Regardless of who the copywriter is on your next project — you, a colleague, a subordinate or a freelancer — make a vow to get or give proper feedback. Note that I said feedback, not criticism.

Feedback, according to Merriam-Webster, is “the transmission of evaluative or corrective information.” Criticism, on the other hand, is “the act of criticizing unfavorably.” (Isn’t that a typical dictionary definition?!) Criticism, in my opinion, does nothing to move the copy forward like feedback does.

Before learning how to use feedback to get great copy, you have to understand that copywriting is never done well when it’s done in a vacuum. Taking the time to get and give feedback — and then using that feedback to refine the copy — always leads to better results.

A couple of years ago I worked on a video script for a major pharmaceutical company. My first draft was solid, however, feedback from the project team really helped me streamline and sharpen the final copy. I’m grateful that the client provided clear and appropriate feedback; some of which was related to things surrounding the brand that I, as a consultant, could not possibly have known.

Here’s how to give the kind of feedback that promotes great copy:

1. When possible, allow the writer to briefly present the copy. Writers make a lot of decisions throughout the copywriting process and likely have a  reason for why they wrote what they did. If you go into the feedback process with insight into the copy process, you’ll at least be able to determine whether or not the writer succeeded in achieving what they said they would.
2. Read the copy to yourself. Not skim. Not scan. Not skip. Read the entire copy through once; then read it again, this time out loud.
3. On the third read-through, put yourself in the reader’s shoes. Ask yourself if the main message is presented early, clearly and succinctly. The copy should always address the benefit(s) to the reader in a way that’s both memorable and easy to understand.
4. Make note of the copy’s positives and start the feedback process there. You or your writer will be more open to hearing and receiving feedback that starts with the positive.
5. Conduct a SWOT analysis, looking for the copy’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. During your SWOT analysis, look for common copy mistakes such as vagueness, redundancies and overuse of jargon. Identify any potentially confusing areas, looking to see if the overall flow of the copy makes sense.
6. Watch for your own biases. If you prefer the word “prior” over the word “before,” don’t sweat it. Unless it changes the meaning of the message or is completely off-brand, let it go. Limit your feedback to the messaging of the copy rather than word-for-word commentary. That being said, be as specific as possible in your feedback. Instead of saying, “The copy is boring,” explain the ‘why’ behind your feedback, such as “The copy lacks an emotional connection. Use a success story to illustrate the point.”

So even if you choose to call feedback constructive criticism, make use of these six tips for giving good feedback. Your writer will thank you. But, more importantly, your reader will.

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• It takes time to write well (0)

It’s nice to be back blogging, in part, because I enjoy sharing ideas but also because it means I have some breathing room in my schedule. Which leads me to what I want to share here: do you give yourself enough time to write?

Just about everyone underestimates the amount of time needed to write well.

Sure, Stephen King or John Irving can bang out novel after novel after novel. But they are the exception, not the rule.

I believe that writing even a thoughtful email should take a certain amount of time. And certainly writing web copy requires more than a day or a week.

One of the projects I’ve been working on are some fast turnaround presentations for a major health care company. We typically have a week to distill the message, craft the story, create visuals and produce what is essentially a mini movie. It’s a very compressed timeframe. And while we’ve done a really good job, it could have been less painful for all involved if we had extended our project timeline just a bit.

Sometimes a project dictates a short timeframe. But most times, we self-impose time limits. Perhaps we do this because we don’t want to disappoint the client, the boss, the coworker. Perhaps we do this because we (or others) don’t value our contribution. Or perhaps we do this because we simply don’t know how much time something will take. (Trust me, it will invariably take longer than you think.)

Honestly? I’m a fast writer. Quite fast, in fact. But that doesn’t mean I don’t need a fair amount of prep time, which could include doing research, conducting interviews, brainstorming, noodling, whatever I need to in order to get as much information in me as possible. In fact, I believe I’m a fast writer because I do so much upfront work. It makes the writing process so much easier when I’m well prepared.

Let me encourage you to allow adequate lead time for all your writing.

I recommend keeping track of how long various writing projects take you. It’s a necessity for me to log my exact hours since I juggle multiple clients and projects at any given time. But the other important reason I do it is because it helps me more accurately estimate needed hours for similar, future projects.

It’s also good to build in at least part of a day so you can set your writing aside and come back fresh in the morning for one last round of revising and proofing.

And, lastly, I find it challenging to write for hours and hours on end. I prefer to chunk my writing time with breaks in between, which means I need to allow perhaps two days instead of one for a small project, or fours hours instead of two.

Do you agree that it takes time to write well? Do you allow yourself the time? Do you feel resistance when you do ask for extra time?

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