ASK US WEDNESDAY: “How can I get feedback from clients?”

by Leo Wiles
17 February 2016

Hi Leo And Rachel. I’ve just returned to freelancing after my youngest went to school this year and I’m wondering if the lack of feedback for work I’ve submitted is normal. I never hear back about anything, it seems. Am I being paranoid to think that the editor hated it? Help. Sue

I hear you, Sue. As creatives who largely work alone we, myself included, crave feedback – and in the majority of times, don’t receive any. The word receive here is on purpose because, good or bad, hearing how others view our work is a gift. And, while it’s nice to receive the affirmation of a job well done, it’s also a good thing to hear when a client wasn’t bowled over – as it gives us a chance to learn from that setback and evolve. When I was working as an editor, if a piece was outstanding I would often send the journo a copy of the mag with a note, or I’d email them a thank you. However, with smaller editorial teams, I can imagine that working a 14-hour day doesn’t leave a lot of time for anything other than getting the job done – hence the radio silence.

Working from the other side as a freelance writer and photographer, I know that while it can be disappointing to put your heart and soul into a piece and not hear back, it’s crucial not to take it personally. Let’s face it: if they hate it they’ll tell you and order a rewrite, or never hire you again. (More on this in our up-coming Friday post, ‘Why the new editor hates you’!)

If you’re being recommissioned then you can potentially let sleeping dogs lie – but if you remain racked with self-doubt I’d always push for a little feedback. Sure, it can be ego-crushing, but it also shows clients that their opinion counts, it stops you making the same mistakes, it can give you a litmus test of where your business is at and help you improve your performance – all of which are a win-win.

How to get it? One writer I know always emails her invoice a few days after the copy, with an message along the lines of, ‘Hi X, hope you received my copy on Monday. As I haven’t heard, I’m assuming it met the brief (let me know if you do need tweaks though). Invoice attached and please do keep me in mind next time you’re commissioning’. Often it invokes a positive response letting her know that the client loved her work and all is well.

Another more direct approach with a new editor/client is to hand write a card /note and say something like, ‘Dear X, Thank you for giving me the opportunity to write about X for your fabulous title Y. I trust that you enjoyed the copy, angle and tone, as it was a great interview with such and such and one I think will have a huge impact on readers. As I’ve never written for your title before / been out of the loop for a while I would love any feedback on the piece you can give me. Thanks so much!’.

Or if you have a great phone manner and an ongoing telephone relationship you can casually slip a leading question into the conversation; ‘So what did you think about…’ ‘I thought so and so interviewee was fascinating – what did you think?’ ‘Did you love the angle on …’ ‘Has the feature been well received / getting a good response from readers’ and so forth.

Of course an obvious way to see how your piece fared is to see the published version; as a rookie I’d always go through the newspaper article with a pen and mark the changes up so I could learn from them.

If you’re still feeling daunted at the prospect of reaching out and asking for some insight it could be that you’re treating your client/editor like a business transaction rather than a valued customer –  which can result in an impersonal relationship; never great for business or repeat business.

On the flipside is if they loved it and are gushingly offering their approval, it’s time to send a quick thank you note and a request to use a pull quote for your website’s testimonial section!

I wish you luck and would love to hear from other freelancers about how they make clients spill the beans…