Giving constructive feedback on content is hard work. You’ve got to watch your tone, make sure your suggestions are specific and helpful, and explain exactly what's not right...all while ensuring you don’t come off as the villain in a writer’s story.
You could certainly make some edits yourself. But in the long term, that rarely helps as content writers will continue to make the same mistakes. These mistakes could be avoided if you had a process that allowed you to provide meaningful feedback to writers.
For this post, I’ve talked to two Content Leads and asked them how they give feedback in a manner that’s both specific and not disheartening for the writer.
Give timely feedback when the content is created
There’s a drawback to delaying feedback: the odds of forgetting what you had planned for the content start to stack up. You’ll find yourself snaking through old comments or email threads to revise what you had agreed to with the writer.
A client of mine took over a month to give feedback on a blog post that I had submitted. Guess what happened? All the research I had done for that piece got blurry in my mind. Sure, it was there on my notes, but the thoughts I had had while planning and writing the content all had bid farewell long before I heard back from the editor.
The solution here is simple: agree on a deadline for the content piece with the freelancer or teammate and add it to your calendar. That way you won’t put off giving feedback.
Good to Know: With GatherContent workflows you can set content deadlines, so it’s clear what needs to happen by when.
Who should be involved in the content review process
Many of us have editors dedicated to giving feedback on content. Others (mainly small teams with tight budgets) might still be deciding who’ll give feedback on the content. Some might even continue wondering who’ll do so even after the draft comes through.
The result? You’re not sure who’ll give feedback so you decide, ‘hey, let’s all give it a read and we can tell the writer what we want.’
Alas, you forget something very important:
"Multiple teammates giving feedback can confuse the writer and may also contradict each other’s feedback."
Put some trust in the writer you’re working with and understand that you need one or two, at best, sets of eyes on their work.
For instance, Alina Benny, the Content Lead at Nextiva, shares it’s usually only her giving feedback on the content. Sometimes, a second pair of eyes may scrutinize the copy. Even so, only Alina remains at the forefront of giving one on one feedback to the writer.
Prepare a detailed content brief to prevent unnecessary edits
You need a content brief or outline that clearly highlights what’s required of the content, the style to follow, and answers other questions that a writer may have. Allie Decker, the Head of Content at Omniscient Digital calls this “pre-feedback.”
You can create your content briefs and even templates for each type of content right in GatherContent.
Alina also shares that her team spends a good hour writing detailed briefs that include all the mandatory details like:
Target keyword(s)
Headline options
Suggestions for content structure
Internal links
Competitive analysis
Taking the time for pre-feedback helps you in two ways. One, thorough details before the work starts means you save time on questions that writers may have as they start writing. Allie adds:
"It eases writers—who come from different backgrounds and are working on various client accounts—into one main content creation process. This helps us create the best possible content."
A content review process will help you ensure brand consistency across content while also saving your team members time and enabling them to grow as writers. Not to mention, the content review process helps you organize all the performance feedback and keep your end goals and targets at the forefront.
To create a solid content review process that’s efficient and effective, you’ll need to build the following steps into your process:
Kickoff call - This is where you meet with your team either online or face-to-face to discuss the specifics of the project. This is an ideal time to communicate the requirements as well as brainstorm ideas.
Content brief - Create a detailed content brief that outlines all expectations and requirements. This is where you would put any specific details like keywords or internal and external linking opportunities.
Content creation - During this stage, team members are actually creating the content. While you don’t need to micromanage your team, you may want to check in to make sure things are going smoothly.
Review and feedback - During this process, the editor (or whoever is providing good feedback) will review the content and offer constructive criticism. Some people use the feedback sandwich method which offers positive feedback, negative feedback, and then ends on a positive note.
Final approval - As the final step in the content review process, the main stakeholder will review the content and approve it before sending it to the client. (At this point, all of the useful feedback from the previous step should be incorporated.)
As you set up and document your team’s content review process, keep in mind any time management or task management tools you might use to make sure the process goes smoothly.
Tips for providing constructive criticism
Being constructive with your feedback is easier said than done. The following tips will help you give actionable feedback:
Read the content thoroughly before you get into editing mode
It’s important you understand the content before you make any suggestions for edits. Once you’ve done that, re-read to request your edits. Look for:
The flow of the piece (the narrative) and how it's structured
This is really important. Rather than focus on the negative feedback from the start, share positive feedback on the areas that you like first. This is the type of feedback that will keep writers motivated to improve.
For instance, Allie explains:
"I try to provide one to two positive comments. Sometimes, I’ll highlight an amazing sentence or creative approach and simply comment “🔥”. My job is to help these writers improve, and highlighting what they do right helps them know what to do again."
This also tells the writer what’s working, so they can use similar tactics in other content pieces.
