As a freelance writer, I strive to meet my customers’ expectations, deadlines and budget. Who would say anything else? It would be self-defeating to say that I try to miss deadlines, go over budget and deliver sloppy copy. How do you persuade customers to provide feedback that you can use to improve your writing assignments? Generally speaking, the corporate world does not have editors who tell you why your story does not work. I think that most freelancers would appreciate receiving constructive customer feedback – feedback that helps identify strengths and weaknesses.
Work comes to me in various forms. Ideally, I want to receive a creative brief that
- outlines the goal of the project
- describes a product or service
- provides insight into the target audience
- explains the desired style and tone
- provides lots of background information and resources
- details the project schedule.
It’s not an ideal world, so most of my assignments come to me as the result of a phone call or an email. I get requests to write media releases, white papers, some web pages, brochures or corporate video scripts. I ask questions until I have enough information to create my own creative brief for each project. Based on that information I do the necessary research, create an outline and start writing. Asking follow-up questions early in the process (before submitting the first draft) is a huge time saver for the client and for me.
If my submission is not acceptable, I’ll hear about it. The phone will ring or there will be a quick reply to my email, with questions and requests for revisions, etc. When this happens it gives me more insight into the client and what they need and like. This valuable information contributes to on-target messaging for the current project and gives useful background for future assignments with this client. I consider it really helpful to know where my writing missed its mark.
Satisfied customers seldom respond with anything more than an acknowledgement that they received the file with a brief comment such as, “Great work,” “thanks, got the file now we’ll be able to meet our deadline.” So what did they like about it? What created the satisfaction? What was it that worked especially well? How will I know the best way to handle their next writing assignment?
As a freelance writer, I appreciate receiving feedback on what was especially good about the submission, or what strayed from desired result. I encourage managers who are outsourcing writing assignments to provide specific and detailed feedback to their writers. It’s the only way we can improve our services to meet your expectations, deadlines and budget.
