Ever stare at a client brief that says almost nothing and think, “How am I supposed to write something great from this?”
Briefs are supposed to be helpful.
But for B2B copywriters, poorly written briefs often feel like a vague to-do list or a corporate puzzle missing half the pieces.
That’s especially true if you’re freelancing for a new client, or industry you’re not familiar with.
So, what do you do when the brief falls short?
You look past it. Or more accurately — under it.
Because most clients are already telling you what you need to know — they just don’t realize it.
Their website, blog, press mentions, and CEO’s LinkedIn page are full of unused copy gold.
AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity can help surface this precious material by summarizing a long post, highlighting repeated themes, or even comparing brand tone across pages.
You just have to know how to find it.
Here’s how to uncover the best copy hiding in plain sight and reverse-engineer strong, persuasive content — from what clients are already saying about themselves.
We’ll call it “stealing the best lines.” (Ethically, of course.)
Some of the best tools to help? A well-trained ear and a smart AI assistant to speed things up.
The Brief That Broke My Brain (A Story You Know All Too Well)
When I recently joined the copywriting team on a large healthcare site redesign, I expected a full brief to get us rolling.
After all, this was a high-profile B2B project with multiple stakeholders, national reach, and a healthy budget.
Instead, we were given a collection of disconnected materials. Well-intentioned, but insufficient for a project of this complexity.
The client had strong needs for better engagement, clearer language, and content users could trust.
But the brief? It was thin, scattered, and full of assumptions.
I couldn’t find a voice. I couldn’t find a story. Everything lacked clarity and continuity.
That’s when I realized: the real insights weren’t going to come from the brief.
They’d come from the website itself… the plan documents… the email responses… even the way internal teams talked about the users.
That’s when I did what every B2B copywriter should do: I ignored the brief (for a moment) and went looking elsewhere.
What I found were hidden messaging gems that made all the difference.
I checked the company’s website, social channels, dozens of brochures and PDF documents, and the CEO’s message to their members.
Not only did I find clear, helpful phrasing — I discovered what they actually cared about — and how their best clients described their satisfaction.
By “stealing” what they’d already said in clearer, more natural language, I smoothed out the inconsistencies and shaped a unified, user-focused message that spoke directly to their audience.
That’s when I learned: The best copy isn’t always invented — it’s uncovered.
Why the Brief Alone Isn’t Enough
Creative briefs are meant to guide your writing. But poorly written ones don’t do enough heavy lifting.
- They’re often too broad (“We want to grow”)
- Too inside-out (“Our platform is best-in-class”)
- Or too outdated (“This was our messaging pre-acquisition”)
Even with the best clients, briefs are often just the tip of the iceberg.
Here’s the non-obvious truth: your client already has better messaging somewhere else.
In fact, most clients write better content when they’re not trying to. That’s why your first job is to listen — before you start writing.
Let’s break it down.
Step 1: Start with the Website (But Not the Way You Think)
Many writers check out the website quickly and move on.
Don’t. Instead, go deeper.
Pro Tip: Facing a 50-page site or 20 product PDFs? Upload them into an AI-powered summarizer like Claude or ChatGPT with browsing enabled.
Ask it to flag repeated phrases, emotional cues, or conflicting tone. You’ll see brand patterns faster — and spot where the best copy lives.
Homepage
- Look for how they describe the customer’s problem (not just the product).
- What headlines or subheads feel human or fresh?
- Grab phrases like “stop wasting hours in spreadsheets” or “connect your sales team without the chaos.”
About Page
- This is where the emotional drivers live.
- Origin stories. Frustrations that led to the start-up. Beliefs and differentiators.
- These often get overlooked, but they hold the heart of the brand.
Product or Service Pages
- Don’t just scan the features. Read the calls-to-action (CTAs).
- How do they describe benefits in a sentence or two?
Here’s a real-world example:
The team at Monday.com didn’t just list project management features — they wrote: “Finally, a platform that adapts to you.”
That’s a line worth stealing.
Also, look at:
- Page titles (hover over tabs)
- Testimonials or client quotes
- Blog post headlines and intros
This is where their voice lives — and where you’ll find the raw material that converts.
But a quick word of caution: Be wary of outdated blogs or overly technical jargon. Just because it’s live doesn’t mean it’s useful.
Step 2: Mine LinkedIn for Voice, Credibility, and Clues
Think of LinkedIn as a brand’s unfiltered voice. It’s where execs, marketers, and founders speak more casually, and often more truthfully.
AI Shortcut: Paste several LinkedIn posts or About page blurbs into an AI tool and ask it to analyze tone, values, or unique phrasing.
You might discover consistent language the client doesn’t even realize they’re using — which becomes instant brand messaging gold.
Check the Company’s Profile
- How do they describe themselves?
