HOW TO WRITE YOUR OWN BRIEF AND WHY YOU NEED ONE

Every copywriter, everywhere is given a brief for every job.

Why?

It’s your bible. It holds all the information you need to write exactly what you need to. Hitting the brief is hitting your goal. Keeping it neat, succinct and to the point is paramount.

So why do you, a business owner need one? You’re not a copywriter right?

It’s going to be so useful to you. It will get all that loose info out of your head, down on paper in an order that you can almost use as a structure.

It’s going to bring clarity. Stop the overwhelm. And give you something physical to go back to when your head is mashed and you’ve lost your way. It’s like your best friend that keeps you on track, like a satnav. So if you’re veering off topic, check the brief.

You can download a free template here!

But first, let me talk you through it.

Yours is different to what a copywriter will see. I’ve simplified it so it only has the bits relevant to you. So let’s jump in.

WHAT ARE YOU WRITING TODAY?

Is it a blog? A newsletter? An email? A social post?

This is the first question to ask yourself. It’s helpful just to write that down in the first block of the template. It’s setting your stall out for the task ahead.

You can elaborate on that because next we’re going to ask what is it about and why?

So, you could say:

A blog

About subheadings and why they’re key to writing.

Once it’s written down that’s brilliant. You’ve nailed your first hurdle.

NEXT: WHO EXACTLY ARE YOU SPEAKING TO?

This is massive. It’s really important to identify who your target audience is. It’ll determine how you speak to them and what information you give them to solve their problem.

If you know your target audience, get a specific person in your head and write just for them. As if you’re talking to them in the pub. It’s so much easier when you have a face in mind. And being specific is the key.

If you’re generic you won’t resonate with anyone as you’re writing will be too vague and just won’t connect.

So your audience could be:

Women business owners, aged 35 to 45. They’re new to business and are struggling to write impactful communications to their audience.

Add to the box on the template who your target is. Who is making the decisions to buy your product or service? If it’s to schools, who will decide, the teacher? The headmaster? The business director? This makes a difference and you need your message to talk to the right person.

NEXT: WHAT’S THE PURPOSE OF THE PIECE?

What problem are you solving for someone? What announcement are you making? Again, be as specific as possible. So if you were writing a blog to explain subheadings and why we need them, to business women, your purpose or reason to write it could be…

To educate and help women understand why breaking chunks of copy up makes it easier to read, which results in more engagement.

NEXT: WHAT’S YOUR KEY MESSAGE?

Notice we mentioned A key message. Just one. So what’s the one thing you’re telling your audience? If they read nothing else, what is the single takeaway you want them to remember from reading your communication?

If you get this short enough, it could be crafted to become your title if it’s a blog. Or the headline on a social media post. It also keeps you focused on the single minded message, so you don’t wander off topic. So keep asking yourself, is my key message the main focus all the way through?

For example, it could be:

Subheadings and why they are important to use to increase engagement, increase readership and ultimately get my message read.

NEXT: WHAT FACTS SUPPORT YOUR KEY MESSAGE?

Think about what facts can you use to say ‘why’ your message is true. What evidence do you have or reasons to substantiate your claim. Or think about ‘why’ your product is useful, or ‘why’ people should come and try your service.

Write a list. You might have to research it, or you might know it, but writing ‘because it’s the best’, won’t cut it. People want to know why. Give them a reason to buy.

For us, with our subheading blog as an example we could say:

Subheadings improve writing because…

• They stop copy being overwhelming
• They make it more inviting to read
• You can see each paragraph at a glance
• They draw your eye down the page
• Etc…

These are the bones of the structure to your piece. Once you’ve got them on paper, and once you’ve got your whole brief finished you can come back to these and order them in priority order. What is more important to your customer? Talk about that first and order it down to the least important.

NEXT: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THIS KEY MESSAGE? 

Benefits are different to features. Benefits are the things that make someone’s life easier. The answer to everyone’s question.

What’s in it for me?

Why does it make my life better? Does it save time? Is something faster? Easier? Is it now a one man job?

Benefits convince people they need what you’re selling. They change perceptions. They persuade.

For our subheadings blog, we could say:

• More people will read your blog because it’s in small bite size chunks.
• You can reach more people.
• Grow the know, like and trust theory.
• Sell more items if your audience read and understand the benefits of your service / product. Etc…

NEXT: WHAT DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO DO ONCE THEY’VE READ YOUR MESSAGE?

You have to tell people exactly what they need to do next. Never assume they will just do it. This is called a Call To Action or a CTA. So what’s your CTA?

Is it to:

• Subscribe to your membership
• Call for a consultation
• Download a freebie
• Click the button to buy now
• Like and follow
• Enter a competition

The list goes on. Whatever it is, make it easy for them. Give them the email address, or a link. Add the phone number, add a button to subscribe. If they have to search for it, you’ve lost them. No one will bother. So tell them what to do and put it right under their nose. Or their fingertips.

NEXT: WHAT’S YOUR TONE OF VOICE?

The tone of voice is how you say something not what you say. It depends on how you want to sound, how you want to make your customers feel and who you’re talking to.

It’s the difference between something sounding like this:

Hey dude! Check out our just landed online courses. They’re hot! 🔥

And this

We’re launching our latest online course! It’s full of handy tips and tricks you’ll love.

It’s the same product but one is aimed at a younger audience, while the other is aimed at older, more professional people.

For big brands we always need the tone of voice. That’s vital and usually a document on its own. But if it’s your own business and it’s your voice and your personality shining through, then you won’t need to question what the tone is. Just be conversational and warm.

AND FINALLY: WHAT’S YOUR DEADLINE?

Probably the first question a copywriter asks on a project. But for you, it sets a goal. It gives you something to work towards. It might not be critical. It might be a self imposed deadline. But add it in to your brief so you can keep it in mind.

Once you’ve filled in your template, you’ve actually made a good start on all the legwork. It gets the floaty info out of your head, makes it real and tangible. It becomes something you can work with, craft and mould like clay.  

We’d also add other sections like word count or character count for digital pieces that absolutely have to fit. Or timings if it’s a radio ad. They’re 10 seconds, 30 seconds and can’t go over, they just get cut off. So you may have other mandatories.

If you ‘d like to read the blog about subheadings, click here.

Now Step Up And Write, good luck. And let us know how you get on!