Creating Effective Service Requirements

Setting Up Requirements on Your Zinns
Requirements are questions buyers must answer after purchasing your Zinn. They tell you exactly what the buyer needs, collect files and assets, clarify preferences, and ensure the order starts with clear direction rather than back-and-forth messages asking for basic information.

Where to Set Up Requirements
Requirements are configured in Step 6 (Delivery and Requirements) of the Zinn Creation Wizard. This is also where you set your delivery timeframe. To add or edit requirements on an existing Zinn, go to your Zinner Dashboard, open the Zinn in the wizard, and navigate to Step 6.

You can also save requirement sets as templates and load them on other Zinns, which is useful if you offer multiple similar services that need the same information from buyers.

Types of Requirement Questions
Text Box is a single-line free text field. Use it for short answers like a business name, a URL, or a brief instruction.

Text Area is a multi-line free text field for longer answers. Use it for open-ended questions like describing a project, explaining a target audience, or providing detailed instructions. You can optionally enable a rich text editor on text area fields if you want buyers to be able to format their response.

File Upload lets buyers attach files directly to their requirements. Use this for logos, brand guidelines, reference images, raw footage, or any other assets you need before starting work.

Dropdown presents buyers with a list of options to choose one from. Use it for style preferences, format choices, or any question with a clear set of possible answers.

Multi-Select lets buyers choose several options from a list. Use it for file formats, platforms, features wanted, or anything where multiple selections might apply.

Radio Button presents options where the buyer selects exactly one. Best for either/or questions where only one answer is valid.

Each field can be marked as required or optional, and you can add helper text to any field to give buyers context about why you are asking and what kind of answer you need.

Writing Great Requirements
Be specific. "Tell me about your project" will get vague answers. "Describe the main purpose of your website and the single most important action you want visitors to take" will get useful ones.

Only ask what you actually need. Every question you add is something the buyer has to answer before the order begins. If you would not use the information to do the work differently, leave the question out.

Provide context for questions that might seem unusual. Adding a brief explanation like "What colours do you prefer? This helps me match your brand identity — if you are unsure I can suggest options based on your industry" helps buyers give better answers and reduces follow-up messages.

Give examples in your question text. For a tone of voice question, adding "(e.g. Professional, Casual, Friendly, Authoritative)" makes it immediately clear what kind of answer you are looking for.

Order your questions logically — start with basic information and work toward the specific. A buyer answering questions about their business name and what they do is naturally warmed up to answer more detailed questions about style preferences and file requirements.

Aim for 5 to 10 well-crafted questions. Too many questions overwhelm buyers and can cause them to give rushed, low-quality answers. If you are consistently asking the same follow-up questions after orders start, that is a sign those questions should be added to your requirements.

Examples by Service Type
Logo Design — business or brand name exactly as it should appear, tagline if any, business description and industry, target audience, preferred colours or open to suggestions, style references and inspiration images, styles to avoid, intended use of the logo.

Writing Services — topic to write about, target audience, tone of voice, key points to include, keywords to incorporate for SEO, word count, reference links or sources, any specific structure requirements.

Web Development — website URL if existing, changes or features needed, login credentials if required, reference sites the buyer likes, hosting information if relevant.

Video Editing — raw footage upload, desired length of final video, music preferences, text overlays needed, brand colours and fonts, reference videos, target platform such as YouTube or Instagram.

Tips
Test your own requirements before publishing — if you would not know how to answer a question clearly, buyers will not either. Update your requirements based on experience — patterns in your follow-up messages are a signal that something is missing. And if you offer similar services across multiple Zinns, save your requirements as a template in Step 6 so you can load them quickly rather than rebuilding from scratch each time.

Need Help?
If you have any questions about setting up requirements, visit the Help Centre, message the team on Telegram, or email [email protected].