Driving without a creative brief
There’s nothing like a crisp, one-page creative brief (a.k.a. strategy brief) to set a copywriter up for success. For us, it’s an essential roadmap for every word we write.
Unfortunately, clients don’t always have the time or resources to prepare one. This happens surprisingly often. And, when it does, I begin asking questions focused on these six key areas:
1. Audience - Who are we targeting? For me, a drawn-out persona exercise isn't always necessary. Just give a sense of who it is we're talking to.
2. Motivation - What do people need to know about you? In other words, how are you making life better for them? This frames the conversation around your customers’ needs (which are interesting to them) instead of your own (which kinda aren’t).
3. Differentiation - What sets you apart from your competitors? And why does this matter to your audience? If you don’t have a distinct advantage, just say so. There’s a lot of parity out there—in which case strong copy is a big advantage.
4. Context - Where are we in the conversation? If I’m writing a landing page, for example, what existing messages are driving people to it? Knowing the context can help eliminate redundancy and ensure a cohesive voice. Speaking of...
5. Voice - What's your brand personality? If you don’t exactly have one, or it needs to evolve, offer up a few brands you'd like to emulate. I find it especially helpful to hear examples that aren’t in your category.
6. Call to Action - What do you want people to do: call, email, learn more?
The above points aren't meant to minimize the importance of strategy briefs and input meetings (the latter of which I find even more important because it allows everyone involved to examine the brief and ask questions). Still, in lieu of a formal roadmap, these are the basics copywriters depend upon to navigate a project.
Final point: copywriters aren't asking all of these questions to be annoying—though I know how it can sometimes seem that way. I mean, even Chipotle asks a series of questions every time you order a burrito. Their powers of interpretation can only go so far.