Web Copywriting Briefing: The solution to avoid disappointment

Have you decided to hire an SEO web editor to create your content? It’s a great thing! You are surely boiling with impatience at the idea of ​​having articles optimized as soon as possible. But be careful not to skip the steps. Because, having your texts written by a web editor does not necessarily ensure that you obtain content in line with your expectations. A misunderstanding in the order and the article will not meet your expectations. The best solution to avoid this pitfall is to frame your order with a briefing. You don’t know how to write a briefing in web writing, or what information it should contain? Follow the leader!

How to write a briefing for a web editor?

The first thing to have in mind to make an effective brief in web writing is that the word briefing comes from the English “to brief”, which means to give instructions. It therefore serves as a basis for discussion with the web editor to define the framework of the editorial project. The brief must answer the following questions: what, why, how and by when?

The web writing briefing is a writing specification that explains the context and your expectations regarding the texts to be written. It serves as a common thread and sometimes as a safeguard for affordable professional ghostwriters. Indeed, if you want your experience to be 100% winning with your service provider, it is essential to frame things as much as possible thanks to a clear editorial briefing.

Unfortunately, many web entrepreneurs or website owners tend to neglect the briefing. However, this is an essential step for the success of your editorial projects, just as important as finding a good web editor.

However, writing a crystal-clear briefing is not that complicated: there is no need to create a 30-page document filled with technical jargon and other incomprehensible rigmarole. A good editorial brief contains precise, relevant and easy-to-understand information. The objectives are clearly formulated. This is a guide that leaves no room for interpretation. It must be easily understood by anyone outside the project.

In addition, the first editorial brief is the most difficult to do: once done, you can write generic briefings that will serve as models for several articles by simply modifying the key query for example.

What should a web writing briefing contain?

Now let’s get to the heart of the matter and see what you need to do to write a proper briefing.

1- Specify the framework of the service

This involves clearly recalling the information about the service:
• the budget agreed for the order;
• the format of the texts to be delivered;
• the delivery schedule;
• the interlocutors (for receiving texts, but also invoices).

2- Give information about your company

So that the copywriter can best understand the writing context, it is important to provide him with the following information about your company:
• your business model;
• your values;
• your main competitors;
• your target (who is she? what are her needs and fears?).

3- Frame the order

Here you must specify your needs as much as possible by indicating:
• the type of content: blog article? product description sheet? “about” page?
• the objective of the content: to inform? become known? sale? to entertain?
• the parts that the writer must also write in addition to the text: meta description? Hen tags? title? catchphrases for social networks?
• additional tasks: integration of the text in your CMS? internal and external linking? URL optimization? selection of images and the ALT attribute?

4- Clarify the content of the requested text

Express your expectations regarding the text itself:
• the subject of the article or page;
• the main query (around which the semantic field will gravitate);
• the length of the text, often expressed in number of words (an article of 800 words for example);
• the structure (chap, number of sub-parts, etc.);
• the keywords that must appear;
• the tone to be used (educational, relaxed, humorous, professional, etc.);
• the expressions to use and those to avoid;
• sources of inspiration.

You now know the essential elements to specify in a briefing in web writing.

Do without editorial briefing: it’s possible!

After having seen together the importance of the editorial brief, you are probably surprised that I tell you that it is possible to do without it. And yet, a miracle solution exists. I will give it to you.

Before that, remember: why did you choose to outsource the writing of your content? Because you don’t feel like writing yourself? Because you don’t know how to write texts that capture the attention of your readers? Because SEO (“Search Engine Optimization” or natural referencing) is not part of your skills?

Finally, whatever the reason, it is for a specific purpose: to save time, and therefore money, by focusing on the development of your business.

However, as we have seen, if you want your content to be useful (for sale in particular), writing an editorial brief is essential. But it’s not necessarily up to you!

Yes, it is possible to also delegate this part (which is as important as it is time-consuming) to your web editor, provided you can trust him. For this, you need to hire an SEO web editor. After carefully analyzing your site, he will be able to directly offer you briefings and a coherent editorial strategy. The miracle solution to avoid any disappointment in web writing, it’s him! It will save you valuable time by writing the briefings for you.

Such is the value of a (real) SEO web copywriter. And there are currently only a handful of editors capable of carrying out this work (SEO audit, briefing and implementation of a complete editorial strategy). Hence the creation of the Web site, which lists SEO web editors trained by Lucie Rondelet and having this talent!

Call on a real “Swiss army knife” editor of the web. Far from being a simple executor, he is able to advise you and offer you the solutions best suited to your needs and the latest trends in SEO.

You have just realized that it is possible to entrust the writing of the briefing to your web editor to save precious time.