Ezine Articles and Biznik were my websites of choice. Here’s the tale of what went right–and what went not-so-right.

Let’s start with Ezine Articles.

The first thing you’ll notice about Ezine Articles is that it feels like the internet equivalent of a pawn shop.

You drop off your grandmother’s ring, fully intending to buy it back later. The next week you see your ring all over town.

Some guy is wearing your grandmother’s ring on a chain around his neck.

Along with what appear to be several other rings and chains, too. And, inexplicably, a wizard’s cape. Definite “10″ on the Skeevy scale.

In this example, the guy is one of those spammy SEO optimization blogs (the so-called “publishers” who help “redistribute” my “content”). And my grandmother’s ring is my carefully crafted article.

By posting to Ezine Articles, I’ve apparently written a blank check for anyone to repurpose and repost my articles in any medium they desire in perpetuity. So, now I show up on Dubai SEO Optimization blog, right above the pet shock collars and weight loss tips for teens.

I really don’t think my grandmother would be happy about this.

Is SEO such a great reason to contribute to article submission sites if the keywords drive people to Dubai SEO Optimization Blog–instead of to my own website?

Do I really want the client of my dreams to find me sitting around in the Hotsy Totsy, playing pinball with a plumber, a preschool teacher, and a truck driver? Doesn’t that raise more questions about me than it answers? Wouldn’t it make more sense for the client to find me in the clean, well-lighted place that is my own website?

I think so, too. And not only did Ezine articles leave a bad taste in my mouth by trying to be all things to all people, but they also treated me like my 8th grade English teacher. For example:

• They told me one of my article links was broken. It wasn’t. I tested it 5 times. I sent an email back asking them to recheck. They sent me an email back, saying it was still broken. And onto the merry-go-round we went. I tested it again. I had Marissa test it. You can test it, too. They finally removed the article entirely, saying they wouldn’t be able to keep publishing an article with a broken link.
• They declined to publish this post on how to write a case study when you don’t have any results yet because there were too many grammar and spelling errors. They suggested I have someone proofread it because they would only publish articles written in correct English. Funny enough, the same article made it right through Biznik’s censors.

Which brings me to Biznik. And thank grandma for Biznik.

Biznik is like the Anti-Ezine Articles–although I doubt anyone at Biznik would want to be compared, even favorably, to Ezine Articles. I hesitate to even call Biznik an article submission site, because it’s actually so much more.

One: Biznik’s founder Dan McComb personally reads every article. Personally!

I don’t know the name of a single person at Ezine Articles. I think their people go by names like “#4367″ and “#555.”

Two: If Dan likes your article, he’s apt to send you a personal message. Personal!

And if he really likes your article, he might even sign you up for a free year of Biznik Pro, which normally costs $30 a month.

OK, so that happened to me. And yes, I really do feel special.

When was the last time anything like that happened to you in any industry? It’s rare and it’s extraordinary and I love it! This is how users should be treated all the time.

Biznik is a real community of professionals who actually read and comment on each other’s articles. It’s like going to a coworking office where everyone is professional and where you’re not embarrassed to be seen.

Biznik made me realize that SEO alone is worthless. It’s the networking and the communities and the relationships that count.

I’ll trade you one raving fan for 100 optimized keywords any day.

I wasn’t even planning to contribute to Biznik beyond just the articles, but the Biznik community taught me a lesson.

Which site do you think I’m going to write about, talk about, rave about? Oh, I guess I already am.

So long, Ezine Articles. (And, if you don’t mind, I’d like my grandmother’s rings back. Thx.)

Image by .Larry Page via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

There are two things just about all of us need. We need to market our businesses. And we need to take a vacation.

Sadly, unless you’ve tapped into your higher power and enjoy a perpetual state of balanced laid-back-edness, it’s hard to do one without feeling a burning desire to do the other.

For example, when I’m working on my business and busting through deadlines, naturally, all I can think about is how nice a vacation would feel.

And when I’m on vacation, all I can think about is the glorious work that isn’t getting done.

What if you could do both at the same time–while deducting 73% of the entire trip? And what if this approach had a snappy name to boot?

Read on, my brothers and sisters!

Introducing The 73%-Deductible Buffalo Vacation.

You go on an 11-day vacation, deduct 8 days, and work a total of 8 hours at something that both generates revenue and helps you market your business. It’s a Buffalo Vacation because it’s big and you’re doing everything at the same time. Marketing your business with a workshop, taking a vacation, generating revenue, and deducting the costs.