Be specific with your feedback
Multiple studies confirm that feedback tends to be useful when it’s specific. If there’s a sentence that’s off, point it out. If an entire paragraph doesn’t flow well, highlight it and request for a rewrite.
The more specific you are about what’s incorrect, the more actionable your feedback will be and the better the writer will understand what’s needed. Being specific also helps you give “feedback with a solution instead of merely providing a laundry list of red lines,” as Allie puts it.
Explain what’s lacking with the content
If there’s one thing that supplements being specific, it’s adding sufficient explanation to what you need. It’s best you don’t be subjective here. Alina shares it never helps to say something along the lines of “this sucks.”
Not only does that approach lack empathy, but it doesn’t sufficiently explain what you didn’t like as well – making the entire feedback-giving process subjective.
Back up your comments with an example
One good way to explain your point is by backing your feedback with specific examples. For instance, if you find the introduction isn’t strong enough, share examples of other content with engaging introductions in your feedback session.
A client once explained that I was using several analogies at a time and that I needed to stick with one or two. She also included a relevant example of a post building on one analogy to explain that point to me. Not only did I understand her point better (thanks to the example), but I learned a good lesson. Win-win.
Always use a tool that allows for collaboration
You’ll want to use a tool that allows the writer to see what edits you’ve made so they can learn for next time. GatherContent is a great tool for this as it allows writers to clearly see the changes made to the content.
In GatherContent, writers can see which changes were made so that they know how to improve next time.
GatherContent also allows the editor to leave comments and questions on specific sections of the document. This is a great way for writers and editors to collaborate in real-time. Not to mention, the comments are pinpointed to a specific section of the text so that the writer knows exactly which changes to make.
Here’s an example from one of my clients:
This is a great example of feedback that explains exactly which changes were made to the original piece of content.
This is a great example of a client using their communication skills to leave constructive feedback as a note on the doc. This note summarizes what edits have been made so that the writer can be aware next time. If the writer has further questions, they can follow up with the client for more specifics.
Leave some room for the writer’s opinion, too
Chances are you’ve pointed out something that a writer purposefully chose to put that way. Or, the writer has learned something works better in X fashion rather than Y. Either way, it’s best you don’t give feedback like it’s an ultimatum.
Allie gives space to writers to voice their concerns if needed. She shares:
"All my writers know that my comments are 100% up for discussion. Despite being Head of Content at Omniscient, I recognize these pieces were written by brilliant, creative writers—which is why we hire these folks to begin with. I don’t want my feedback to be an ‘I-have-the-final-say’ system; I want it to open a dialogue of ideas and various approaches to storytelling and SEO."
Besides, leaving space for discussion also tells the content creator you respect their work, which helps you build good relationships with them.
Tying it all together
To recap, make sure you aren’t being subjective or vague as you give feedback on content. Back your points with examples and explain what’s off. Plus, don’t forget to have a feedback forward approach or, as Allie puts it, “give feedback in a future context.”
This technique is known as Feed Forward. Its focus is simple: you give feedback in terms of how a content writer can do better in future scenarios. Here’s an example from Allie on how to do so, “instead of commenting on how a writer poorly explained a concept, I’ll say “Let’s expand on X, give examples, and approach future topics in the same way.”
This way you’re telling your writer what works and what doesn’t while also reducing the odds of getting the same sort of edits in other content pieces.
How GatherContent makes the content review process easier
With the right tools, creating an effective content review process is a breeze. GatherContent allows teams to spend less time focusing on the logistics and more time focused on the actual content.
With GatherContent, you can create your content review process and assign responsibilities to your team so everyone is on the same page.
Need to Know: GatherContent Workflows make responsibility and actions clear, to keep content creation moving and avoid content bottlenecks.
Organizations can manage their entire content review process in GatherContent. You can assign work, deliver content briefs, write content, collaborate on content, review content, and leave feedback - all in one place.
Not to mention, you’re able to set the status of content so that everyone is on the same page. Wondering where the blog post for next month is? A quick glance at GatherContent will tell you whether it’s in the drafting, review, or publish stage.
GatherContent makes it easy for teams to collaborate on content, with the option to leave notes right on the page.
With GatherContent, there is no ambiguity over content requirements or who should be doing what. Everything is clearly laid out for the whole team to see, making it easier to collaborate and create a seamless content review process.
You could certainly make some edits yourself. But in the long term, that rarely helps as content writers will continue to make the same mistakes. These mistakes could be avoided if you had a process that allowed you to provide meaningful feedback to writers.
For this post, I’ve talked to two Content Leads and asked them how they give feedback in a manner that’s both specific and not disheartening for the writer.
