. The Research tab lists questions from Google, Quora and Reddit, and statistics from top articles, per the first draft guide.

Step 8: Send it to WordPress

Connect WordPress Publisher under Apps, App Integrations, with your site address, username and the 24-character Application Password, then choose Publish, Schedule or Draft, per the publishing guide. Save it as a draft for a final read in WordPress.

The AI step, and the human check

Cruise Mode is the AI step: it writes the first draft from your context, prompts and key terms, and Fix It proposes edits. Scalenut's integrations page lists no MCP server or agent platform connection, so the work stays in its editor.

The check that goes with it: every Fix It suggestion is accepted or dismissed by a person, and every statistic the Research tab supplies is traced to its source before it stays in. Google's generative AI guidance asks for exactly that fact-check before publishing.

What the help docs warn about

• List size. Uploads need at least 10 and at most 200 keywords.
• Permalinks. A custom slug does not work with Plain or Numeric permalink settings.
• WordPress roles. Subscribers cannot connect, and Contributors can export drafts but not publish or schedule, per the publishing guide.
• Plan-gated features. Interlinking is limited to certain plans, per the first draft guide.

A tool that sells article allowances does well when every cluster becomes five articles at once. My view: one cluster, one finished pillar piece and a month of data tell you more than five drafts nobody had time to edit.

FAQ

How many keywords can I upload to the Keyword Planner?

Between 10 and 200 in one CSV or Excel file, per the Keyword Planner guide.

Can I save the article as a WordPress draft?

Yes. Choose Draft, fill in the details and click Export as Draft, creating a new post or updating an existing one, per the publishing guide.

Does Scalenut connect to Semrush?

Yes, for keyword research and a Cluster Booster, according to the integrations page.