I’ve been a copywriter for over a decade. And in that time, I’ve received a lot of briefs — good briefs, bad briefs, ugly briefs, and not to mention downright confusing briefs. But I’m also pleased to say I’ve had a lot of really, really good briefs.

So what makes a copywriting brief a really, really good one?

It’s one that includes as much of the following details as possible.

Remember, the more information you give your copywriter about the project, the more likely it is that you’ll get some great copy back — and that you won’t need to send it back for any major revisions.

Start with the basics

First of all, make sure the absolute basic details are covered.

Things like:

• The brand and product
• The deadline
• An approximate length — e.g. 1,000 words, or three paragraphs, or one short Instagram caption

Now… what is it?

We’ve got the boring stuff out of the way, so let’s get into the weeds of it: what’s the project?

Is it an email? A web page? A catalogue? A print ad for a trade magazine? A set of product descriptions?

Again, the more detail you can give, the better.

If you have a specific format or layout in mind, now’s the time to add that. A previous example goes down a treat, if you’ve got one. Even a quick MS Paint-style sketch can paint a thousand words!

Who’s the audience?

Next, who’s it for? Perhaps it’s a communication for your existing customers. Or maybe you want to reach people who have never heard of your brand before.

And what are those readers like? Are they, for instance, small business owners — people who want to grow their business but need easy, low-cost solutions? Or perhaps you have demographic data to share — if you’re selling luxury handbags, that could be ‘high net worth women aged 30–60’, for example.

Or maybe your project may be seen by anyone in the general public, with a few key people whose attention you especially want to grab.

The more you can tell your copywriter about their audience, the better. A professional, high-ranking employee looking for business solutions will respond to different types of messaging compared to, say, a budget supermarket shopper looking for a treat.

What’s the tone?

On that note, let’s talk branding. What tone of voice does your brand and project need?

If you have a house style guide, great — send that across. But if not, that’s fine too — there are some simple things you can do to give your copywriter an idea of the voice you need.

An easy way to do so is with a few adjectives that describe the right tone for your brand. Here are some examples:

• Professional, formal, serious
• Light-hearted, bubbly, cheeky
• Informative, clear, non-judgemental
• Modern, snappy, cutting-edge
• Luxurious, poetic, decadent

And it’s always helpful to provide some examples, if you can. That could be a previous project that nailed the copy — or even another brand with a voice you find inspiring.

What’s the goal?

Now, why are we doing this? What’s the goal of this copy? You might want to:

• Drive conversion and convince people to buy your products
• Get lots of new sign-ups, leads, or data
• Inform your customers about something vital
• Entertain your readers with some fun content
• Rank highly on Google

Or maybe it’s a combination of a few of those.

Whatever you want, your writer will be able to shape the copy and tone accordingly.

What else?

If you’ve covered everything above, your copywriter should have a pretty good idea of what you’re expecting them to write.

But it’s hardly an exhaustive list. Be sure to mention anything else — at all — that you feel they should know about the project, or the brand, or the products, or your customers, or the current state of the market… Any and all details are helpful!

As the brief writer, you know more about your campaign than anyone. Let your copywriter in on that vision, and the two of you will be set for a fantastic collaboration.