- What’s their tagline?
- Any recent posts that show what they care about now?
Look at Key Team Members
- CEO, Head of Marketing, Sales Director
- Read their posts. Look for metaphors, plain talk, or customer anecdotes
Drift co-founder David Cancel once wrote, “The future of B2B is personal.”
That sentence reshaped how Drift positioned their conversational marketing platform.
Also look at:
- Comments and conversations around those posts
- Employee spotlight or culture posts
- Reactions to customer success stories
Step 3: Search Press Mentions and Third-Party Content
With AI tools, you can speed up competitive or credibility research — scraping and summarizing third-party content in minutes, instead of hours.
Check These Sources:
- Google News: [company name] + press
- Industry blogs: [company name] + site:medium.com
- Partner or affiliate sites
When Calendly raised $350M, outlets like TechCrunch didn’t just report the news.
They explained why Calendly mattered: simplifying workflow, improving conversion rates, and boosting team efficiency.
You can lift messaging from the source or use it to strengthen the angle of your copy.
Because “As featured in TechCrunch” is more than a flex — it’s trust-building.
Counterintuitive Insight: Some AI tools (like Perplexity or ChatGPT with plug-ins) can show how your client is differentiated from competitors. Allowing you to find out how your client is viewed in the industry, not just what they say about themselves.
That external mirror sharpens your copy’s positioning.
Step 4: Build a “Message Board” Swipe File
Want help organizing it all? Use Notion AI, Airtable with GPT plug-ins, or even a basic spreadsheet + ChatGPT combo to cluster snippets by emotion, benefit, or voice.
It won’t replace your intuition, but it’ll give your brain a head start.
Create a simple doc or spreadsheet and sort your copy snippets by:
- Pain Points
- Voice-of-Customer Language
- Benefits in Their Words
- Potential Headline/CTA Swipes
This becomes your mini messaging library. It’s especially handy if the client doesn’t have a tone guide or brand voice document. (And most don’t.)
Tip: Use color-coding to highlight:
- Emotional vs. practical benefits
- Internal vs. customer-facing language
- Language that feels especially quotable
You can refer to this info anytime you need to write:
- Landing pages
- Emails
- Sales one-pagers
- Blog posts
It’s like having your client’s best copywriter already on your team.
Step 5: Steal Faster and Smarter: Copywriting Powered by AI
Unexpected Bonus: Use AI to rephrase or remix the snippets you collect. Try prompts like “Make this sound more benefit-driven” or “Turn this into a strong call-to-action.” You’ll stay close to the client’s language — while sharpening your angle.
Remember, you’re not just collecting this stuff for fun.
You’re going to plug it directly into your copy:
- Use their phrasing in your subheads and bullet points
- Pull emotional drivers into your lead
- Reference their CEO’s vision in your call-to-action
- Echo the way real customers speak (not marketing jargon)
Case Study: The Client Who Didn’t Know Their Own Gold
One of my clients — a cybersecurity software company — gave me a two-sentence brief for a fresh marketing campaign.
It said: “Highlight our AI-powered threat detection. Keep it short.”
That’s it.
When I dug into their blog, I found a quote from a product manager: “Our AI doesn’t just find anomalies. It explains them — so security teams don’t have to waste hours guessing what went wrong.”
That became the headline: “AI That Doesn’t Just Alert — It Explains.”
The client loved it. Why? Because it was their own insight, in their own words. I just surfaced it to reinforce their message across platforms.
You’re Not Just a Writer — You’re a Translator
Yes, AI can help. But it can’t listen between the lines. It doesn’t know what your client meant, only what they said. That’s your superpower.
Use AI to surface the data, but trust your gut to shape the story.
Most clients don’t realize they’re sitting on a mountain of messaging gold.
As a B2B copywriter, your job isn’t just to write — it’s to listen, distill, and shape what they’ve already said into something that sells.
It’s like being a messaging archaeologist.
So, the next time a brief leaves you flat, don’t panic. Go hunting.
Your client has probably already said something brilliant — just not where they meant to!
And when you find it? Steal it. Shape it. Make it work.
Want to Make This Process Easier?
I’ve learned the hard way: when the brief falls short, it’s not a dead end — it’s a detour. The gold is still there. You just have to dig smarter, not harder.
So don’t wait around hoping for perfect input. Start listening. Start collecting. Start stealing (ethically, of course).
You don’t need a better brief to do better work — you just need a better process.
Now Go Dig Up Something Brilliant
Be the strategist who pulls great copy nuggets from amongst all the dirt. And you can reverse-engineer messaging that connects with clarity and familiarity.
This is how real pros build great B2B messaging. Not from imagination alone, but from observation, curation, and insight.
Because the best copy? It’s often hiding in plain sight — right under your brief.
