TL/DR: Why do I ask for a project brief from my clients? Because I hate to disappoint them.
Point blank, period. That’s the truth, no BS, no drama. I need a fully completed and well-thought-out brief to meet a client’s expectations. So many details go into a well-written piece of content and I can’t deliver that if I don’t know or understand them.
For example, I had a client who asked me to write new internal value statements and team names for their company. They were trying to build a more relaxed and inclusive culture in the workplace. They said they were looking for something other than the usual business-speak like “IT Department” or “Innovation” as a company value. Great, right? It sounded like a really fun project. I asked a lot of questions about their brand, their mission, vision, and positioning. I also asked about their staff demographics, organizational structure, and HR communication cadence. Finally, I asked to see any internal communications they regularly send, like newsletters or emails.
I didn’t want to propose something that wouldn’t fit their external brand or resonate with their workforce. The answers I got back were very minimal. They didn’t really have an established brand, internal or external, and they couldn’t (or wouldn’t) provide me with any current samples of communication. They just said, “Be creative! We want it to be fun.”
Well, I tried. I came up with more value statements and team names than they asked for so they would have options. I also wrote from a couple of different perspectives and angles, just to be safe. But, in the end, they didn’t like any of it. They liked pieces of the content but nothing that flowed together. So, I went back to the drawing board twice more to try to make them happy.
In the end, they agreed to accept my third attempt as final. I’m not sure they ever used the new value statements and team names. It was a difficult project for everyone.
After that, I started asking clients for as much information as possible. I ask for brand guides, marketing personas, prior marketing samples, KPIs and goals they are trying to reach, or whatever would be relevant to the project. I sometimes still feel like I don’t know everything, but luckily I’ve managed to make my clients happy.
Now that I am a full-time copywriter, the time has come for me to create a project brief template. I will ask every new client to fill it out to the best of their ability before we start working together. I’m in the middle of creating it now, and boy, it’s long! I’m hoping I don’t scare clients away. Maybe I’ll test portions of it first just to see the response. Here’s the draft. Too much? What am I missing?
