How to Avoid Rewriting Headaches With Your Copywriter

blog post

Sept 6 2017

How to Avoid Rewriting Headaches With Your Copywriter

By Heather Munro
Photo by Brock DuPont on Unsplash

You don’t have time to write copy—that’s what you hire someone like me for. And if you’ve never been trained in the art of giving creative feedback, you could be wasting even more time.

In the era of instant messaging and email, rewriting copy for your hired writer seems innocent enough. “I’ll just replace a sentence so she understands what I am trying to communicate,” you say to yourself. But your replacement copy isn’t as clear as you think it is.

Here, let’s take a look at some copy I wrote for an email designed to encourage professionals to sign up for a conference:

We’re excited to announce the topics industry leaders will be covering at the conference—choose the track that’s right for you, or mix and match as you see fit.

During the copy review, my client sent me an email asking me to rewrite that sentence. He wrote: “Make it say something like this:”

You can’t cover everything in two days, but you can mix and match to best fit your interests at the conference. We’re excited to announce the topics industry leaders from around the country will be presenting.

But my client’s new sentences simply muddled the messaging.

Is being able to choose your sessions a more important message than who was speaking at the conference? Is it important to mention the leaders were from around the country? Are we announcing topics or speakers or both? Most importantly, if we are trying to entice people to sign up for the conference, why would we lead with a negative statement like “You can’t cover everything in two days?”

Because this was all through email and I knew my client was pressed for time, I wrote the following back:

“Mentioning two days isn’t enough to cover everything seems like a negative to me, and the fact people can choose their sessions should encourage more sign ups. Plus, we don’t have much room. So how’s this for a new first paragraph?”

At the conference, you can choose the sessions that interest you the most, mixing and matching as you see fit. We’re excited to announce the topics industry leaders from around the country will be presenting.

Luckily, I guessed correctly, he approved the changes right away, and we were able to deploy the email on time.

Here’s what I wished he had written instead:

This is great, but I have two tweaks. First, choosing sessions is a bigger draw to our audience, so make that message the primary message. And can you work in that the leaders are from around the country? Being a national conference helps us drive sign ups. Thanks.

How to Give Creative Feedback

Of course, I’ve had a few clients rewrite copy and it turned out beautifully. A few times, it was even better than what I wrote. (And I was sure to compliment them on their work.) But as we’re cranking out content like mad fiends, we need to remember Content Marketing is a collaborative process, and creating it efficiently will only help us meet our deadlines.

Now that you understand the difference between rewriting and giving creative feedback, here are a few general rules to keep in mind.

I. Be as Specific as Possible

Try to articulate what needs to change at a higher level:  “This is doesn’t sound like our brand.” Then, try to pinpoint why it doesn’t sound like your brand. Is it a word choice, the tone of voice, or point of view?

And please never say, “I’ll know it when I see it.” That’s a dead giveaway that you haven’t thought through what you’re trying to communicate to your audience.

II. Correct Grammar, Style and For Accuracy

If you’re like most companies today, you don’t use professional proofreaders or fact checkers any more. So the onus is on you to make sure the copy is in good shape.

Proof for grammar and spelling, paying extra attention to names and industry terms being spelled correctly.

Pro tips:

• Read the copy out loud to someone else reading it along silently.

• Read it through twice before summarizing your feedback.

• Start reading from the bottom to catch any errors you may have missed.

Not sure if the grammar is correct? No need to be embarrassed. There are entire websites devoted to grammar out there. Or you can ask your copywriter to check it for you. (I always offer a final proof on copy I provide my clients, but not every client takes me up on that service.)

Finally, read the copy as if you’re a lawyer and make sure nothing is ambiguous or can be interpreted in a way that’s inaccurate.

III. Know When to Ask for a Rewrite

Hopefully, you’ve given your copywriter some direction or (huzzah!) a creative brief before they began writing. Even so, copywriters sometimes miss the mark. Or the client’s objective changes at the last minute. For this very reason, it’s standard practice to include two rounds of copy review as part of the writing process.

At the end of the day, giving feedback is like a good marriage. It’s all about communication. So if the copy isn’t doing it for you, say so. Simply explain the business reason for needing a rewrite—we changed direction or it’s close but not quite there—and proceed to the second round of copy.

Trust me, your writer will appreciate knowing where you’re coming from. And when writers get clear direction on what the copy should say and how it should say it, you get what you’re paying for in the first place: Copy that gets clicks.

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