The Anatomy of an Effective Content Brief

The best projects I’ve been a part of have this in common:

A clear content brief.

I’m not surprised. The content brief (or creative brief, or project brief) is the backbone of any content project.

Just like a clear recipe can make the difference between cooking a gourmet meal and ordering takeout, a clear content brief saves you time, eliminates the need for multiple edits, and makes good content a no-brainer.

First: what is a content brief?

A content brief describes the content you want to create, who you’re creating it for, and what you expect it to accomplish.

Depending on who you ask, a content brief can refer to a written document or a verbal discussion. Some teams always use a formal briefing document, either because that’s their standard procedure or because it works well for them. Other teams prefer to talk things out in a Skype session.

There’s no one right way to brief your writer. And yet, if you were my client, I’d urge you to put your project brief in writing.

The importance of a written content brief

Creating a written brief requires you to get extremely clear on what you expect from your content. It forces you to think about all the different aspects of the piece you’re creating, from why you’re writing it in the first place to who you’re writing it for and what should be included.

You’d be surprised how often teams commission a piece of content, then spend weeks requesting extensive changes in order to make everyone happy. Or end up needing a full rewrite because they’ve decided to go in a different direction.

Getting it all down on paper puts everyone on the same page — literally. You’re able to avoid these problems entirely because everyone has agreed to the vision for the content before it’s created.

The brief also provides you and your writer with concrete guidelines to refer back to in order to keep your project on the right track.

And finally, it protects you — the client — from wasting money on content that isn’t what you wanted. If a piece doesn’t meet your expectations, you can simply point back to the brief.

One note: I often meet with clients by phone to discuss their project — it’s an easy way for me to pull out details that might be missed on a project sheet. In that case, I recommend capturing all the details of that conversation in a briefing document. (You can snag the exact template I use right here.)

How to write a good content brief

The best content briefs I’ve received weren’t overly complicated or in-depth.

If you’ve chosen a high-quality writer, you can safely expect that they’ll do their homework. (For me, that usually includes researching your existing company materials, your competitors, and the topic you’ve proposed.)

But there are a few key elements you won’t want to skip out on when creating or discussing your brief:

1. Deadline

First, you’ll need to determine how soon you need the content. Don’t forget to allow time for revisions and approvals! Some briefing documents just include a first draft delivery date, but you may find it useful to outline the approval date, final draft date, and publish date in order to ensure your project stays on schedule.

2. Project summary and deliverables

Next, describe the nuts and bolts of your project. What pieces of content do you need? What format will the content take? What is the target length? How do you plan to use the content?

For example: “We need content for a 4-5 page whitepaper explaining the most common mistakes people make when selecting software. We also need a short teaser email and 15-20 social media blurbs to promote the whitepaper.”

3. Audience

Now it’s time to describe your target audience. The more specific you can get, the better!

If you haven’t created buyer personas yet, you may find it useful to do so. According to Hubspot, a buyer persona is “a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on market research and real data about your existing customers.” When creating your buyer persona, consider including details about your customer demographics, business, goals, and challenges.  

You can use this free buyer persona tool to make a persona your entire company can use.

4. Objective

What is your primary goal for this campaign? Are you hoping to attract new readers, grow your mailing list, or increase customer loyalty? Knowing what you want your content to do will give you a concrete way to measure its success.

5. Project details

In this section, you’ll dive into the key points of your content. Be sure to include:

• Key message: What one big idea do you want readers to take away from your content?
• Supporting details: What facts prove your key idea? What examples demonstrate your point?
• Call-to-action: What one action do you want your audience to take after reading this piece? Should they download a lead magnet, contact your team, subscribe to your newsletter, etc.?
• More content ideas/resources: Any external references, related content, or internal links that should be included

6. Approval

Finally, who will approve the final content? A word of caution: anyone who will sign off on the content should be involved in the initial brief. Otherwise, it’s almost a guarantee that you’ll end up needing extensive changes in order to satisfy everyone.

The most effective teams discuss the project internally first, then choose a “point person” who will communicate with the writer and approve all content. This saves your team from duplicating work and makes things flow much more smoothly.

This sounds time consuming. Is there a faster option?

Briefing your writer does take a few extra minutes up front, but it will save you hours in back-and-forth emails and revisions.

But there’s good news: Once you find a writer who works well with your team, you won’t need to repeat these steps every time. The more you work together, the faster it gets.

In fact, a few of my clients only need to send me a few notes and bullet points to get started. Because I already know their business, audience, and specifications, I’m able to create content that hits the mark with minimal oversight or revisions.

Convinced? Download my content brief template for your next project.

Customize it to your needs, fancy it up with your own branding, use it however you like. You don’t even need to enter your email — just click here to download.

But if you like it, would you do me a favor and share it with your friends using this link?

Like you, my business thrives on happy readers who spread the word.