How Is a Good Copywriting Brief Created?

When creating a blog article, the central question is: how do we create a good article? This question, in turn, results in another question: do we have the resources internally to write the articles ourselves?

If the answer to this is no, then the option is to outsource the copywriting. This can either be given to a PR agency, a content writing agency, a freelancer or an online network of writers

In all cases, the external writer must be briefed so that the desired content is clear. Therefore, in order to also get a promising result, the copywriter briefing should be created as well as possible. We explain exactly how this is done in this article

Document Structure and Subdivision

An unstructured document is one of the most fatal mistakes of copywriter briefs. It will be hard for a writer to find important information or make connections. Therefore, it is important to have a clear division and structure in the document

The following example shows what the structure of the copywriting brief could be like

Introduction - The Company

To ensure the author has a holistic picture, it makes sense to share some information about your company as an introduction. This allows the author to learn more about the company style, the industry and the market in which the company operates.

Furthermore, the link to the website or even the existing blog should not be missing. This gives the writer the opportunity to expand their research and get a complete picture.

At the end of the introduction, the core message of the company is still highlighted and serves as a common thread for any text

Personas

The buyer persona, or target group, should be clearly defined. It must be obvious to whom this article is addressed. Information such as gender, age, working title, know-how level, demographic facts and pain points should be communicated. Only if a target group is clearly defined, it enables the author to write his text tailor-made and suitable for the target group

Language & Style

Language and style are the be-all and end-all of an article. How a company communicates should be uniformly defined and followed through. Thus topics like

• Writing style (e.g. promotional, technical, questioning, provocative, neutral)

• Address (e.g. direct, indirect, formal, informal)

• Formatting (e.g., short paragraphs, intertitles, bullet points)

• Terms/topics to avoid

defined in a copywriter briefing and serve as rules of the game for copywriting

Content

The next section of the copywriting brief is to define the effective content of the article. Again, the more specific the topics, subtopics and other information are defined, the higher the chance of getting a result that meets expectations

The following content subdivision should be carried out:

Keyword

After a keyword research, the keyword with which you want to be placed on Google should be defined. This keyword should appear 5-15 times in the title and body text, depending on the length of the article

• Persona

The buyer persona, which was defined in an earlier step, should be communicated to the author

Article Length

The length of the article should be defined to a minimum & maximum word count

• Title

The title of the article is defined here

• Lead

The content of the article is teased using the lead (introduction) in 2-3 sentences and should pique the interest of the reader.

Starting Position

The reader's starting position before reading the article should be highlighted again.

• Thesis

The thesis statement serves to establish the claim or the main thrust of the article and thus should serve as the outcome of the article.

• Argument / Chapter

The arguments and/or chapters of the article should be given in a structured manner with subtitles and keywords.

Conclusion

In the conclusion, a summary of the main points is made.

• Sources / References

The writer should already be given reference articles and sources with information that should be reflected in the article. The more sources the writer is given, the more specific the article will be filled with information given by your company. So, here is the rule: it is worthwhile to do a specialized research in order to achieve the desired outcome.

Checking / Proofreading

Once the copywriting brief is complete, a second or more people should take another look. The think out of the box principle applies here. If one person has spent a lot of time on the brief, it is harder for that person to bring in another aspect, question something or even spot errors.

The fresh perspective improves your article with little effort and should therefore always be included.

Conclusion: Research and Structure Are Key to Success

Copywriting briefings serve as a guide for writers to write copy. Through them, specialist texts can also be created by external authors without losing the style of the company. In addition, a well-written copywriting brief also allows for copywriting on information that requires subject matter expertise. Thus, no core information is lost and the result meets expectations. So the golden formula is