No matter the longevity or expertise, marketers still commit certain mistakes when working with freelance writers - one of which would be the lack of providing feedback, according to Business2Community.
In 2015, a Contently freelancer on two accounts for B2B software companies that were both new pretty new to publishing was there. The writer's pitches and topics contained such impressively sharp ideas that were always on brand and had one client raving about her. The company told them to look for more writers just like her who can offer such quality service.
Later that week, something peculiar happened. The second client asked for that same supposedly astounding writer to be removed from the company's account. "She's just not getting what we're trying to do," a contact stated. For the most obvious reasons, that feedback caused confusion to the account manager.
Questions sparked up. How can the same freelancer who perfectly nailed the expectations of one company flop at another? According to B2C's Brian Maehl, the answer is pretty simple: "The first client was willing to give honest feedback to the writer; the second client expected her to turn in near-perfect drafts on the first try." As an account representative who worked with the same companies, Maehl would know. He saw marketing departments holding back when it came to relaying candid feedback, resulting to brushing away minor problems and just ask for help from the new writers instead.
Although that certain kind of approach may seem appealing from a short-term perspective, marketers are just creating more work for themselves. By redundantly bringing in more writers, the marketers are turning their backs on promising creative talent just because they weren't able to do some things right. Instead of training them further, new writers enter and it is basically starting from scratch.
"Brands aren't always able to successfully articulate what exactly they want. Look for tangible things that can be addressed, and try to avoid stringing together subjective adjectives," Danny Broderick, a managing editor, says. Giving feedback may be difficult and can at times bruise some egos, but in most relationships, being honest and open are most beneficial.
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