So, I haven’t actually done this yet. But the first step is putting together a plan. And because I can’t keep an entire buffalo to myself, I’m sharing it with you here. With the caveat that I’m a copywriter and not a tax adviser. And that my arithmetic is unreliable. And that I’m not giving you advice. And that you’re mostly reading for entertainment. And because you like European vacations.

Here’s how it works:

• The Buffalo Vacation requires two half-days of work—consisting of two, four-hour workshops. (While you will spend additional time preparing for and marketing the workshop, you can give the same workshop multiple times, so it’s easy to leverage. One lesson plan can go a long way. As can the reusable marketing systems you create.)
• Deduct 100% of airfare, meals, and all things that are a part of daily life—even a haircut or new shoes—for 8 days. So, you only need to “pay” for 3 of those days. The workshops could actually pay for the entire trip.
• Even if only one person goes to each workshop, it will be worth it. You would have gone on vacation anyway, and can still deduct 8 of 11 days.

(The following schedule employs a few tactics I learned from Tax Reduction Strategies by Bradford & Company, which I’m not affiliated with except for having purchased it about a year ago and listening to maybe two of the CDs before zoning out. You’re probably much more disciplined.)

Here’s a sample itinerary:

Friday: Fly out early morning. (Deduct 100%. Travel days are 100% deductible.)

Saturday & Sunday: Vacation time! (Deduct 100% because you can’t work on a weekend anyway.)

Monday: Give 4-hour workshop. Take the rest of the day off. (Deduct 100%. Four hours counts as a full day of work for tax-deduction purposes.)

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday: Vacation time!

Friday: Give 4-hour workshop. Take the rest of the day off. (Deduct 100%. Four hours counts as a full day of work for tax-deduction purposes.)

Saturday & Sunday: Vacation time! (Deduct 100% because you can’t work on a weekend anyway.)

Monday: Fly back late evening. (Deduct 100%. Travel days are 100% deductible.)

Here’s the Buffalo Vacation Account Ledger:

Total expense:

$1,000 airfare

$1,100 hotel

$1,100 meals and other fun stuff because you love to eat and do fun stuff

= $3,200

Total revenue:

$4,000 by charging 20 people $200 each

Total deduction:

$1,000 airfare

$792 hotel

$792 meals and fun stuff

Total deductions: $2,584

And if you fill both workshops, you leave your vacation with an $800 profit.

If you’ve tried something like this, I’m curious to hear how it went. I’ll write a follow-up post next year, after my first planned Buffalo Vacation attempt.

Image by will_hybrid via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

At first it looks quite harmless.
People and Processes would be stark naked without that extra ‘p’ word—Planet!
And how can you have Quality and Efficiency without Effectiveness?
Resources and Schedules? Fine and dandy. But when you add in Assets, it really comes together—don’t you think?

What is it about that third noun we find so irresistible?

It’s thorough, accurate, and pleasant to write.
It’s also boring, dull, and redundant to read.
Users, customers, and clients agree.

Engineers are the worst offenders. I’ve seen corporate executives do it, too.

You’d think the best person to speak to an engineer would be another engineer, but that’s not usually the case.

Turns out, engineers don’t really like to read. Once you have their interest, sure, they’ll read your rocket-ship specifications.

But don’t expect them to read all 5,000 words of your white paper. Or paragraph after paragraph of your website copy. Feel grateful if they read your email all the way through.

These analytical-doer-types won’t stand for metaphors and similes. They’re skeptics through and through. Sticklers for facts. They need proof points and logical progressions.

That’s why it’s so sad when they end up writing for other engineers in long, nuanced sentences—precisely the kinds of sentences none of them actually wants to read.

Well, I’m giving one anonymous engineer* a makeover today!

(*Not a client.)

A makeover for the 2 sentences that inspired this post

I found myself savoring the following sentence (yes, it’s just one sentence) like a poem. I had to read it five times before I could begin to understand it.

“While it might not seem obvious but the planning and management of the resources and capital for these types of project is not so simple and not as methodical or repeatable as every project are mostly different than the same.”

Attack of the clause!

Maybe they meant every project is mostly different from every other project? As opposed to being different but not different? This is the prenatal multivitamin of sentences, packed with nouns, adjectives, and adverbs.

Here’s a quick cheek-pinch to put the color back into this sentence:

Every public project is unique, which makes it difficult to plan and manage resources in a systematic way.

