John Forde’s latest ‘Total Package’ article is titled “Coaxing Criticism: Seven Easy Ways To Get Other People to Do Your Work”. [Article]


John Forde’s latest ‘Total Package’ article:

Coaxing Criticism: Seven Easy Ways To Get Other People to Do Your Work

“Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger.” – Franklin P. Jones

Let’s face it, it’s always easier to spot someone else’s mistakes. It’s very difficult, however, to spot your own. That’s why it’s key to get other people to critique your copy before you hand in the final draft.

And the earlier in the drafting process, the better.

Added bonus: Vanity aside, there’s no better way to legitimately get other people to “do your work” for you. What they spot, you change. And you get the credit for in the end. It’s that simple.

In fact one of the biggest differences between new writers and seasoned ones isn’t just their level of experience on the page, but how good they are at seeking out feedback during the drafting process.

Unfortunately, coaxing your betters, your equals, even your lessers to give you the kind of in-depth, focused feedback you require can be a chore.

Why?

Reviewers who are friends might pull punches. Or be blinded by their affections. The product manager you’re pitching to might be overwhelmed by a schedule … or care less about the product than you imagine.

The reader might think your talent so large, you’ve somehow grown out of the need for review (don’t believe it). Or, he might think your talent so small, he doesn’t expect you could possibly rise to the challenge (of course, you’ll rise to it anyway).

The enthusiasm for a top-notch review might be there, but the knowledge of how to provide one might be lacking. Or the schedule for the review might just be too loose to give the reviewer incentive to get started.

The point is there are many reasons why an objective and thorough, idea-nurturing, distraction-filtering, style-refining, comprehensively focused copy review is a rare, rare thing.

Which is why we’re going to take a second to look at these seven ways (among many) to get your reviewers to give you better, faster, and more useful copy reviews …

1) Quantify Your Demands:

Let the person or people you’re asking to review your copy know what it is you want from them. For instance, you could try asking them for a quantifying number …

“This is a pretty important promo piece, so I want you to give this a thorough review. On an intensity scale of 1 to 10, give it at least a ‘level 8′ looking over.”

Likewise, ask them to quantify the results: “Overall, on a scale of 1 to 10, how well does this package meet the goals you’re looking for?”

2) Give A Time Limit:

One old friend and marketing manager I used to work with was known for never missing a deadline. She reviewed copy quickly. A two-day turnaround tops. She also kept other reviewers on track.

I didn’t know how she did it, until she asked me to look over someone else’s work. The file came with a message: “Do you think you could get your comments back to me by Tuesday morning at 10 am?”

And then, to highlight the urgency, “I’ve scheduled a conference call with the writer at 11.” Naming the time up front immediately pulled the file from my “pay-no-mind” pile and placed it squarely on top of my priority list.

If she hadn’t made that preface a habit, who knows how many drafts would have piled up unread until the last possible minute?

3) Offer a Comparison:

Handing someone a piece of copy and saying, “What do you think of this?” is an open-ended request. You’ll close off a reluctant reviewers escape routes much more effectively if you ask instead for a comparative critique, like so:

“Bob,” you say, “I’ve just e-mailed you the first draft of my new promo. It has two headlines. Which one do you like better?” Once you’ve hooked the reviewer’s attention, you can throw in, “And while you’re looking it over, any suggestions you have on the body copy would be terrific.”

4) Play Politics:

One way to spur on a reviewer is to tell him or her – before you’ve been asked – that someone else has reviewed and rendered an opinion of the same piece.

Be careful.

Playing personal dynamics is always risky.

Just the same, simply knowing that the promo copy is being actively reviewed and opinions are forming can help convince the laggards that your package is worth looking over. And sooner rather than later.

Tip: Don’t reveal the opinion of the other reviewer unless you have more than one to reveal. And only then if the other opinions have differed:

“Hey Matilda, can you help me on this? Froderick says he finds my USP a little on the foppish side of the fence. Emmatrude says it reminds her of the forward to the 1967 Poultry and Grain report. What do you think?”

With sincerity, you can also remind a reviewer – especially the marketing manager closest to the project – of the stake they have in the outcome: “Here’s the draft … I think it’s good, but with your input, I think we can beat your current control.”

Be careful here too. If you’re saying it sincerely, it should come across that way. But said with manipulative insincerity, this ploy could backfire and make you sound like a sap or a suck-up.

5) Take Your Copy To Someone New:

A “cold read” is, technically speaking, when you give your marketing copy to several reviewers at once – each of which have no prior background with the copy or the product.

If they want to buy the product your copy pitches, you’ve done your job.

If not, gather their reviews into one place and see where they overlap. That’s where you’ll find your most opportunity for improvement.

I know lots of copywriters whose first “cold read” comes from a spouse. That’s a great idea. In general, you’ll get your best “cold read” results if you make your review group a healthy mix of experienced marketers and random, outside-the-business readers.

6) Offer Different Feedback Options:

Some people are ‘conference call’ types. Others can’t unleash over the phone or in a group context. But they’ll give you a pile of great comments and suggestions on paper.

Only you can surmise what will work best for your reviewer. But if you’re working with someone new, it’s hard to know which venue will work best.

Solution: Ask. Offer a choice.

When you give a draft of the promo to a client, say, “Would you rather give me written feedback? Or should I schedule a conference call on, say, next Tuesday?”

By the way, even with this technique, push hard for written feedback. Reviewers think more carefully about their opinions when they have to commit to them on the page.

7) Dangle A Counter-Carrot:

One way to get a reviewer to work quickly, if not thoroughly too, is to offer some extra incentive for getting the review done on time.

“If you can get this back to me by Wednesday – depending on what you think of the copy – I can get you a second draft before the weekend.”

There are, as I said, many other ways to coax out a more full and timely critique.

One last bonus tip: Make good use of recently available technology.

For instance, one of my favorite ways to get and give feedback is built into Microsoft Word software. It’s the “track changes” feature found under the tools menu. There, you’ll find a submenu for tracking changes with the option: “Highlight changes …”

Check the box and, until you uncheck the box, everything new that someone types into the document will show up in a different color. And every line deleted will stay in the document with a line through it.

Once you’ve gone through the document and decided which changes to keep and which to get rid of, you can go back under the same submenu and “Accept changes.”

All this above, again, is assuming you’re professional enough to make the most of the critiques you receive in the first place. Not every reviewer will be right. But in no case do you want to become defensive.

People invest a lot in promoting their products, not the least of which are the fees and royalties they’ll offer you to write their copy. You won’t make it anywhere in this business if you can’t at least listen when they offer suggestions on how to do it better.

On the other hand, if you can at least meet the deadlines and absorb the critiques for what they are, you’re already halfway there.

John Forde‘s 15-year career as a top copywriter started as an understudy of Bill Bonner and Michael Masterson. Since then, he has written countless controls, trained dozens of new copywriters, and has helped generate well over $50 million in sales.

John has also worked three years as a financial journalist and has written books on wealth building and health. And he has taught copywriting in seminars and private training sessions in Paris, London, and Bonn, Chicago, Buenos Aires, Baltimore, and Warsaw. He and his family split the year living and working from Paris, France and locations on the East Coast, U.S.

John has also written well over 250 articles on copywriting for his popular e-zine, The Copywriter’s Roundtable, which currently has several thousand readers in more than two dozen countries worldwide. You can sign up for the Copywriter’s Roundtable here: JackForde.com.

‘Seven Easy Ways to Get Other People to Do Your Work’ – ‘The Total Package’ Week in Review

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*IMNewsWatch would like to thank Clayton Makepeace for granting permission to reprint this article.

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