Write briefs creators actually want to shoot
A brief isn't a script or a legal contract. It's the one document that has to satisfy the creator, your brand and the FTC at the same time.
AI can draft the whole brief from your inputs. You supply the real product facts and confirm the current disclosure rule against the FTC's own page (ftc.gov/influencers), because that's the part you're legally on the hook for.
Fastest path: one prompt, end to end
🤖 AI prompt — paste into ChatGPT / Claude
You are my influencer-brief writer. Draft a one-page creator brief.
Inputs — product: [product]; campaign goal: [awareness / conversion / launch]; creator style: [e.g. calm skincare routine / fast comedic hooks]; platform: [Instagram / TikTok / YouTube].
Structure the brief in this exact order:
1. The ONE thing the viewer should walk away believing (one, not five).
2. Must-say / can't-say facts — any claim that must be literally true (health, performance, pricing), written out so the creator isn't paraphrasing regulated language.
3. The EXACT disclosure phrase and placement. Open ftc.gov/influencers and confirm the current rule, then give a copy-paste line, e.g. "Start the caption with 'Ad:' before the first line break, and say 'this is a paid partnership' out loud in the first 3 seconds." Note that free/gifted product also requires disclosure, and a platform's built-in Paid Partnership tag is NOT sufficient on its own.
4. Usage rights — what can be reposted, whitelisted or run as a paid ad, on which platforms, for how long.
5. Format constraints — vertical video, caption length, required tags — but NOT a script.
6. A review checkpoint before it goes live, to check disclosure and regulated claims only.
Output the brief as markdown with those 6 numbered headings. Do not invent product claims — for any health/performance/pricing figure, leave a [BRAND TO CONFIRM] placeholder rather than guessing. If you can't open ftc.gov, still write the disclosure section but tell me to verify the current wording myself.
Or do it in 6 steps
- Brief the outcome, not the script. Hand over word-for-word lines and you get content that looks like every other ad — the value of creator content is that it doesn't look like advertising. Give the message and the must-say facts; leave words, pacing and format to the creator.
- Pin the must-say / can't-say facts. Any regulated claim (health, performance, price) gets brand-approved, substantiated wording so the creator isn't improvising regulated language.
- Give the exact disclosure line and placement. "Please disclose as required" is useless. Per the FTC, the disclosure must sit with the endorsement itself — not buried after a cluster of hashtags, not only on a profile or "more" click. For video, it must be both spoken and shown on-screen. Free product counts as payment.
- Spell out usage rights. What you can repost, whitelist or run as a paid ad, on which platforms, for how long (see whitelisting & Spark Ads).
- State format constraints only. Vertical, caption length, required tags — not a shot list.
- Add one review checkpoint before publish, to check disclosure and regulated claims, not to rewrite the creator's voice.
Done looks like: a one-pager the creator can shoot from without asking a lawyer, with the disclosure line already written out.
Worked example: the disclosure line
| Weak (don't) | Strong (do) |
|---|
| "Please disclose this partnership per FTC rules." | Caption: start with "Ad:" before the first line break. Video: say "this is a paid partnership with [brand]" in the first 3 seconds AND show "Paid partnership" on-screen. |
The FTC holds the brand liable if it "knew or should have known" the disclosure was inadequate — so the exact wording lives in your template, not the creator's guesswork.
Refresh the disclosure wording against ftc.gov/influencers each quarter.