Our offender continues with this labyrinth:

“Now these projects are not just unique and done once but include sub-contractor agencies for labor to skills that can quickly complicate projects as their resources, schedules and assets to supports these projects are critical to operating within budget and time constraints and require what I called integrated business to business planning.”

Halp! What is going on here? Give me a cliche over this sentence any day.

Here’s the makeover:

“Not only must public projects account for their own resources, but they must also account for subcontractors’ budgets and timelines. That’s why managing multiple resources takes what I call “integrated business-to-business planning.”

Let’s put them together now!

“Every public project is unique, which makes it difficult to plan and manage resources in a systematic way. Not only must public projects account for their own resources, but they must also account for subcontractors’ budgets and timelines. That’s why managing multiple resources takes what I call “integrated business-to-business planning.”

Our word count went from 93 to 54. Isn’t editing fun?

Okay, maybe this was an easy target. But do you see how clear writing is an act of kindness to your reader? And kindness is always better than originality. We may not all be able to write like Walt Whitman. But anyone can learn to self-edit. Anyone.

Need to de-clause yourself? Read this book and be on your way: How to Be Your Own Best Editor.

(Psst. Put the clause away. You’re beautiful without it. )

We all know marketing is a neverending story. So are some projects.

But when you need to point to past results to pick up new projects so you can create future results, what are you to do when the results haven’t materialized?

It’s not that results won’t ever materialize, but if what you do is truly needed–and especially if you’re tackling a complex problem–results can take a while to appear. Your client may experience some immediate benefits, but many of the biggest results take time.

If you’re anything like me, patience is not one of your best qualities. Some projects are so exciting you find yourself writing the imaginary case study in your head from the very first day. (Or maybe that is just me.) Maybe your client is famous or well-known. Or maybe you just know people would benefit from reading about your client’s experience.

But how do you write a case study without the full story?

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could go ahead and write a case study anyway? Laying out the details of the Situation, the Challenge, the Solution, the Approach, and the Outcome, in all their glory?

And–hold on to your hat!–what if your story was even more compelling than if you had actually waited for those results to come in?

Sure, we all care about the bottom line. Also, we don’t. Maybe I’ve read too many professional service websites, but every time I read about time and money saved, I get a burning desire to click away. Everyone sounds the same, which makes me question their credibility.

It follows that talking about experiences and insights can earn you more credibility than if you’d simply stuck to benefits.

Here’s how to get your case study to stick the landing without naming benefits like revenue generated, time saved, or money saved.

(Whereas sticking the landing equals potentially landing a new client.)

1. Focus on how you solved the problem–the insights you had along the way.

I’m not talking about your Strategic 10-Point Roadmap to Profitability. Chances are if you have one, it’s already spelled out in impressive, cleverly-illustrated detail on your website’s Approach page. I’m talking about what surprised you about this project.

In the process of implementing just about every project worth doing, there’s a point where we get stuck. We’re not sure which approach to take. And then, a-ha! You have an epiphany. A breakthrough. A Eureka! moment. It’s that epiphany that leads you to a solution. (Stuck on the generating-them part? Hot-buttered brain-training helps.)

These epiphanies may not be tightly linked to hard, cold results–yet. But they’re gateway drugs to results. And they demonstrate how you think–which helps people get to know you.

You can then talk about the likelihood of future results because you solved the problem in this way. What is your client now positioned to do better that they weren’t so well-positioned to do before? Use wording like, “While it’s too early to measure results…” State that the client is expected to achieve [insert your specific result here] because of the insight that led you to this solution.

People are just as interested in the insights as they are in the results.

2. Let your solution stand out in a sea of sameness.

Was your solution or approach different from anything else they’d ever tried? How was it different? Why were you the one who made a difference, after everything else they tried? I’d want to know more–wouldn’t you?

3. Get someone (like me, say…) to interview your client for a project case study.

A client is never so enthusiastic as after they’ve just hired you and just after you’ve finished. Get them while they’re hot.

Click here to email me for more information on testimonial-case studies.

4. Consider omitting the client’s name.

Characterize them by industry, job title, or problem instead. Sometimes this enables you to be more detailed and specific than you could have been otherwise.

Update your case study again when you’ve gotten more results–three, six, twelve months later. At that point you can even turn it into a press release. Here’s an example of what just might be my favorite press release ever. One that could only have happened as the result of a true partnership between a fantastic consultant (Dianna Huff) and a fantastic client over a long period of time.

