Why Write a Brief? Even with something as simple as a small piece of copy, a proper brief will save you time and money.

The agency will also have a better chance of getting work right first time, so you get quality of work you expect.

Plus, it gives you something to measure agency's work against; i.e. how well they responded to and met brief.

What is a Brief? A brief (sometimes called a 'creative brief) tells agency what objective you are seeking to achieve. It answers 'where are we now' and 'where do we want to get to' questions.

Ideally, brief should be a written one. It focuses attention and provides foundation for your marketing campaign. The brief should be agreed by both you and agency before work begins and it can to some extent form a sort of contract.

The length of brief does not matter as much as ensuring that it contains key information and objectives. Tell agency what business problem is, what you wish to achieve and how you will evaluate success.

What Exactly Do you Put in a Brief? The format of a brief depends on task. A website creative brief will need to contain different information from one for a brand-building press ad campaign for example. However, below are some basic guidelines:

1. Project information Include your company name, contact details, project name and project manager, brand or product/service name, agency name and date.

(c) 2004 Charles Kangethe -------------------------

I bet you can't tell me... single biggest problem facing Every Direct Marketer, new and old.

It's not generating traffic, nor building an O'pt-In list, nor is it finding products to market and it's not a lack of Cash.

You can buy traffic, you can buy O'pt-In list members, you can make or buy products and you can even borrow Cash.

The biggest single problem for any Direct Marketer is How To Earn Your Prospect's Trust.

Learn how to earn AND keep trust and you open up huge new Marketing possibilities.

Too many salespeople of doubtful credentials, and too many adverts promising so much and delivering so little have hardened consumers, they no longer trust Marketers and Marketing claims without a great deal of convincing.

So how exactly do you turn a skeptic into a believer ?

Tip #1 - Make Your First Contact Count --------------------------------------

Your initial point of contact with prospects is typically

* An advert, in a PPC, a banner exchange, a classified or solo campaign * An entry in a Search Engine directory, * Or an article you have written.

Unfortunate as it may be, people do judge others by first contact. If your initial impression of someone is poor, chances are that you will not give them a second look, be it in business or your personal affairs.

Make sure your initial point of contact with all prospects is to your advantage.

This does NOT mean expensive, glitzy or superficial.

It means make your initial contact Sincere.

Keep that one word in mind as you design all your sales and marketing strategies and your Initial Contacts will always be positive.

Tip #2 - Products, Pricing, Promises and Personality ----------------------------------------------------

Sincerity in your contacts with prospects comes from applying (modified) 4 p's of marketing.

* Products Market best products you can and never settle for second best. Add value and benefit to your prospect with quality merchandise. Resist temptation to market "Cost Cutting" alternatives that are in fact more expensive due to their poorer real value.

* Pricing Price your merchandise at a fair value for producer, consumer and marketer. Over pricing your products is a self defeating tactic because prospects learn to avoid your pitch and with over high pricing you invite competition to under cut your cost and price base.

* Promises Your sales literature and copy must be accurate and reflect true benefits of your products and services. This does not mean you should be unduly modest, by all means make big claims, but make sure you can prove and demonstrate anything you promise.