The Ultimate Guide on How to Brief a Copywriter

When you brief your copywriter, how do you make sure that they’ll deliver copy that is bang on-message? The answer often lies in the way you brief. In this post, we look at the easiest way to brief your copywriter, so they can nail your tone of voice and messaging first time. We include some key questions you should answer as part of the copywriter briefing process and have also made a free downloadable example briefing checklist for a blog post that you may find useful.

Briefing like a pro saves time and money by minimising the need for revisions. It’s also a great way to ensure all your stakeholders are on the same page as you before you commission your copywriter.

Of course, all copywriting should have a clear purpose, whether it’s to persuade potential customers to choose your product or service, to help existing customers get the most from your offering, or any other specific business goal. And whether you are briefing an internal marketing copywriter or a freelance copywriter, making sure they are as clear about your purpose as you are is all down to the way you brief. 

Use a briefing sheet

Using a briefing sheet is a great way to ensure that your copywriter has all the information you need them to know. Below is an example of a briefing sheet for a blog post. Briefing within a structured format like this will provide your copywriter with clarity on your objective, messaging, tone of voice, and – crucially – what you want the reader to take away from the content.

Typically, filling in a briefing sheet takes a bit more time upfront, but it does save time in the long run whether you’re working on an article, blog post, white paper, case study or report. 

Here at Eight Moon, we include one round of edits in our copywriting service, which is pretty standard for freelance copywriters. Using a briefing checklist helps us nail down the copy within that scope without the need for extra rewriting costs. However, it is worth us sharing a bit of insight around rewriting needs, because in our experience, when clients request rewriting it’s nearly always down to stakeholders wanting to add extra information or different messaging to the original brief. 

Of course, there can be lots of different reasons for this, but one of the biggest issues is that stakeholders often don’t have a chance to give any written input until after the copy has been written. Implementing a briefing sheet that can circulated around your stakeholders before you commission your copywriter is probably the easiest way to fix this problem and get everybody aligned internally. With so many people working remotely now, briefing sheets are great way to get everyone on the same page quickly. 

Here are the key things you need to consider when creating a brief for copywriter:

  • What is the format of the content? e.g. blog post, article, case study, white paper, report, ebook etc.
  • What’s your business objective for the content? What do you want the reader to understand?
  • Where does the content fit into your sales funnel?
  • What are your key messages and what information can you provide to support them?  
  • Who is the main audience (persona)? What is their level of understanding of the topic? What is their need? Why should they be interested?
  • What is the brand’s tone of voice? Can you provide examples of your house style or a few links to some writing styles that you like?
  • Should the post be written in the first or third person? If it is written in first person, provide their name and role. A biography can also be helpful if your copywriter is not familiar with their background.
  • What are your key takeaways? What information do you want readers to understand and remember?
  • Any research/data, supporting assets or third-party quotes to include?
  • Any links to include?
  • Any keywords or phrases to include?
  • How many words do you need?
  • What timeframes are you working to?
  • Who are the stakeholders?

Your brand will probably already have a brand guide with tone of voice and messaging guidance which you can also give to your copywriter. If you don’t have a brand guide, we can help you to develop one, please get in touch if you’d like to find out more.

We’ve put together a downloadable copywriter briefing checklist to help you get the most out of your copywriting. You can also download the Eight Moon blog post briefing sheet below. 

Using a structured briefing method, enables you to spend less time (and money) on revisions and more time enjoying the results of informative, persuasive, and engaging brand content. If you have any upcoming copywriting requirements or are struggling to establish your brand voice, please contact us and we’d be delighted to talk to you.

Download your Copywriter Briefing Checklist here: