This is the worst feedback I've ever received
And the easiest, most underused way to make your feedback clearer
Bad feedback is feedback that isn’t constructive. It doesn’t give you any steer on what to change. For example, ‘can you give it more zing?’ or ‘I’ll know what I want when I see it, but not this’.
Sadly, feedback like this is common. Part of me is grateful – I wouldn’t have a job if everyone could perfectly articulate their ideas. But the other part of me has to figure out what needs doing for V2, and I’d rather it wasn’t a puzzle wrapped in an enigma, like some of these real examples:
Saying that calling the contact details page of your website ‘Contact us’ is ‘Odd wording.’ Generic, sure. Odd? Hmm…
Highlighting an entire paragraph and just commenting ‘No’. Useful!
Asking us not to mention the possibility of a recession or rising inflation in a piece about… the imminent threat to businesses from recession and rising inflation.
Briefing us to use TBC placeholder text for the details of an event in the invite, then asking why we hadn’t put the actual details. They didn’t have a title, theme, location, or even any speakers yet, but insisted that placeholder text was too vague and it needed to contain the real details. The same ones that they didn’t know and couldn’t give us. They made this request several times over a period of months and every time they had no further details to share. Legend has it they still haven’t chosen a venue…
And my personal favourite: saying that a sales brochure we agreed would revolve around the benefits of their service was ‘too benefits-led’ and that they wanted ‘a more uncomfortable tone of voice’. You what?
I get it. Pinpointing what to change isn’t always easy, especially when you have a lot else on your plate. It’s frustrating to have your feedback questioned when you’re paying someone else to understand what you want.
But copywriters aren’t mind readers, and making what you’re asking for crystal clear benefits both parties – it’s in both of our interests to produce a smash hit campaign with as little friction as possible, after all.
Luckily, there’s a ridiculously easy template to ensure your feedback gets you the results you want.
And when I say basic, I mean it. In fact, you probably already do this. But you’d be amazed how many people don’t, so it bears repeating:
If the immediate response to your feedback could be ‘Why?’, rewrite it to explain.
For example:
‘Not sure about this bit.’ -> Why?
‘Don’t like the way you’ve phrased this.’ -> Why?
‘These headlines aren’t right.’ -> Why?
There could be so many reasons why you dislike a piece of copy: too long/short, outdated info, wrong ToV, good writing but in the wrong place, too similar/not similar enough to something else, etc. Without knowing why you feel the way you do, amending it isn’t worth doing.
It’s like someone saying they’re fine with ‘whatever you want’ for dinner but rejecting everything you suggest until you hit their secret preference. Save everyone a lot of time by being clear from the start.
Try to structure your feedback as opinion -> reason -> suggestion.
For example:
‘Not sure about this bit… because it conflicts with the tone of the rest of the campaign. Can you make it more serious, like our other assets?’
‘Don’t like the way you’ve phrased this… it downplays the effectiveness of the product. Let’s make sure readers know that they can trust our brand.’
‘These headlines aren’t right… because they feel boring. Please make them sound more clickbait-y.’
Patronisingly simple advice, perhaps. But giving feedback that follows this structure removes speculation about what you want and makes it easier to bring your vision to life.
In doing this, you’re not doing the hard work yourself or stepping on your copywriter’s toes. You’re simply pointing out what to focus on, making it as likely as possible that the amended version will delight you.
You’ll get a better end result faster, with less back-and-forth, fewer rounds of amends, and no untimely Zoom calls where you’re put on the spot to explain what you meant. Easy. Give it a go next time you’re giving feedback, I guarantee they’ll action the amends faster.
