A designer in one of my small coaching groups was working on a proposal for a big project recently and a question came up about how long the proposal should be.

Fellow group member, Andy Brenits of Brenits Creative, shared his point of view in our Slack channel: 

“Where I find the one-pager works, is when I’m dealing one-to-one with the owner.

But when there is another decision-maker involved, whom you have not spoken to and will not meet as part of this process, you need a little more info (marketing) speaking to your qualifications.”

This is an important point I want to underscore.

If your contact is the only decision-maker and he/she knows how wonderful and qualified you are, you probably don't need more than 1 page clearly outlining what you propose, how long it will take and how much it will cost. (It goes without saying that this should always be in writing, even if you've been working with the client for a while.)

However, if others are involved in the decision-making process (Heaven forbid, it's a committee), your proposal is your "stand in."

Therefore, if you want to make the strongest possible argument for why you're the perfect choice for the project, it must be robust, clear, and also include the following: 

• your understanding of their challenges
• your full bio
• a description of your process
• relevant testimonials and, whenever possible, case studies

If you need examples of this type of proposal for designers, copywriters and digital projects, see what's on sale in the Marketing Mentor Shop! 

And read Andy's latest content marketing here.