How to Brief a Website Copywriter for the Best Results

If you want better website copy, start with a better brief.

Not a bloated strategy deck. Not a messy voice note. Not “can you just make it sound better?”

A strong brief gives your website copywriter the context they need to write words that actually do something. It helps them understand your business, your audience, your offer, and what the website needs to achieve.

Because good website copy is not just about sounding polished. It is about driving the right action.

If the brief is weak, the copy usually is too.

The short answer

To brief a website copywriter properly, you need to explain:

• what your business does
• who the website is for
• what you want the website to achieve
• what pages you need
• what makes you different
• who your competitors are
• how you want the brand to sound
• what action you want users to take

That is the foundation.

The clearer you are on those points, the easier it is to produce website copy that is strategic, persuasive, and commercially useful.

Start with the business goal

Before anything else, be clear on what the website is supposed to do.

Do you want more enquiries? More booked calls? Better-quality leads? Stronger conversion from existing traffic? A clearer market position? Better support for SEO?

Those are very different goals, and they shape the copy in different ways.

A website written to drive local enquiries will not sound the same as one designed to support a national B2B service. A website for a premium consultant will not follow the same structure as one for a growing ecommerce brand.

If the commercial goal is vague, the copywriter is forced to guess.

And guessing is expensive.

Be specific about your audience

One of the biggest mistakes in website briefs is describing the audience too broadly.

“Business owners” is too vague.
“People who need our service” is not useful.
“Anyone looking for help” tells a copywriter almost nothing.

The more specific you are, the better.

For example:

• founders of early-stage SaaS businesses
• marketing managers in mid-sized UK companies
• homeowners looking for premium outdoor renovations
• agencies needing white-label copywriting support
• charities reviewing their digital presence

Specific audiences create stronger copy because they shape the pain points, objections, priorities, and buying triggers the page needs to address.

Explain what you actually sell

This sounds obvious, but many businesses skip over it.

Do not just say what service you provide. Explain what the client is really buying.

For example, a business might say it sells website copywriting. But what the client may actually be buying is:

• clearer positioning
• better conversion
• stronger trust
• more qualified leads
• a more premium market presence
• a website that finally reflects the quality of the business

That distinction matters.

A good website copywriter needs to understand the commercial value behind the offer, not just the label attached to it.

Clarify what makes you different

This is one of the most important parts of the brief.

Most businesses are too close to their own offer to explain why they stand out. They either default to generic claims or assume the difference is obvious.

It usually is not.

A website copywriter needs to know why someone should choose you over the alternatives. That could come from:

• your process
• your speed
• your experience
• your specialism
• your commercial model
• your results
• your responsiveness
• your strategic depth
• your personality or way of working

If your differentiators are weak or unclear, say that too. That is useful information. Sometimes part of the project is helping define them properly.

Share the pages you need

A copywriter needs to understand the scope before they can shape the work properly.

That means being clear on whether you need:

• a homepage
• service pages
• landing pages
• an About page
• case study pages
• FAQs
• a contact page
• a full website rewrite

If you are not sure what pages you need yet, that is fine. Say so.

A good website copywriter can often help shape the sitemap and page hierarchy as part of the process. What matters is being honest about whether this is a light refresh, a focused rewrite, or a broader strategic job.

Share competitor websites

Good copywriters do not copy competitors.

They study them.

If you share competitor websites, you give the copywriter a better view of the market. They can see how others are positioning themselves, what language is overused, where the generic claims are, and where your business has a chance to stand apart.

It also helps to explain what you think those competitors do well or badly.

That context can be extremely useful, especially if the goal is not just tidier copy, but stronger positioning.

Give direction on tone of voice

If you already have brand tone of voice guidelines, share them.

If not, explain how you want the brand to sound.

For example:

• clear and confident
• sharp and strategic
• warm but expert
• direct and premium
• friendly without sounding fluffy

It is also helpful to say what you do not want.

For example:

• too corporate
• too salesy
• too casual
• too jargon-heavy
• too generic

That gives the copywriter a much better stylistic frame to work with.

Include proof and trust signals

Website copy performs better when it is backed by proof.

If you have strong trust signals, include them in the brief from the start. That might be:

• testimonials
• reviews
• awards
• accreditations
• certifications
• case studies
• notable clients
• years of experience
• measurable results
• media mentions

These details help the copywriter build stronger arguments and reduce hesitation on the page.

Without proof, even well-written copy can feel thin.

Be honest about what is not working

This is one of the most useful parts of any brief.

Explain what feels off about the current site.

For example:

• the messaging feels vague
• the website sounds dated
• the service pages do not convert
• the offer feels too broad
• the homepage does not explain enough
• the tone lacks authority
• competitors look stronger than we do
• we get traffic, but not enough enquiries

This helps the copywriter diagnose the real problem faster.

It also stops the project becoming a surface-level rewrite when the issue is actually strategic.

What a good brief does not need to be

You do not need to write the copy yourself first.

You do not need to send a 40-page deck.

You do not need to overexplain every line of text on the current site.

A good brief just needs enough clarity for the copywriter to understand the business, the audience, the offer, the problem, and the goal.

That is what gives the project direction.

A simple website copywriting brief template

If you want to keep it straightforward, cover these ten points.

1. Business overview

What do you do, and who do you do it for?

2. Website goal

What should the website help you achieve?

3. Target audience

Who are the main users or buyers?

4. Scope

Which pages need writing or rewriting?

5. Offer and differentiators

Why should someone choose you?

6. Competitors

Who else is in the market?

7. Tone of voice

How should the brand sound?

8. Proof

What trust signals should be included?

9. Current issues

What is not working on the current site?

10. Call to action

What do you want users to do next?

That is enough to create momentum.

Common briefing mistakes to avoid

Some briefs make the project harder than it needs to be.

Common problems include:

• being too vague about the goal
• trying to speak to everyone
• focusing only on style, not strategy
• leaving out competitor context
• giving no guidance on tone of voice
• failing to explain what makes the business different
• sharing pages to write, but not why they matter
• expecting the copywriter to work everything out from the existing site alone

A good copywriter can help fill gaps. But the better the input, the stronger the output.

What good briefing leads to

When a website copywriter gets a proper brief, the work gets sharper.

The structure is clearer. The messaging is more focused. The copy reflects the real business, not a generic version of it. And the final website is far more likely to support SEO, conversion, and commercial growth.

That is the real point of the brief.

It is not admin. It is not form-filling. It is strategic groundwork.

Need help with the strategy too?

If you are struggling to articulate the offer, define the messaging, or work out what the website actually needs to say, that is not unusual.

Lobster Copy® helps businesses shape the thinking behind the copy, not just the words on the page. So if you need support with the strategy as well as the writing, our copywriting services can help you plan the structure, sharpen the positioning, and build website copy that drives the right results.

If you are ready to discuss your project, get in touch.