Fixing the goalposts: the need for a brief
I’m working with one of my favourite clients at the moment. I like them because they’re fully invested in the importance of content to their business, are at the cutting edge of their industry, and are very receptive to creative ideas.
Where I’m spending a lot of time, though, is in the back-and-forth process of arriving at the article they really want, starting with the piece agreed in the original briefing call, which is then amended by subsequent extra inputs and requirements as each draft is assessed.
In line with our contract, I provide a strong, cohesive first draft based on our initial discussion — but quite often I’m then sent a report or article with the request that I incorporate its major points into the piece. This means draft two requires a) a lot more reading and summarising, and b) root-and-branch rewriting – all of which takes time.
It’s a classic dilemma: the client is open to suggestions and takes advice seriously, but then the goalposts move and we enter into an extended process of re-thinking and re-drafting. For a freelancer, anything that demands extra time to be spent on the same job is an inefficiency which effectively means you’re overservicing the account – essentially undercutting your own rate. It forces a situation where although you want to produce great work and keep the client happy – in turn enhancing your reputation – you’re undermining your own market value. And if you price in this process into account when negotiating your rate, you risk pricing yourself out of a job before you even start.
Essentially what I’m doing with this client is what many in-house comms or marketing teams do, which is translating the business strategy into actionable comms requirements. It’s not really part of my freelance remit, which requires me to develop copy according to the in-house team’s requirements. But having been in-house for many years, I know how complicated it can be to assess and deliver what the business units want. Having something in black and white for them to focus on generally helps.
Still, to cut down on this moving-goalpost tendency, an effective solution would be a succinct brief at the start: a simple statement of the deliverables and what messaging and data are required, by when, and how many words. I’m not mad about the over-used term ‘deliverables’, but in this case it’s exactly what needs to be clear from day one.
All organisations have their own processes, as do the individuals who work there. Overall, it’s better work with them than try to reinvent the wheel – but enhancing the parts of the process we can influence isn’t a bad idea. I’ve even experimented with a pro forma briefing document, with fields for summarising the task, resources to be consulted, timeframe, wordcount, and the like – but as often as not, this just adds to the back-and-forth of document versions to be finalised with the client.
A client who knows what they want and can express it clearly is a joy. But freelancers are advisors as much as writers, and we’ll always need to work on ensuring the brief is clear from the start. It’s no exaggeration to say our livelihood depends on it.
Photo by Soroush Alavi on Unsplash
