How I’ve Dealt With Strange Feedback in My Writing Lately
I thought I’d gotten used to it
Receiving feedback on the texts you write is part of our writing profession. But receiving feedback is one thing for me.
Still, I thought I’d gotten used to something after all those years of writing.
The feedback I received recently… arrived.
I put blood, sweat, and tears into my texts. And even with more than 6 years of writing experience: I still feel a healthy tension as soon as I click the send button.
‘What would the customer think? Does the text resonate with the target group? I haven’t made a spelling mistake, have I?
When the digital carrier pigeon returns a little later with customer feedback, the tension is twice as high. It was also on that Thursday that I received the most bizarre feedback I’ve ever received.
“It’s a bingo of buzzwords with no regard for the target group”: was the client’s short but powerful response.
The day before I had sent a draft text. If you’re thinking now: ‘Well, that feedback isn’t so bad, is it?’ I thought differently about it at the time. Initially, I had worked hard on this text and was very proud of the result. Just as I am with every text I deliver.
But I thought differently about it, mainly because I’m perhaps an anti-fashion-word copywriter. What am I saying? Of the world!
I am because I know that trendy words create distrust and alienate readers. Logically, they are empty phrases that often serve only as text filler and are used ‘because everyone does it’. It’s not without reason that shit bingo is my favorite part of the writing training I give.
When I thought about it a bit more, I realized that I wasn’t concerned about the content of the feedback I received. So many people, so many wishes. What is a watchword for one person may not be for another.
The client and I used a different list of keywords. With this clear feedback, it became clear which list I shouldn’t keep. For example, the second version of my text was received with great enthusiasm. All’s well that ends.
“Could you use some longer words? We recently had an internal session and found that this appeals to our target group. It gives the function a bit more body,” said one.
How I experience feedback
So it wasn’t about the content of the feedback. So what? Well, receiving feedback has always been a thing for me. It doesn’t matter what kind of feedback it is.
When there’s positive feedback, I prefer to duck under the table so no one can see me blush. When I’m faced with negative feedback, I often struggle and adjust the text with a healthy reluctance. I’m not getting feedback. Then I get desperate.
I get very annoyed when people ‘correct’ correctly spelled words. They insert spaces in the gross monthly salary and the long-term strategy, for example.
How colleagues experience feedback
Curious as it may be, I wondered how other copywriters receive feedback. So I shared my most bizarre feedback moment on LinkedIn and asked other copywriters about their most frustrating, conflicting, or bizarre feedback moment.
It soon became clear that I’m not the only copywriter who thinks receiving feedback is important. And the fact that it is a thing also seems to be true if the feedback is short but powerful.
Examples shared via DM were: ‘This text is shit’ or ‘What a stupid text’. Another exception was the feedback a colleague received after a draft: “Nowadays you can consider yourself a copywriter if you can put a few words in a row.”
“Feedback is very annoying, especially if you’re super happy with your text. Especially, if you blindly followed the feedback, the text would become exciting. Fortunately, this doesn’t happen often, but it does happen when you do ‘bingo’.”
I asked several writers if I could mention the shared feedback — in combination with their names — in this article. This turned out to be quite sensitive. ‘ What if people don’t want to involve me anymore? ‘ or ‘Aren’t I beating myself up when I tell people my writing sucks?’ were questions that played a role.
In addition, the impact of feedback proved to be significant and feedback is often perceived as a personal attack. For example, the recipient of the feedback: ‘What a stupid text’ confided in me that the feedback had a big impact. So much so that it was a turning point in her writing career.
Tips for dealing with feedback
In response to my appeal on how to deal with feedback, several tips were also provided. For example, there was a tip not to get defensive.
I can agree with that because to deny is to recognize. Another tip was: ‘ Always try to understand the other person and therefore ask questions’. I also read somewhere: ‘Don’t do anything with it’. That last one put a smile on my face.
A tip from an old friend of mine stood out from the rest for me. The tip is not so much about how to deal with feedback, but about how you can influence the kind of feedback you receive.
In the feedback tips, I give examples of how feedback helps us to get to a final version of the text as quickly as possible. And I can tell you: I get much better feedback as a result!’
If you receive negative feedback that causes you uncertainty or makes you waver, realize that negative feedback can make you bitter or better.
For optimum job satisfaction, choose the latter. And see what you can learn from it: in terms of content or how you respond to the message.
Also, be aware that you’re not the only copywriter who sometimes hears that the text isn’t good. Not every colleague can (or wants to) reveal this publicly, but the flood of responses in my DM was clear.
Do you get positive feedback? Print it out and hang it on your wall.
It won’t be long before your wall is covered and you’re reminded every day of how happy you make people with your brilliant texts.
Keep writing.