How to brief your external writer

How to brief your external writer is a key question in making sure you get the best outsourced writing service possible.

While your writer will be intelligent, insightful and incisive, there are inevitably things they won’t automatically know. You need to give them a clear brief, so that they can understand your product, service,  business message and intentions for your customers.

Whether you are commissioning content like Case Studies, blogs and email campaigns, or whole books about your proposition, here are the things your writer needs to know from you.

Who are you?

Clearly your writer will want to know about your business and your background. She will also get curious about your motivations in business, and in particular why do you do what you do.

What’s your value proposition?

This is an important one – and it’s not just about what you deliver. It’s about your core offering; how you help your clients; and what is typically possible for your clients from the work you do for them. In a nutshell what extra value do you add?

Who is your competition?

You might not wish to countenance this, but it is important to help your writer build a picture of your offering, and why you can be trusted by your readers. Think about the best thing about your competitors’ service. And then think about how you differentiate yourself from them.

Who is your target audience?

This old chestnut! The question you may take most for granted – and the one you risk the most by losing sight of. Who is your ideal client or customer avatar? What questions do they have? How can you best educate and inform them about your service or product? What is the Call to Action they will respond to?

What is your business message?

It’s worth asking yourself what you want your prospects to know about you, and how you want them to feel after working with you. What benefits will they realise?

Human to human

It’s best if you can brief your external writer face-to-face or ear-to-ear, either via video conference or at least over the phone. This way your writer can begin to get your style and tone, and translate this into your content too.

AI transcriptions are clever but relying on transcripts to brief writers is fraught with dangers. There can be inaccuracies and difficulties in conveying tone and intention. Call me old-fashioned but communication is a human thing and the customers you hope to attract are human. So how you build relationship with them through the nuances of your message are best captured and interpreted in person.

Much of this information can be relayed during a 20 minute chat. Thereafter you will want to dive into the content topics, stories and answers to prospects’ questions that will most support your business growth and expert positioning.

Get in touch to find out how Case Study Writer can meet your content writing brief.