How to write a freelance brief that gets good work

Why the brief matters so much

A freelancer starts with only what you tell them. They do not know your customers, your history or the ideas in your head. When a brief is vague, a good freelancer will fill the gaps with sensible guesses, but those guesses may not match what you had in mind. Each round of corrections costs time and uses up revisions. A clear brief turns that guesswork into decisions you have already made.

The eight parts of a good brief

1. Background: who you are and what you do, in two or three sentences.
2. Goal: what the work should achieve, such as more sign-ups or a clearer product page.
3. Audience: who will see or use the work.
4. Deliverables: exactly what you expect to receive, including sizes, lengths and file formats.
5. Style: examples you like and dislike, with a short note on why.
6. Must-haves: brand colors, fonts, required wording, legal lines or technical limits.
7. Files and access: logos, text, footage, data or limited logins the freelancer needs.
8. Deadline and process: final date, any review dates and who gives feedback.

A brief template you can copy

Copy this into a message or document and fill in each line:

• About us: We are … and we sell or offer …
• The project: We need … so that …
• Audience: The people who will see this are …
• Deliverables: Please deliver … in these formats …
• Style we like: Examples … because …
• Style to avoid: Examples … because …
• Must include: Colors, fonts, wording, limits …
• Attached: Files and links …
• Deadline: Final delivery by … First draft by …
• Feedback: Feedback will come from … within … days.

Writing examples that help

Examples are the fastest way to show taste. Instead of describing a style in abstract words, link to two or three pieces of work you like and say exactly what you like: the color palette, the tone of voice, the pacing of a video or the layout of a page. Add one example you dislike. Knowing what to avoid is often as useful as knowing what to aim for.

Be careful not to ask for a copy. Examples guide direction; the final work should be original.

Details that depend on the service

Each service has a few extra points worth including. A logo brief should mention where the logo will appear. A writing brief should give word counts, keywords if any and the reading level. A video brief should list lengths, formats and whether music and voice are included. A development brief should cover hosting, existing systems and who will maintain the result. Every hiring guide on this site has a section on briefing that lists these details for the service.

Plan your feedback as well

A brief is not finished until you know how you will give feedback. Decide who approves the work and how quickly you can reply. Collect comments from everyone involved into one message. Freelancers find it hard to work with conflicting notes from several people, and mixed feedback is a common cause of delays.

A short example

Here is how a weak brief and a strong brief compare for the same job. The weak version: "We need a flyer for our café. Make it modern and eye-catching." The strong version: "We run a small neighborhood café and are launching weekend brunch. We need an A5 flyer to hand out locally and a square version for social media. Our customers are mostly young families and remote workers. Please use our logo and our green and cream colors. We like the clean layout and hand-drawn food illustrations in the attached examples, and we want to avoid busy backgrounds. The flyer must show opening hours, the address and three sample dishes. Final files by the 20th, first draft by the 15th. Feedback will come from the owner within one day."

The second brief takes a few more minutes to write, but it answers almost every question a designer would ask. The first draft is far more likely to be close to what you want.

Before you send the brief

• The goal is written as a result, not a service name.
• Deliverables and formats are listed.
• Examples are included, with reasons.
• All needed files are attached.
• The deadline and feedback process are clear.