Image by ClickFlashPhotos via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

The more I do nothing, the better I get at doing something.
Something happens in the spaces in between.

There are dealmakers who eat soup at their desks and work 15-hour days.

And then there are creators who take walks in the middle of the day, who dare to sleep a full 8 hours, who do absolutely nothing–strategically.

The more one creates, the more one needs rest.

Dealmakers–not so much. Donald Trump can power through lunch at his desk. But that’s because he’s a dealmaker. I need my sleep and my breaks. Because sometimes the best thinking happens after I haven’t thought about anything at all.

I used to struggle with productivity, trying to pack as many working hours as I could into one day.

But that’s because I was comparing myself to a dealmaker. The wonderful Hiro Boga helped me to see that I was clinging to my business, and that maybe my business would still be there if I stepped away from my desk for a few minutes to do something I enjoyed. Shiva Nata helped, too.

My old bosses at the private equity firm used to work insane hours. And, indeed, they accomplished quite a bit. But I am not a dealmaker. And the dealmaker’s work schedule suits neither me nor my clients. Ever since I embraced nothingness, the time I spend on work is much more effective.

How do you define nothing?

• Empty, staring-off-into-space space
• Activities that fill the bucket.

Here’s my new itinerary for doing nothing, and how I incorporate nothingness into my business:

Step 1: Make a list of things you enjoy doing. Bucket-filling activities.

Mine are:

• Reading children’s books in the bookstore
• Buying empty notebooks
• Writing in them.
• Walking the dogs.
• Tramping on the trampoline
• Hiking
• Running
• Obsessing over Amanda Palmer

Step 2: Accept that past limits are reliable indicators of future limits.

I have accepted that 6 hours of writing in a day is my limit.

So instead of constantly striving to do more, I do less. I schedule my empty time, too.

Step 3: Create a Do-Nothing Itinerary.

Mine is: 2 hours on, 1 hour off, 2 hours on, 1 hour off.
It’s like traveling. There are many itineraries one can use to get to China.

Step 4: Create a reverse to-do list.

When things get overwhelming, I no longer make a list that answers the question, “What do I need to do today?” (It’s too easy to pat myself on the back for creating the list, only to spend the day analyzing rather than completing it.)

Instead, I ask myself this: “What need do I need right now? And what is the simplest way to meet that need?”

And, “Is there an easier way to do this project so I don’t have to kill myself trying to do it all?”

The benefits of having a Do-Nothing Itinerary? I work faster while also producing better work.

I have better ideas (I think). So, I make more of a difference for my clients. Business is fun again–that’s demonstrable. And, because it’s easier to focus, I don’t have to keep editing the same paragraphs over and over again. I don’t have to keep editing the same paragraphs over and over again. (Sorry.)

Instead of trying to fill up every spare minute, I’ve accepted that there will never be enough time anyway. Which means there will always be enough time to do the things that are important to me. That guilty twinge loses power when I realize how much more effective I am when I do nothing.

Are you doing nothing? Do you have a personal itinerary you’d like to share?

Image by Manitoba Historical Maps via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

If you’re customizing a new solution for every client without thinking about the similarities between them, then you might be leaving money on the turntable.

By creating packages, you give your people a sampler of the kinds of results you might be able to produce for them. You help them think beyond boring radio to envision something new. A complete solution for their ears. With an ultimate outcome of maximum pleasure. You make them wonder how you could help them.

Some people are afraid to create packages because they think it makes them look small, or that it’s the scope equivalent of a blank check. But creating a package doesn’t mean have to make you look small. And you don’t have to commit to price before you know the scope.

A package isn’t intended to be the end-all, be-all of working with you.

It simply means that you’ve worked with enough clients to know that most people don’t need quite as much customization as they think.

Quick story, because I love any excuse to talk about Bel Biv Devoe.

My friend in junior high and I used to make mix tapes for each other.

This was back when microphones were still a novelty. My DJ name was Special K. Hers was DJ Jazzy J.

My tapes were TDKs from Price Club. Hers were always old tapes from her parents, Scotch-taped to enable re-recording, and covered in puffy paint you had to be 14 to truly appreciate.

Every time I got a new tape, I couldn’t wait to listen.

I hardly ever got a song I didn’t already know. Bel Biv Devoe? Fresh Prince? Madonna? We’d heard them all before. After exhausting our own record collections, we continued making mix tapes with songs we’d recorded straight off the radio.

