The brief: product, audience, goal

Quality is set before the first line

The difference between useless and workable copy lies almost entirely in the input. The model can't know what you didn't say, and "it goes without saying" doesn't exist for it.

What the brief must contain

[PRODUCT]    what it is, what's included, how it differs from neighbours
[AUDIENCE]   who they are, what they've tried, what they fear, how they speak
[GOAL]       one action you want after reading
[SPECIFICS]  figures, timescales, terms, a case — what the model can't know
[OBJECTIONS] the three main "why not"s you actually hear
[TONE]       by comparison, not with adjectives
[BANS]       words and devices that mustn't appear

Two fields decide more than the rest

Objections — because strong copy is built around them rather than around merits. And the audience's language: a customer isn't searching for "logistics optimisation", they're searching for "stop losing parcels". Copy written in your words instead of theirs reads as advertising.

Where to get the customer's language

Reviews, comments, support correspondence, call recordings. Copy twenty real customer phrases into the brief and the model starts writing in their words — the text stops being impersonal immediately. It's the cheapest and most underrated technique in copywriting.

Reusability

The product, audience, objections, tone and bans fields change rarely. Save them once, and each new text costs thirty seconds on the goal and the specifics.

Insight. Copy twenty real customer phrases from reviews and messages into the brief. The model starts writing in their words — the cheapest way to remove impersonality.

Common mistake. Describing the audience demographically: "women 25–45". It gives the copy nothing. What works is what the person has tried and what they fear.

Pro tip. Strong copy is built around objections rather than merits. The "three main why-nots" field affects the result more than any list of advantages.

Cheat sheet

Seven brief fields; objections and customer language decide.
Real customer phrases go into the brief.
Demographics are useless; experience and fears aren't.
Permanent fields are saved once.

1. Which two brief fields decide most?

2. How should you describe the audience?

3. Where does the customer's language come from?

Task — checked by AI

Build a brief across the seven fields for your real product. In the audience-language field, copy at least 15 genuine customer phrases from reviews, messages or calls. In objections, write the three "why not"s you actually hear. Write one text using this brief and one without it, compare them, and state which customer phrases made it into the copy.

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