Description
A brief template for any written content project, covering the information a writer, designer, or collaborator needs to do the work without repeated back-and-forth.
What’s included
- CSV template file (opens in Google Sheets or Excel)
- Structured brief covering project context, audience, objectives, and key messages
- Tone guidance and format requirements sections
- Good and bad reference examples column and word count and deadline fields
Who it’s for
Useful if you are briefing external copywriters or designers, or if you want to give clients a structure for briefing you more clearly. Not useful if the project is so exploratory that a brief would constrain it, some early-stage work needs conversation before it needs documentation.
If it works
If both sides agree the brief is accurate before work starts, the feedback process is significantly smoother. Feedback that contradicts the brief is a scope conversation; feedback within the brief is a revision. The distinction matters.
A good brief cannot compensate for a client who does not know what they want and discovers it only by rejecting drafts. Some clients cannot be briefed; they can only be shown things.
Before you download
- This is a CSV file. Open it in Google Sheets or Excel. It will not work as a document or a PDF.
- After downloading, you will find the file in your account under My Downloads.
- You are getting a licence to use and adapt this for your own work. You cannot sell, redistribute, or share it with others.