But it was the combination of the songs in an unexpected way that made it so exciting.

It was the personalization that made it so exciting, the fact it wasn’t just a mix tape, but that it was a mix tape for me.

Even though I’d heard these songs before, they were brought together in new and exciting ways. And tied together by a familiar voice attempting a Count Dracula accent.

You can do the same thing when you package your services.

Give prospects a couple of mix tapes, so to speak, and then tell them you can create one just for them.

Here are a few examples of packages I really like:

• http://www.sjoystudios.com/pump-up-your-current-website/
• http://www.davisandco.com/services/affordable_solutions/
• http://www.davisandco.com/services/employee-communication-makeovers/
• http://www.b2bcommunications.com/b2b-marketing-coaching

What kind of mix tape would your people want to hear?

Image by Asim Bijarani via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

Does “Pet Edition” mean it’s super-resistant to being bitten, pounced on, shaken violently, flung across the room, and then endlessly licked? This sounds like the makings of an amusing home video.

What I find particularly compelling about the Roomba is its ability to discreetly clean up dog food from the floor—a benefit depicted in ad photos of the self-powered vacuum in action (see above).

Fun fact: When you have a dog, spilled dog food does not stay on the floor.
Celery stalks, iceberg lettuce, and onion peels. These are just a few of the things that stay on the floor.
Also: slobbery tennis balls. And, later, 20 masticated pieces of a slobbery tennis ball.
Basically, the stuff a Roomba couldn’t pick up anyway.

Speaking as a member of their target audience, I will say this:
Picking up pet hair and dander is THE key benefit of a Pet Edition Roomba.

But you wouldn’t know it from the copy on the product’s landing page. It’s almost as if they’re embarrassed to use the words “pet hair and dander.”
Pet hair and dander. Definitely not the sexiest bullet point.
But I imagine anyone with pets who is dating an allergy-sufferer would find this benefit particularly compelling.

You could run an entire campaign aimed at single women with cats.
Think of the possibilities!

That’s assuming the cat or dog would tolerate a self-powered vacuum.

Before creating this ad, Roomba might have asked a dog owner whether it was a good idea to put an automatic, self-powered vacuum in the same living space as an automatic, self-powered, find-and-destroy dog. (Unless they’re trying to start a dogs-versus-robots movement? I can’t deny that part of me really wants to capture My Dogs vs. The Roomba Pet Edition on film!)

Daily Meditation: My copy and my product are not about me. They’re about my audience. When I am not at one with my audience, I ask them what they think. And I never try to break up a fight between a dog and a robot. The dog will always win.

Writing your website copy is a bit like climbing a mountain in winter. Without trails in plain sight, it’s easy to get lost. One finds oneself in need of a good map.

Most of us get more stuck around what to say than around how to say it. If you’re constantly struggling with the how, chances are you’re actually stuck on the what.

So, how do you figure out what to say?

With a good trail map, of course.

But if you don’t have a map already, you’ll want to stop and ask for directions.

I tell my clients that one of the best ways to start writing a website is by interviewing their clients. The most charming, persuasive, soulful copy in the world can’t beat a few good testimonials. What you say about yourself is never going to be as credible as what your customers say. You can build an entire website around testimonials. You can also use them to craft your messaging and your copy.

Fair enough. But what if your program or service is so new you don’t have clients?

You need clients. But you can’t get clients without a website.
And you can’t write your website without knowing what to say.
And you don’t know what to say until you know what your audience wants to hear.
And how can you know that if you haven’t worked with any of them?

If you want to build a solid foundation from the start, pick a few people in your target audience and schedule informational interviews with them.

If you’re nice and you promise to send them cupcakes afterward, informational interviews will help you immensely with the what. And you might be able to use snippets of their own words for the how, too.

Here’s what to ask them.

(NOTE: I wish this looked like an actual trail map. Instead, please accept this humble metaphor.)

The Target Audience Trail Map

16 questions to ask your target market before you write your website

How to use this trail map:

• Record the conversation and take notes so you can incorporate it into your messaging.
• Don’t try to force the conversation to proceed through each question in an orderly way. What often ends up happening is your interviewee will answer one question by answering another, so you don’t need to go in a straight line. Having a trail map lets you veer off course or stop and have some snacks, knowing you can always start up where you left off.

