The Brief

The first thing to think about is your brief.

  • Objectives. What do you want the audience to think, feel do?
  • Target Audience. Who is the piece aimed at? The more detail about the audience the better.
  • Background. What’s the context in which the piece is being written?
  • Type of communication. Is it a story, presentation, video, speech or a combination?
  • Source materials. Where will the writer get content? How will they access interview sources?
  • Length & Frequency. How many words? How often?
  • Style. Are there any special requirements such as tone of voice or do you have style guidelines that need to be followed?
  • Delivery format. Print or on line? Microsoft Word? HTML?
  • Timeline. What timeline are you working to? Is there a schedule of dates that need to be hit?
  • Approval process. Any approvals required along the way. Who will sign off on final copy?