The copywriting brief is an essential part of any project.
The series of questions it contains are designed to extract as much information about your business as possible.
Your writer needs to know everything about you, your business, your products and services, the marketplace in which you operate, your customers, their likes and dislikes, their buying objections, who your competitors are etc.
In essence, it is a document that should bring your writer up to speed quickly. They need to understand your business – although you know it inside and out, this is the first contact they will have with it.
As you read this you might decide that rather go through all that it would be easier to write it yourself – would it though?
Think about it – you found a copywriter because you wanted professional content that will make your audience stop, take note and buy. It’s their experience that will make that happen, plus the fact that they are not too close to your business.
But rather than see the briefing process as a laborious task, you should view it as a learning experience. Here’s why.
The copywriting brief will open your eyes
It’s not often you get the opportunity to sit down and really think about your business.
The briefing document will ask lots of searching questions that will make you see your business in a different light.
It will make you stop and think about your values, what you stand for, how your customers see you and how you want your customers to see you.
I’ve lost count of the number of times clients have reluctantly completed the document for me only to come back raving about the experience and how it completely changed the way they see their business.
It helps give you a clarity that usually missing because you’re so busy dealing with the day-to-day stuff.
The questions will help you see where you are and whether you’re heading in the right direction to hit your long-term goals.
Use the briefing process to help you assess where you are and where your business is.
Your answers will help you see where you need to improve and the changes you need to make to make the perception your customers have of your business align with the one you want them to have.
A copywriting brief is a lot more than just a vehicle to start a content project; it’s an opportunity to review your business and refine your processes to make sure your satisfying the needs of your customers as well as your own goals.