8 Questions to Answer Before You Brief Your Contractor

The template above is written for the "client → contractor" dynamic. If you're a solo professional — adapt it to fit your workflow.

The Task Brief Template

A bad brief is expensive. Not because the contractor does poor work. Because they do the wrong work. Two rounds of revisions, a lost week — and you're starting over from scratch.

Below are eight questions. Answer them before you message your contractor. If you can't answer half of them — the problem isn't the brief. The problem is the project.

1. What are we making?

Describe the format and topic as you see it right now. A carousel post about pricing. A newsletter issue on cold pitches. A short video series on handling objections. You don't need the perfect wording — you need a starting point.

You'll refine this later with your copywriter or editor. But if you can't describe the task in one sentence — you're not ready to assign it.

Action: One sentence. Format + topic + audience. "A LinkedIn carousel post about how a consultant books that first client call."

2. Who's the audience and what are their problems?

Not "all freelancers." Break it into segments by pain points.

Say you're launching an email course on getting clients. Your audience has at least two segments with different problems:

• Beginners — don't know where to find their first clients. No portfolio, no case studies, no confidence in their pricing.
• Experienced independents — clients show up, but randomly. No system, no predictability. One month it's $8,000, the next it's $800.

One piece of content won't solve both problems. Map out your segments — and it becomes immediately clear who this specific piece is for.

Action: 2–3 segments. For each — one core problem. Not demographics. Pain.

3. What are we promoting and why does it help?

Content for content's sake is an expensive hobby. Every piece should connect to your product, service, or offer.

If you're a consultant — which specific service does this post reinforce? If you have a course — which module addresses the problem you're describing? If you're a designer — what type of project do you want to attract?

This doesn't mean "sell in every post." It means: know where you're leading the reader. A post with no connection to your offer is volunteer work.

Action: One sentence: what product or service are we highlighting and how does this content link back to it.

4. Who's the subject-matter expert?

"Just Google it" — the worst possible start to a content project.

Content without an expert is second-rate content. AI can help with structure and rough drafts, but it won't replace someone who has actually lived the topic. If you're a freelancer, the expert is often you. In that case, record a 5-minute voice memo with your key thoughts. That's worth more than sending your copywriter off to search the internet.

If the topic isn't yours and there's no expert available — don't make this content. Nothing is better than shallow.

Action: Name the expert and the format for getting their input: interview, voice memo, written outline with key points.

5. Who says "Publish"?

One person. Not a committee. Not "let's have everyone take a look."

When decisions are made by consensus, content never ships. One person says "too aggressive," another says "too boring," a third goes silent for a week. Result: the draft rots in Google Docs.

If you're a solo professional, this seems obvious — you're the decision maker. But if you're creating content for a client or working with a small team, agree upfront: one person has the authority to say "ship it" or "redo it."

Action: Write down one name. If you can't — the project has a leadership problem, not a content problem.

6. What's the goal and how do we measure it?

"Increase brand awareness" is not a goal. A goal is a specific action the reader takes after consuming the content.

Free content doesn't sell expensive products directly. It moves a person to the next step: subscribing to a newsletter, downloading a lead magnet, booking a discovery call, joining a community. Each step gets closer to the purchase — but it's not the purchase itself.

Example for a consultant: LinkedIn post → link to a free checklist → email sequence → invitation to a discovery call. The goal of the post is not selling $5,000 consulting. The goal of the post is getting the checklist download.

Action: Write down: (1) the specific action you want the reader to take, (2) how you'll track it.

7. References and examples

Show your contractor what you like. This saves hours of back-and-forth.

A link to someone else's post with a note like "love the structure, but the tone is too formal" — that's ten times more useful than "make it look cool." Especially for visual work: carousels, YouTube thumbnails, banners.

Action: 2–3 links with notes on what specifically you like: structure, tone, visuals, format.

8. Deadline — and what happens if we miss it?

A deadline without context is just a number on a calendar. A deadline with context is a priority.

"By Friday, because we launch Monday" — that's a real deadline. "By Friday, because I said so" — that's a negotiation.

Action: Date + reason. What happens if the piece ships late? If nothing — maybe the deadline isn't real.

Project Diagnostics

This template isn't bureaucracy. It's a diagnostic.

Walk through the eight questions. If five of them have no answers — the problem isn't that you need a better brief. The problem is the project isn't ready for execution. And no copywriter on earth will fix that.

For Freelancers and Consultants

The template above is written for the "client → contractor" dynamic. If you're working solo — adapt it.

When you're briefing yourself

The temptation is to skip the brief and "just start writing." The result: three hours of work, a piece that says nothing, straight to the trash.

Fill out at least three items: (1) what are we making, (2) who's it for and what's their pain, (6) what action do we want from the reader. The rest — as needed. Three minutes on a brief saves three hours on a rewrite.

When you're delegating to an assistant or VA

Questions 4 (expert) and 7 (references) become critical. Your assistant doesn't live inside your head. Without concrete examples and a source of expertise, the result will be generic — and generic content doesn't bring in clients.

Record a 5-minute voice memo with your key thoughts on the topic. Attach 2–3 links to content you like stylistically. That's the minimum.

When the brief is for your client

You're a freelancer, and the client won't give you a proper brief? Send them this template. Or ask these eight questions on the kickoff call. If the client can't answer — the project isn't ready. Better to find that out before you start than after the third round of revisions.

What Doesn't Work

❌ The one-sentence brief

"Write a post about marketing" — that's not a brief. That's an invitation to guess. The contractor spends time on mind-reading, you spend time on revisions. What to do instead: 10 minutes on the template above. Even short answers beat nothing.

❌ "Make it look good" with no references

"Good-looking" means something different to the client and the contractor. Always. What to do instead: 2–3 links with notes. "I like this style, but I want the headlines bigger."

❌ Feedback from the entire team at once

The designer gets 5 comments from 5 people. Three contradict each other. Result: paralysis, missed deadlines, a compromise nobody likes. What to do instead: one person collects feedback, filters it, and delivers a single consolidated list.

❌ A 12-minute voice memo with no written summary

Voice memos are a great way to transfer ideas. But without a written summary, the contractor listens to it four times and still misses something. What to do instead: voice memo + 5 bullet points with the key thoughts in text.

❌ The brief that arrives after the work is done

"Oh, I forgot to mention — we needed to include this." At the final stage. That's not a revision — that's a new brief. What to do instead: the template gets filled out before work starts. Period.

Eight questions. Ten minutes. The difference between content that works and content that was "worth a shot, I guess."