Briefs that produce usable copy instead of generic copy
Marketing output is only as specific as the brief. The difference between generic AI copy and usable AI copy is almost entirely in what you specify up front.
Category: MarketingDifficulty: BeginnerVersion: 1.0Updated: December 25, 2025Author: Sabir
Every brief needs
The audience, specifically — "Ops managers at 50–200 person logistics firms", not "businesses"
The one action you want — A piece of copy with two goals achieves neither
The objection to overcome — The most useful single line in any brief
A hard constraint — Channel, character count, and what must not be claimed
Voice, by example — Paste three lines of your own copy — it beats any adjective
Patterns by channel
Channel
Ask for
Landing headline
10 options across 3 angles — outcome, objection, curiosity — max 8 words
Cold email
A 60-word version and a 120-word version, subject lines separate
Ad copy
5 variants changing ONE variable so the test is readable
Product description
Feature, then the benefit, then who it is NOT for
Social post
The hook alone, ten ways, before writing the body
Never let it invent a fact
Models fill gaps fluently, so statistics, customer counts, awards and comparative claims appear in draft copy looking exactly like real ones. Supply every number in the brief and add a line saying that no figure not given may be used. An invented claim in published marketing is a regulatory problem, not a style one.
FAQs
Why does AI copy sound generic?
Because the brief was. Audience, single action, objection, constraint and voice-by-example are what make output specific; without them the model has nothing to be specific about.
Can it write statistics for me?
Never let it. Supply every figure in the brief and state that no number not given may be used. An invented claim in published marketing is a regulatory problem, not a style one.