You’ve hired a copywriter. It’s exciting. You’ve got an expert. It’s gonna be fabulous.
But then.
Oh lordy. You’re reading the draft.
And it sucks.
What do you do?
You may feel:
- angry – they’ve stuffed it up and just don’t get it
- frustrated – that deadline you were aiming for? Not. Gonna. Happen.
- bad – now you are in the awkward position of telling your copywriter you don’t like it
- annoyed – you believed in them and you’ve been let down
As a Melbourne copywriter, I have been on the receiving end of this feedback.
It’s no fun to hear.
But I promise you. You can turn it around. If you give the right feedback. Here’s how.
- Don’t fire off an angry email (and don’t ignore)
- Give them a heads up
- Jump on a call
- Be specific
- Revisit the brief
- Assess your trust level
Let’s go through these steps in detail.
Don’t write a mean email
You might get featured in the next video ‘copywriters read mean feedback’.
This kind of feedback is not helpful:
- I don’t like it
- It’s not what I wanted
- My wife said it’s not well-written
When you are angry, sad or frustrated, you may believe you are writing a measured and constructive evaluation. But your emotion shines through. So take a few hours to calm down. Especially if you are fuming.
Don’t ignore
The flip side of being mean? Being quiet. This happens to nice business owners who like their copywriter. They don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.
You can’t quite articulate what is wrong with the copy. The easiest thing to do? Ignore.
Just sit on the bad first draft, doing nothing and putting off an uncomfortable situation. Then you feel bad about not replying sooner. (Thus doubling your reasons to feel bad.)
Grown up business owners need to have grown up business conversations. Time to have a proper, sensible feedback session.
Give them a heads up
Giving bad feedback is not an email situation. You need to book a call. Please don’t ambush your copywriter. Don’t leave them with the false impression that you’re delighted.
Here’s a good message:
Thank you for the first draft. While I’m liking [x], I have some concerns. I’d like to understand your approach before giving specific feedback. Can we make time to discuss?
It’s nice to start with something you do like. This could be the tone, a tagline or section that is just better than the rest.
Don’t get specific about your concerns {yet}. By saying you want to understand the copywriter’s approach, you’re giving them a chance to explain themselves. First thing on your call will be asking them to explain why they wrote it the way they did.
Get prepared
‘I don’t like this’ is not helpful. No writer alive (or dead) can fix ‘I don’t like it’. There could be a million things you don’t like. It could be too wordy, incorrect statements, the tone is too formal, too casual or just off. Go through the content. Find a SINGLE example of what you don’t like. Explain specifically what is wrong with it.
My for-real-life copywriter feedback example
Recently this happened to me. The client didn’t like the tone. I thought it was self-deprecating and funny. She found it angry. She gave me a specific example. Reading it with her feedback in mind, I totally saw her point. From then, it was easy to fix the tone and make it more friendly, less smart-arse.
Don’t rewrite it yourself
A good copywriter will take your feedback and be able to tweak it When you rewrite huge chunks, you think you’re being helpful. But you are not. Truly, you’re making a mess of it. It’s harder to fix content that is a mash of my original draft and the client’s edits. I’d rather chat through it, get clear on what needs to change and rewrite it myself.
It’s not about what you like
Your website or blog or sales page is not written for you. It’s written for your audience. So, what you like is irrelevant. It’s your audience that matters. So get your own preferences out of your mind. Ask these questions:
- Does this appeal to the audience?
- Will it persuade them to take the desired action?
- Does this make them think ‘that’s me’?
- Does it make them think ‘I believe they can deliver what they promise’?
Revisit the brief
Please tell me there’s an ironclad brief. The copywriting brief should summarise the key elements of the project. When there’s a solid brief in place, it protects both parties. You, the client should be able to argue that the writing has not met the brief.
If you re-read the brief, you may find that the copywriter has actually met it. This turns into a different problem. Could the copywriter argue that you are changing the brief? Perhaps you are now wanting more elements covered that the brief doesn’t mention? That is a change of scope. Your copywriter is entitled to charge you extra for the time it takes to add in all the stuff you forgot to mention upfront.
Do you trust the copywriter to get it right the second time around?
I have from time to time, not delivered the best first draft. (It’s rare.) But with absolute confidence, I always get it right the second time around. Because I have a good process to gather the feedback.
Over the eight years I have learned exactly what to ask, I know how to get the clarity I need. Hopefully, your copywriter can do the same.
Always give them a chance
Give specific feedback, show examples of writing styles you want. Ask for a small sample of a rewrite first. This could be a single website page or social media post. When you see it, you’ll hopefully feel confident they will nail the remainder.
I don’t take it personally
I need that feedback, straight and blunt. The words I wrote are not me. So I am able to distance myself from the feedback and not take offense. It’s not my content, it’s yours. I want you to 100% love it.
It’s not fun hearing you don’t like my first draft, sure. I have a strong briefing process, so it does not happen often. But when it does, I bend over backwards to get them loving that second draft.
If you don’t like the second draft
If your copywriter can’t fix it up on the second draft, there’s a disconnect and you are better off walking away. This doesn’t mean you don’t pay them for their time. If they met the brief and you just don’t like it, there’s not much to be done. They still get paid, because they did the work.
My policy? I would typically refund in this case. I’ve only done that once in eight years. I had one client who couldn’t clarify what she wanted. In her case, I did not refund. If you want a refund, ask for one. But be prepared for a no.
If only you could turn back time
You’d do it differently, right? You’d choose the right copywriter. Perhaps you’d find the budget for a better writer. You’d insist on a better brief. Your brand identity and messaging would be clearly defined, setting up the copywriter for success. You’d do the work at the onset, so the copywriter understands what you expect.
But you can salvage it. A first draft is a first draft for a reason. If you take care of constructive criticism, be clear and firm in your needs, your copywriter is much better placed to give you a killer second draft. Won’t that be great?
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