The brief template I hand every client before we start. Saves at least three follow-up calls.
Most copywriting projects don’t go wrong at the writing stage. They go wrong at the briefing stage, and every gap in the brief becomes a follow-up call, a revision round, or a piece of copy that misses what the client actually wanted.
After a few hundred projects, I now refuse to start work without a brief. Not a long one. A focused one. Here’s the template I send every client, the questions it asks, and why each one is on the list.
1. What is the single job this piece of copy needs to do?
One job. Not three. Sign up for a demo, book a call, download the guide, reply to the email, pick one.
Why it matters: Copy with a single purpose pulls readers in one direction. Copy with three competing CTAs splits attention and converts no one.
Common mistake: Listing every possible outcome (“we want demos but also newsletter signups but also case study downloads”). If everything is the goal, nothing is.
2. Who exactly is reading this?
Not “small business owners.” Not “decision-makers.” A specific person, with a specific role, in a specific moment. “Operations manager at a 20–50 person logistics firm, currently using spreadsheets, just had a missed delivery cost them a contract.”
Why it matters: The more specific the reader, the sharper the language. Generic audiences produce generic copy.
Common mistake: Defining the audience by demographics (“women aged 35–55”) instead of by situation, problem, and what they tried before.
3. What do they currently believe, and what do you need them to believe instead?
This is the belief shift. Before the copy: “I can do this in-house.” After the copy: “Hiring a specialist will pay for itself in three months.”
Why it matters: Copy is the bridge between those two beliefs. If you can’t name the start point and end point, the writer is guessing.
Common mistake: Skipping straight to features. Features only land once the belief shift is in motion.
4. What are the three best reasons to act?
Not ten. Three. Ranked.
Why it matters: If the client can name ten reasons, they don’t yet know which one matters most, and the copy will read like a feature dump. Forcing the ranking is the work.
Common mistake: Sending across a feature spreadsheet and asking the writer to “pick the best ones.” The writer doesn’t know the market well enough to make that call. The client does.
5. What are the three biggest objections?
Price. Time. Trust. Pick the three a real reader actually thinks. “Too expensive.” “I don’t have time to onboard.” “I’ve been burned by an agency before.”
Why it matters: Good copy answers objections before the reader has to voice them. If you don’t list them, the writer can’t address them.
Common mistake: Pretending there are no objections. There always are, and the silence on them is what kills conversion.
6. Who are the competitors and what do they say?
Three links. That’s all I need. Three direct competitors and a sentence each on what their positioning is.
Why it matters: Copy doesn’t live in a vacuum. If three competitors all lead with “fast, friendly, affordable,” your copy can’t lead with that and win.
Common mistake: Claiming there are no competitors. There are. The reader has alternatives, even if the alternative is “do nothing.”
7. What’s the tone? Give me an example.
Not adjectives. Examples. A brand they admire, an email they liked, a page that made them buy.
Why it matters: “Professional but friendly” means nothing. Every writer reads it differently. A link to a real piece of copy means everything.
Common mistake: Stacking adjectives. “Authoritative, approachable, witty, confident, warm.” Pick two, then show me what they look like in the wild.
8. What’s the format and where will it live?
Email? Landing page? Sales letter? Cold outreach? Above the fold or below? Mobile-first or desktop?
Why it matters: A 60-word email and a 1,200-word landing page are different crafts. Tell the writer the container before they pour the words.
Common mistake: Asking for “some copy” and only mentioning format at the revision stage.
9. What’s the deadline and what’s it tied to?
“Friday” is a deadline. “Friday, because the ad campaign launches Monday” is a deadline with consequences. The second one gets prioritised; the first one gets pushed.
Why it matters: Writers triage. Briefs with real stakes move to the top of the pile.
Common mistake: “ASAP.” It’s not a deadline. It’s a non-answer.
10. Who signs off, and what’s their definition of done?
Name the approver. Get their criteria up front. “Done means the CEO reads it and says ‘this sounds like us.'”
Why it matters: Half the revision rounds I’ve ever done were because a new stakeholder appeared at draft two with different priorities.
Common mistake: “We’ll know it when I see it.” That’s not a brief. That’s a guessing game with someone else’s money.
The follow-up calls this replaces
Three calls, every time:
- The “what are I actually trying to do here” call, halfway through the first draft.
- The “this isn’t quite the tone I wanted” call, after draft one lands.
- The “the boss has some thoughts” call, after a stakeholder you’d never heard of reviews it.
Send the brief first. Answer the ten questions. The project gets done in one pass instead of four, and the copy is sharper, because the thinking happened before the writing did.