How to write a brief a freelancer in China can bid on

Start with the outcome

Freelancers bid on what they can picture. Open with the result you need and who it is for, before any detail about tools or method.

One clear sentence such as “three audited furniture suppliers in Foshan, with a short report on each” does more than a page of background.

Name the deliverables and the milestones

List what you will receive and in what form: a report, files, samples, a working prototype. Then split the work into milestones you can review one at a time.

Milestones protect both sides. You fund and approve one step before the next begins, and the freelancer knows exactly what each payment is for.

• What you will receive
• In what format
• How you will judge it done

Say when you can talk

Your brief is read in English and Chinese, so the language is covered. Time is the part people forget: say which hours you can answer questions.