How to give your freelance copywriter a really good brief

You obviously want outstanding copy or content. But the standard of the work you get will depend on the brief you give to the freelance copywriter.

The problem is, you might not be familiar with writing a brief. Or you might feel uncomfortable or embarrassed briefing someone on creative type work that you don’t understand.

Obviously, you know your own profession inside and out, but websites, microsites, SEO, social media, adverts and mailers - you know nothing about them, much less how to tell someone what you want doing. You don’t want to sound stupid or uninformed.

Your freelance copywriter is here to help

We want to do a fantastic job for you and will guide you through a process that will produce superb work at the end. In fact, going through the briefing process will make you examine your own business, and might even clarify your own thinking about where you are and where you want to be.

So, to start the ball rolling we email over a creative briefing form. It’s nothing heavy or complicated. It’s just 12 questions that need a simple answer. It can even be just 2 or 3 bullet points.

Of course, you can send over tons more info if you have it.

Copywriters can never have too much information. We’re expert at reading everything and just snipping out key insights or facts from piles of research, notes or documents.

Here are the questions:

  • What’s needed?

Just so it’s clear, exactly what do you need? Don’t forget, if you hire a creative copywriter he or she might suggest a different approach altogether that might be a better way to achieve your objective  - at lower cost to you.

  • Where’s this work appearing?

Is it a web page, landing page, social media post, blog? If it’s an advert, which newspaper or magazine is it going in and when? If it’s a mailer, when’s it going out?

  • Who’s your target audience - what kind of person are you aiming at?

Are you aiming at your current customers, old customers you want to bring back or prospects you want to turn into new customers. How old are they? What type of homes do they live in? What is their income range? What are their hobbies? What competitor products or services are they buying? Nailing down this information will be really useful to you too.

  • What are the objectives of this work?

Do you want more visitors to your website, more enquiries, more Likes, Follows or Shares on social media? Do you want more traffic to your shop, more orders, more repeat purchases? Do you want to build a database of customers you can email, more subscribers to your newsletters, more members or donors to support your business or charity? And what’s your big overall goal – more sales, more market share, grow your business, eliminate competitors?

  • What’s the product or service you’re offering?

What exactly are you offering to your customers or prospects? A new product or service? An improved product or service? A free consultation? A free trial, sample or test drive? An invitation to a special event, sale shopping evening or new store opening? Sale or discount offers?

  • What’s your USP – your single most important benefit?

This is the one question that does need some proper thought. Your USP is your Unique Selling Proposition, the one thing that makes your product, service or brand the best. It’s the one key benefit that will make a potential customer choose you over your competitors. Here’s a great USP for John Lewis:

Never Knowingly Undersold

Of course, it just means they’re cheaper. But they also throw in a ‘refund the difference’ guarantee – that’s a pretty good USP. And they were saying this years before anyone else.

So, if you already have one, great. If not, try to think of one thing that you do, or a benefit you offer that nobody else can. Are you faster, cheaper, closer than your competitors? Is your service better? Do you have a wider range? Do you offer a money-back guarantee or a longer guarantee? If your business is exactly the same as many of your competitors, try to do just one thing better than them and then shout about it. Remember, a creative copywriter can help you come up with a strong USP if you don’t have one.

  • Who are your competitors?

Are they local or national, large or small? What do they do that you don’t? And what do you do that they don’t? Working these things out will help you come up with your USP.

  • What’s your tone of voice? Is there a brand similar?

This was discussed in more detail in a different article. If you know your brand tone of voice, that’s a good start. If not, just tell your freelance copywriter what brands you think are similar to yours, what advertising you admire and would like to emulate. It also helps if you can work out comparisons: if your brand was a car what would it be, what male or female film star, what TV programme, what city, what country, what colour, what type of house or type of dog and so on.

  • What’s the call to action?

What do you want people to do? Browse your website, order online, Like, Share, Follow on social media, go into your shop, make a donation, return the order form.

  • Is there anything that definitely has to go in?

This covers things like legal requirements, terms and conditions and various caveats. Plus, any essential facts about your company – all of our products are made in Britain, we only use local produce, all of our vehicles are green and so on.

  • Anything extra you want to add?

This could be anything like previous images, headlines or adverts that just didn’t work. Ideas you don’t like, colours that you don’t want to use and so on. You also need to mention any sensitive or confidential information that must not be included.

  • What’s the deadline?

When do you want it?

Hope these answers are useful. If you have any more questions, go to our FAQ section. Or get in touch. Call 07966 196706, email jamie@worddept.com or use our Contact Form.