Working with an agency · 2 MIN READ
How to write a useful agency project brief
A brief does not need to contain a finished solution. A short explanation of your business, problem, customer and known constraints is enough to begin. State uncertainty rather than filling gaps with guesses.
A project brief does not have to design the entire solution for the agency. Explain your business, problem, intended customer and known constraints. Openly stating uncertainty is more useful than presenting assumptions as settled facts.
Explain the business in two sentences
What do you offer, who buys it and why do they choose you? Explain industry terminology where needed. An agency encountering a product for the first time may need to understand both its operation and the buying process.
Share the existing website, social accounts and available brand files. Alongside competitor links, describe your own strengths and difficulties.
Describe the problem before the requested output
“We want a modern website” is a starting point, not a scope. Do visitors misunderstand services, struggle with mobile forms or encounter outdated products? Clarifying the problem helps determine whether a complete rebuild is needed.
Use six briefing headings
- Business and intended customer.
- Problem or opportunity.
- Priority service and expected deliverables.
- Existing content, accounts and files.
- Target date and any budget range.
- Decision-maker and contact information.
If the budget is unknown, say so. Explain deadlines tied to launches or events. This makes it easier to distinguish essential work from later phases.
Explain reference examples
Say whether you like a reference's colour, typography, structure or product presentation. Describe function and feeling rather than asking for a direct copy. Specific reasons for disliking an example are useful too.
Clarify the next stage
The first discussion should establish a shared outline of deliverables, exclusions, approvals, timing and fees. Submitting a short form is not itself a contract or final quotation.
Use Pare's three-step project form. If the service is unclear, choose the option to decide together.
FROM READING TO ACTION
Apply this topic to your business.
The following questions are a suggested brief framework, not a completed client project or promise of results.
Prepare for this service: Your audience, priority offer, existing channels, content and any media budget. Do not send passwords through the form.
- Which business problem should this service address? Write one priority.
- Who do you want to reach and what action should they take?
- List existing content, images, account access and technical resources.
- Define deliverables, the approval contact and the target date.
- Record your starting point: visits, enquiries and qualified prospects.
Check before accepting a proposal
- Are included and excluded tasks stated separately?
- Are revisions, delivery format, usage rights and maintenance responsibilities clear?
- Which evidence will you review, and when?
Let’s define
your next step.
Tell us what you need. We can discuss scope, deliverables and the proposal process.
Get a project quote
