{"id":867,"date":"2020-01-12T17:23:27","date_gmt":"2020-01-12T17:23:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.copycruncher.com\/?p=867"},"modified":"2020-01-12T17:23:28","modified_gmt":"2020-01-12T17:23:28","slug":"how-to-brief-a-freelance-copywriter-ten-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.copycruncher.com\/blog\/how-to-brief-a-freelance-copywriter-ten-tips","title":{"rendered":"How to brief a freelance copywriter \u2013 ten tips"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Quality content counts for a lot, and managers often need to delegate copywriting tasks to creatives who\u2019ll find the task much easier. But remember, a freelance copywriter\u2019s time correlates directly with your organisation\u2019s budget. That\u2019s why you should aim to give him or her everything they need in a detailed brief that isn\u2019t vague or ambiguous. With that in mind, here\u2019s our ten tips for briefing a freelance copywriter\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

#1<\/strong> It might sound obvious, but make sure your freelance\ncopywriter knows exactly who the client is. Giving them a shortened form of the\nname, as you know it, could have unfortunate consequences. This is because\nthere are many companies with similar sounding names. For example, if you say\nyou want a blog post for \u2018Centrum\u2019, meaning Centrum Holidays, and they write\none for Centrum Hotdogs, you\u2019ve wasted both their time and yours. Our tip is to\ninclude the client\u2019s full URL in the brief to avoid confusion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

#2<\/strong> Always give your freelance copywriter a word count.\nThis is important, not just for design purposes but also for helping them make\njudgement calls on information priority and structuring. If they write you\n1,000 words when you only wanted 200, it may cost you unnecessarily. A good\nidea is to check with a designer first to get a concrete idea about exactly\nwhat you want in terms of a word count.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#3<\/strong> If it\u2019s a sales pitch you want written, then always\ngive your freelance copywriter a list of features and benefits of the product\nor service. Ideally, you\u2019ll have identified a unique selling point (USP) to set\nyour client apart as special in the marketplace. However, this is not always\npossible. Details of any promotion are ideal ammunition for writers. Plus, if anything\nis free, always let the writer know. After all, the word FREE is about as good\nas it gets when writing a sales pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#4<\/strong> If possible, give your writer contact details for the\nclient in case they need to clarify anything. If you\u2019re worried about them\n\u2018tapping-up\u2019 your client for themselves, then you can get them to sign a\nrestraint of trade contract. This means you won\u2019t end up being a conduit for\ncorrespondence between two people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#5<\/strong> Always tell your freelance copywriter exactly what\nyou want prospective customers to do as a result of reading a sales pitch. This\nis vital for the call to action (CTA) at the end. The CTA is typically \u2018contact\nus for more information\u2019. However, it could be \u2018add yourself to our mailing\nlist\u2019, \u2018come and see us at this event\u2019, or \u2018order your FREE sample now\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#6<\/strong> If it\u2019s a press release you want written, then always\ngive your freelance copywriter the \u2018who, what, where, when, why and how\u2019 of the\nstory. Press releases benefit from quotations as well, so you may wish to\nsource quotes from a few different stakeholders. Importantly, these quotes\nperform the heavy-lifting of introducing some subjective language to emphasise\nquality or excellence. This is something the writer cannot do in the main body\nof the text because editors will have to rewrite it into objective language,\nreducing the likelihood of publication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#7<\/strong> Unless you\u2019re confident you\u2019re a strong writer, don\u2019t\ndraft something yourself and send it to your freelance copywriter for editing\nand proofing. This is because it could take them longer to edit than to write\nfrom scratch. Bullet points are ideal for getting your message across quickly\nand effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#8<\/strong> Always send your freelancer some information about\nyour client\u2019s experience and successes. This shouldn\u2019t be a problem because\nmost firms like to talk about themselves and how good they are. This isn\u2019t the\nmost important part of the copy, that\u2019s the list of benefits, but it does form\nan important part of any sales pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#9<\/strong> To save money, always ask your writer about their day\nrate. If they offer one, then you can get a bundle of briefs sent over for one\nday\u2019s work. This will not only get you a better rate, most likely, but can\nresult in higher-quality, more consistent copy. That\u2019s because the writer won\u2019t\nneed to switch styles any more than once or twice during the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#10<\/strong> Try to make yourself available for phone calls and\nmeetings with your freelance copywriter. It might be time out of your day, but\nthis time will pay you back in the end. Incredibly, just a short call can bring\nabout the same clarity as ten emails over two days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you need\na freelance copywriter to help you reach your communications objectives, then\ngive us a call now on 07733242769 or email tom@copycruncher.com<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Quality content counts for a lot, and managers often need to delegate copywriting tasks to creatives who\u2019ll find the task …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":870,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to brief a freelance copywriter \u2013 ten tips - Copy Cruncher<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.copycruncher.com\/blog\/how-to-brief-a-freelance-copywriter-ten-tips\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to brief a freelance copywriter \u2013 ten tips - Copy Cruncher\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Quality content counts for a lot, and managers often need to delegate copywriting tasks to creatives who\u2019ll find the task …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.copycruncher.com\/blog\/how-to-brief-a-freelance-copywriter-ten-tips\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Copy Cruncher\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/copycruncher\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-01-12T17:23:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-01-12T17:23:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.copycruncher.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/glenn-carstens-peters-RLw-UC03Gwc-unsplash.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"4256\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2832\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tom Fletcher\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@copycruncher\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@copycruncher\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tom Fletcher\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.copycruncher.com\/blog\/how-to-brief-a-freelance-copywriter-ten-tips\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.copycruncher.com\/blog\/how-to-brief-a-freelance-copywriter-ten-tips\",\"name\":\"How to brief a freelance copywriter \u2013 ten tips - 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