Briefing Your Copywriter - How to Get It Right

When hiring a professional copywriter it's important to remember they don't have a crystal ball. They can create compelling copy, they even have the ability to get inside your readers' head, but they can't create great content without a full and comprehensive brief.
Most copywriters will provide you with a briefing document (if a face to face meeting isn't possible). It will consist of a series of questions designed to extract as much information about your business, customers and products or services as possible.
Why?
Your writer needs to know everything about you, your business, your products and services, the marketplace where you operate, your customers, their likes and dislikes, their buying objections, and who your competitors are, etc.
Basically, it is a document that will bring your writer up to speed quickly.
Yes, it takes time to create a strong brief and you might be thinking is it really worth it? If you have to go through all that surely it would be easier to write the content yourself.
Would it?
You searched for a copywriter because you wanted professional content that makes your audience stop, take note and buy. It's their experience that will make that happen, plus the fact that they are not too close to your business.
So instead of seeing the briefing process as a laborious task, view it as a learning experience.
The brief will open your eyes
How often you get to sit down and think about your business?
Completing the briefing document means answering lots of searching questions that will make you see your business in a different light.
It will make you stop and think about your values, what you stand for, how your customers see you and how you want your customers to see you.
I've lost count of the number of times clients have reluctantly completed the document for me only to come back raving about the experience and how it completely changed the way they see their business.
It helps give you a clarity that's usually missing because you're so busy dealing with the day-to-day stuff.
The questions will help you see where you are and whether you're heading in the right direction to hit your long-term goals.
Be open-minded
Once you've completed your brief and handed it over to your copywriter it's time to think about the approach you're going to take.
As a business owner, you'll want to fit in with your industry but being a carbon copy of everyone else isn't always a good thing.
Clients often ask me to come up with something that will differentiate them from their competitors, but when I do they get cold feet asking for me to revert back to their 'industry type'.
This is a mistake because it's often good to move away from your comfort zone. After all, how can you stand out if your content blends with everyone else's? It's important to consider everything and it's your writer's job to push the boundaries and try new approaches to help your business stand apart from the rest.
What you need to cover
Your brief should cover areas such as:

• A description of your ideal customer
• The benefits and features of your product/service
• Details about your business and its people
• The values of your business
• The type of writing you need
• A detailed description of the project and its scope
• Any house styles that have to be adhered to
• Potential buying objections that have to be overcome
• Any compliance issues
• What the content review process will be
• The aims of your project
• Any keywords that have to be taken into consideration
• Examples of the type of voice/approach you like
• What is unique about your product/service

A copywriting brief is a lot more than just a vehicle to start a content project; it's an opportunity to review your business and refine your processes to make sure you're satisfying the needs of your customers as well as your own goals.