Copywriting Brief Templates: 5 Free Templates for Every Project Type

The number one reason copywriting projects go sideways? Bad briefs. Or no brief at all.

You've been there: the client says "write me a landing page," gives you a logo and a vague idea, and then is surprised when draft one misses the mark. Three revision rounds later, you've spent 12 hours on a project you quoted for 4.

A good copywriting brief prevents this. It forces the client to think through what they actually need before you start writing. It gives you everything required to nail the first draft. And it creates a paper trail that prevents scope creep.

Below are 5 copywriting brief templates — one for each major project type. Copy them, customize them, send them to clients. They're free.

1. Blog Post / Article Brief

Use this when a client needs blog content, articles, or long-form web copy. The SEO section is critical — skip it and you'll end up rewriting when they realize the post doesn't target any keywords.

2. Email Sequence Brief

Email sequences have more moving parts than a single piece of copy. Each email has its own goal, but they all need to work together. This brief captures the sequence logic upfront.

3. Landing Page Brief

Landing pages live or die on conversion. This brief captures traffic source (critical — ad traffic needs different copy than organic), objections to overcome, and the specific conversion goal.

4. Sales Page Brief

Sales pages are the most complex copywriting projects. This brief needs to capture not just the product features, but the emotional transformation, objections, pricing strategy, and guarantee terms.

5. Social Media Copy Brief

Social copy is short but deceptively hard to brief well. Platform matters enormously — LinkedIn copy reads nothing like Instagram captions. This brief forces platform-specific thinking.

How to Use These Briefs

Send them before you start writing. When a new project comes in, send the relevant brief template to your client and say: "Fill this out and I'll get started." It sets expectations, saves back-and-forth, and positions you as a professional.

Don't make every field required. Some clients won't know their secondary keywords or have competitor examples ready. That's fine. The brief is a framework, not an exam. The critical fields: audience, tone, main goal, and CTA.

Keep the completed briefs. They become reference documents during the project. When the client says "this isn't what I wanted," you can point back to the approved brief. That's scope creep protection.

Refine over time. After a few projects, you'll notice which fields clients consistently skip and which ones save the most revision rounds. Customize the templates to match your workflow.

Briefs are just one piece of a complete freelance copywriting system. If you want to see how they fit alongside client management, rate optimization, and project tracking, read our guide to the 5 systems every freelance copywriter needs.