1. Are you the key decisionmaker when it comes to something like this? Who else is involved in making or influencing the decision?
2. What do you think the decisionmaker is looking for?
3. Have you ever worked with someone like me before, and how did that process go?
4. When do you think you could see yourself making a decision like this? Within what range of time?
5. What would be the best way for someone like me to go about helping you make a decision? White papers? Newsletter articles? Blog posts? Free seminars? One-on-one sessions?
6. What problems or challenges are you facing in regards to [insert problem you solve here]? How much are those challenges costing you?
7. What would it mean to you to have those challenges resolved?
8. If you could make this change, what would that look like in your [business/life]? What kinds of things would be happening? How would you know it was a success, and that you had succeeded in resolving those challenges?
9. What are you looking for, if you are looking for someone to help you with this problem? What qualities are you looking for in someone? What do you find most important above all?
10. What would make it worth the price? What benefit would you need to receive, or what would need to have happened for you to say, “Wow! This was more than I expected!”
11. What objections do you have to working with someone like me? In other words, why wouldn’t you want to work with someone like me?
12. What is your perception of the benefits someone like me could provide?
13. Of the following potential benefits of working with someone like me, which is most important? [List 3 benefits you've brainstormed or that you've heard others say about you.]
14. How soon would you expect it to be implemented?
15. You know a bit about my background. What would you find most compelling about my background, if you were thinking about working with me? What brings up questions for you, or what would you need to know more about before deciding to work with me?
16. Anything else you’d like to add?

Don’t forget to send them cupcakes afterward! No journey is complete without them.

Image by Joe Shlabotnick via Flicker, used under a Creative Commons license.

When I am feeling zen-like, I recognize that feedback is mostly a reflection of the person who gives it.

Are they an analytical, engineer-type who needs language to be literal and specific? Are they an intuitive feeler who uses metaphors to explain practically everything?

And then there’s the audience for the piece. What happens when the audience is literal, but the client is intuitive? Or vice versa?

Although you can always recite the old “target audience” rule to push back, that’s probably not the best habit. Not only is it bad form to constantly invalidate clients’ reactions, but they usually know their audience better than you do. The challenge is finding a balance between what they want and what their audience wants.

Last week I shared my process for asking for feedback when you’re a delicate flower. Now I’m going to show you how I position the feedback conversation in a way that actually feels pleasant—for both me and my client.

This process appeals to every type of client—literal-minded and intuitive, touchy-feely alike. They love it. It’s easy for them because they don’t have to stare at a page full of words and try to think of how to respond.

I never thought about it from the client’s perspective, but giving feedback can be scary, too. This process makes it easier for both of us. I wish I had tried it sooner!

First, a bit about my philosophy.

I see my clients as collaborators. I help them figure out what they should say about their business and then I write copy to express those messages.

But I’m not The Immutable Expert Who Knows Everything And Is Always Right. Even if I was always right, would you really want me to be? Do you really want someone rigidly dictating every detail of how your website should be? Don’t you have a few ideas of your own? Of course, you don’t want someone who defers every decision. But you probably like it when someone with smart opinions gives you a chance to make your website your own.

That’s where the feedback conversation comes in.

Here’s how I used to get feedback:

1. Email client the draft.
2. Ask them the questions from this post.
3. Wait to hear back from them.
4. Hope they like it.
5. Get their comments and any edits via email.
6. Send my changes back via email.
7. Wait to hear back from them.
8. Hope they like it.
9. Get their comments, send the final draft, and, again, hope they like it.

Time elapsed: 1 week if they’re focused. As many as 3 weeks if they’ve got other things on their plate. Lots of waiting around hoping they like it.

Here’s how I get feedback now:

Instead of flinging the draft over the castle wall, I send them an email with the draft that includes these messages:

• Print it out.
• Write some notes on it.
• You and I are going to do a web conference so we can look at the draft together.
• As we look at it, we’ll be able to see whether there are places you want changes, and what you like and what you don’t like.

During the call:

1. I pull up the draft on WebEx, and they click the link to view it.
2. I remind them that this is a work in progress, and that it’s important for me to figure out how we can best work together.
3. I ask them about their overall impression and what’s working for them.
4. Then, I ask for the specifics on what they really liked. (I pull specific questions from this feedback questionnaire.)
5. I ask them about any parts that hit a bad note, that confused them, or that they didn’t really like. (Again, I might reference my trusty feedback questionnaire.)
6. We make any quick fixes right there over the phone.
7. If there are more complex changes I need to make, I note their comment on the draft and make the change later.
8. I send them a new draft within a day or two, and both of us feel like we collaborated to create something better than either of us could have produced on our own.

