Giving Copywriters Feedback, Part Two: How To Do It Right
In my last blog, I got on a rather large soapbox and had a bit of a rant. I explained how, from my own experience, account managers and marketing people are often a bit pants at providing helpful, good-quality feedback when amending and revising copy and written content.
But there’s nothing to be gained from being Harry Enfield, sitting at my desk going: “Ooh, now I don’t believe you wanted to do that, did you”?
You’ve explored the five ways of doing it wrong, so here are the five ways of doing it right:
Five things you should ALWAYS do….
Read the content thoroughly (and ideally aloud)
This is something I’ve always done throughout my career when proof-reading and something I always recommend to other writers, marketing people, and even friends who are doing Open University degrees.
It’s very easy to skim-read content and end up missing problems or issues, or to miss out vital context that might render some feedback irrelevant. For example, I might get a comment that says: “We need to mention cloud migration” when I’ve actually covered it further on in the content and the reader has missed it.
Think Colin Firth in The King’s Speech here. Read every piece of content out loud, slowly and clearly, as if you’re reading it out on the radio. If anything isn’t right, or doesn’t sound right, you’re far more likely to detect it this way because you’re processing the content fully and giving it your full attention.
Remember the constraints of the brief
Every good copywriter works within the restrictions given to them in the brief, whether that’s house style and tone of voice, keyword strategy, or (especially) word count.
Very recently, I was given a brief with 2200 words of highly technical information that couldn’t easily be condensed, and a maximum word count of 1200. I felt like one of those people-pushers on the Tokyo Metro, trying to cram as many bits of info into the blog as possible.
I always try to annotate my own drafts and explain my rationale (for example, points being cut down or cut out in the interests of brevity). But in any case, if there’s something you feel should be there and isn’t, always bear in mind that there may be a good reason that the writer has left it out.
Engage and talk through major changes
The first of the ‘dont’s’ that I highlighted last time was to provide feedback in the form of questions, which brings unnecessary ambiguity into the amends process. But there is a time and a place to ask questions in feedback - and this is it.
Come and talk to me/us. Get on a quick call to talk things through if there are major problems. If there are questions that need to be resolved, let’s work them out together in real time, and create a solid consensus for creating the next draft. It’s a faster and much less stressful approach compared to creating uncertainty through comments.
Explain why you think certain things don’t work
As much as I might take corrections and rejections personally, any good copywriter like myself will always be receptive to new ideas and better suggestions. If you think something is wrong, then by all means state your case, explain why you think it doesn’t work and start a (friendly!) debate about it.
Going back to the previous point, a short call normally tends to be the best place to have these conversations. Trying to do so by email or through comments in documents is like trying to have a political debate on X/Twitter/whatever it’s called this week: lacking nuance and ripe for unnecessary confrontation.
Provide constructive suggestions
I guess the previous two points and this one are all inter-connected. As well as talking through changes and explaining the reasons behind issues, there should always be a place for constructive suggestions for corrections. Just as you’d explain why something is wrong, you’ve also got an opportunity to ‘sell’ to me why your suggested change is right.
In summary: the best content is collaborative to the core
There are some common themes around the dos and don’ts that we’ve explored in these two blogs.
The don’ts are all defensive and confrontational in their nature. They contribute to a negative, ‘them and us’ mentality where writers and clients are arguing with each other, and often end up focusing more on who wins the argument than what’s best for the content.
The dos, on the other hand, are all collaborative: clients and writers working together in a constructive, positive manner, with open dialogue and a consensual approach to making changes and maximising the value of the content concerned.
Speaking as a freelancer, it’s very easy for businesses and marketing agencies alike to keep writers like us distant and to treat them as outsiders - and that’s exactly how the confrontational scenario unfolds. Making the effort to bring writers into the fold, and to engage their thoughts and views at every stage of the process, means that both parties are more receptive to each other’s input.
Remember that we all want the same thing: creating the best copy and content possible. And that not only means understanding the types of feedback we want - it means building a strong rapport and working relationship, too.