The Project Proposal is one of the first pieces of work a client receives from you. Clients (employers) make a judgment about your work when they read the proposal. Write a good proposal with good information, well-formatted, and no grammar and spelling mistakes, (especially the client’s name or the name of their product or service), and the client may hire you. Don’t and they won’t.
So, what are the pieces of a proposal document that you need to create? Here’s a rundown.
Cover Page
The first thing your client sees. It should contain the following.
- Project Title: (Your class assignment proposals shouldn’t be titled “Project Assignment.” Every project needs a title.) The project title should be centered left to right and top to bottom: the middle of the page. It should be 24 point (or use a document style like “Title” in Word or Pages.) And underneath…
- Client’s Name: Centered under the Project Title, 18 point.
- Your Name: Centered at the bottom of the page or in the lower left corner. Include your name, (company name if you have one,) email address, and phone number. 12 point.
New Page
- Subhead 1: Objective. In a paragraph or two explain the objective of your project.
- Subhead 2: Needs Analysis
- Subhead 3: Audience. In a paragraph or two describe the intended audience including demographics.
- Subhead 4: Outcomes (or Goals.) In a paragraph or two describe the intended results of the project. Explain how the project will be used and distributed.
New Page – Strategies
- Subhead 5: Creative Approach
- Subhead 6: Content Outline – A outline or rundown of the project’s content. If the project overview is very detailed it should have its own page.
- Subhead 7: Media Selection – How do you plan for this message to be effectively delivered to your intended audience? Describe the media that will be used and why.
New Page – Scope
- Subhead 8: Deliverables: List what you will “deliver” to complete the project.
- Subhead 9: Schedule. A bulleted list, or another simple format, that shows what tasks or deliverables will be completed and by what date. If the schedule is very detailed it should have its own page.
- Subhead 10: Budget. A bulleted list, or another simple format, that shows the cost of each stage of the project. If the budget is very detailed it should have its own page.
New Page
- Subhead 11: Client Contact. Detailed contact information for the client and/or subject matter expert (SME.)
- Subhead 12: Sources. Cited sources for the information included in the project. (This is not included in a professional proposal.)
- Subhead 13: Team Members. A list of team members, their positions on them. (Projects created for this class should include email and phone contact information for team members.)
All pages, except page 1, should have page numbers, typically at the bottom of the page.
If the proposal is longer than eight or ten pages the proposal should include a table of contents. This makes it easier for the client to find specific information.
Depending on the kind of project you are working on there may be other information that should be included in the proposal. But the information above is the minimum that should be included in a proposal.