Time elapsed: Up to one hour for the phone conversation, plus a couple days for any substantive changes we discussed. No more waiting around, hoping they liked it.

Spending this time on the phone with my clients, rather than passively waiting for them to send back a draft, might have taken more of my time. But it improves the relationship and the result. So I consider it a good investment. It might even save time by eliminating the need to pass drafts back and forth.

BONUS! If I ever decide to record these conversations (with clients’ permission, of course), I might be able to use their fresh, off-the-cuff reactions as testimonials later. (Yet another genius idea from Bill Metcalf.)

I’d like your feedback (on feedback)! Would you try this method, and how do you think you could adapt it for your own client projects?

Even if you develop a bulletproof creative brief, the kind that details your target audience’s bedtimes…
Even if you only work with ideal clients, on ideal projects, to achieve goals you both agree on…
And even if your clients adore you, and you practically invented Cascading Style Sheets, along with coining the term “Paradigm Shift”…

You’re going to get what feels like negative feedback.

The emotional response to negative feedback is usually much worse than the feedback itself. The more you care, the more it hurts when they don’t say, “OMG YES!” Or, “You just nailed it on the first try. Can I pay you double?” They don’t call, they don’t write, they don’t even send flowers. They hate it! They must!

A week passes, and you finally get one tepid email back. Something like, “Hmmm, let me think about this.” Or, worse, “I have a few concerns.”

The floodgates open:

• Does this mean I’m not good enough?
• Is my work really that bad?
• Do they hate me?
• Are they wrong?
• Maybe I’m the one who’s wrong!
• No, I’m the expert! I can’t be wrong!

Once the shock wears off, you start asking yourself more useful questions:

• Is this something I need to push back on?
• Is there a way we can work together to produce something better than either of us could have achieved on our own?
• Where is the truth in what they’re saying, and what is the easiest way to incorporate that?

Yes, you could draw their attention back to the goals of the piece, and to the target audience, and to what they’re trying to accomplish. You could whip out the creative brief and remind them in the nicest, most professional way possible why you’re really right and they’re really wrong.

Or, you could head it off from the outset by guiding them to give useful, constructive feedback.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you had a specific feedback checklist so they didn’t draw a blank when you asked for their reaction, so they didn’t forget about you entirely, or give vaguely unsettling feedback that made you cry?

Now you have this handy checklist—the antidote to “what do you think?”

Using this checklist makes the feedback process feel less like you flinging your draft over the castle walls and waiting for the client to fling it back in hopes they haven’t lit it on fire, and more like a collaborative exploration. You’ll both enjoy the process. You’ll also get better results.

My Delicate-Flower Marketing Feedback Checklist

The Antidote to “What Do You Think?”

Overall

• When you think about your target audience and your goals for this piece, do the structure and copy work together to accomplish these goals?
• How do you feel as a result of reading the copy? Are there any parts that sing, that really make you say, “Yes!” Which ones? Are there any parts that confused you, that you had to read twice, or that just didn’t feel or sound right?

Structure

• Does it follow a logical structure?
• Is the structure consistent?
• Is the structure efficient? Are the words arranged in a way that saves the reader time? Is the layout clear and crisp so the message is easy to track?
• Are there any awkward passages or transitions?
• Are additional changes needed once copy is integrated with the design?

Substance

• Is it accurate?
• Is it complete? Does it convey all the information it needs to convey? Would the reader need anything else to evaluate your message and act on it?
• Is there any information I can delete?
• Is the writing grammatically correct and free of spelling, capitalization, word order, and sentence-structure mistakes?

Persuasiveness

• What objections are coming up for you that are not covered in the copy? Would you get in touch anyway, or would you need all your objections to be answered?
• What questions do you still have after reading this that might stop you from taking the next step?
• Did I explain all the features and benefits clearly and persuasively?

Tone & Style

• Does the style, tone and vocabulary fit the target audience?
• Are the strategy and tone consistent?
• Is it clear and easy to read? Is there any ambiguity or guesswork, or does the reader get the meaning?
• Is there a call to action?
• Does the copy convey a positive image of the company? Does it ultimately give the reader good feelings?

In the next post, I’ll talk about how you can position the feedback conversation so it feels less like Meeting the Parents and more like Building a Sandcastle with Aunt Lucinda.