Give timely feedback when the content is created
There’s a drawback to delaying feedback: the odds of forgetting what you had planned for the content start to stack up. You’ll find yourself snaking through old comments or email threads to revise what you had agreed to with the writer.
A client of mine took over a month to give feedback on a blog post that I had submitted. Guess what happened? All the research I had done for that piece got blurry in my mind. Sure, it was there on my notes, but the thoughts I had had while planning and writing the content all had bid farewell long before I heard back from the editor.
The solution here is simple: agree on a deadline for the content piece with the freelancer or teammate and add it to your calendar. That way you won’t put off giving feedback.
Good to Know: With GatherContent workflows you can set content deadlines, so it’s clear what needs to happen by when.
Who should be involved in the content review process
Many of us have editors dedicated to giving feedback on content. Others (mainly small teams with tight budgets) might still be deciding who’ll give feedback on the content. Some might even continue wondering who’ll do so even after the draft comes through.
The result? You’re not sure who’ll give feedback so you decide, ‘hey, let’s all give it a read and we can tell the writer what we want.’
Alas, you forget something very important:
"Multiple teammates giving feedback can confuse the writer and may also contradict each other’s feedback."
Put some trust in the writer you’re working with and understand that you need one or two, at best, sets of eyes on their work.
For instance, Alina Benny, the Content Lead at Nextiva, shares it’s usually only her giving feedback on the content. Sometimes, a second pair of eyes may scrutinize the copy. Even so, only Alina remains at the forefront of giving one on one feedback to the writer.
Prepare a detailed content brief to prevent unnecessary edits
You need a content brief or outline that clearly highlights what’s required of the content, the style to follow, and answers other questions that a writer may have. Allie Decker, the Head of Content at Omniscient Digital calls this “pre-feedback.”
You can create your content briefs and even templates for each type of content right in GatherContent.
Alina also shares that her team spends a good hour writing detailed briefs that include all the mandatory details like:
Target keyword(s)
Headline options
Suggestions for content structure
Internal links
Competitive analysis
Taking the time for pre-feedback helps you in two ways. One, thorough details before the work starts means you save time on questions that writers may have as they start writing. Allie adds:
"It eases writers—who come from different backgrounds and are working on various client accounts—into one main content creation process. This helps us create the best possible content."
A content review process will help you ensure brand consistency across content while also saving your team members time and enabling them to grow as writers. Not to mention, the content review process helps you organize all the performance feedback and keep your end goals and targets at the forefront.
To create a solid content review process that’s efficient and effective, you’ll need to build the following steps into your process:
Kickoff call - This is where you meet with your team either online or face-to-face to discuss the specifics of the project. This is an ideal time to communicate the requirements as well as brainstorm ideas.
Content brief - Create a detailed content brief that outlines all expectations and requirements. This is where you would put any specific details like keywords or internal and external linking opportunities.
Content creation - During this stage, team members are actually creating the content. While you don’t need to micromanage your team, you may want to check in to make sure things are going smoothly.
Review and feedback - During this process, the editor (or whoever is providing good feedback) will review the content and offer constructive criticism. Some people use the feedback sandwich method which offers positive feedback, negative feedback, and then ends on a positive note.
Final approval - As the final step in the content review process, the main stakeholder will review the content and approve it before sending it to the client. (At this point, all of the useful feedback from the previous step should be incorporated.)
As you set up and document your team’s content review process, keep in mind any time management or task management tools you might use to make sure the process goes smoothly.
Tips for providing constructive criticism
Being constructive with your feedback is easier said than done. The following tips will help you give actionable feedback:
Read the content thoroughly before you get into editing mode
It’s important you understand the content before you make any suggestions for edits. Once you’ve done that, re-read to request your edits. Look for:
The flow of the piece (the narrative) and how it's structured
This is really important. Rather than focus on the negative feedback from the start, share positive feedback on the areas that you like first. This is the type of feedback that will keep writers motivated to improve.
For instance, Allie explains:
"I try to provide one to two positive comments. Sometimes, I’ll highlight an amazing sentence or creative approach and simply comment “🔥”. My job is to help these writers improve, and highlighting what they do right helps them know what to do again."
This also tells the writer what’s working, so they can use similar tactics in other content pieces.
Be specific with your feedback
Multiple studies confirm that feedback tends to be useful when it’s specific. If there’s a sentence that’s off, point it out. If an entire paragraph doesn’t flow well, highlight it and request for a rewrite.
The more specific you are about what’s incorrect, the more actionable your feedback will be and the better the writer will understand what’s needed. Being specific also helps you give “feedback with a solution instead of merely providing a laundry list of red lines,” as Allie puts it.
Explain what’s lacking with the content
If there’s one thing that supplements being specific, it’s adding sufficient explanation to what you need. It’s best you don’t be subjective here. Alina shares it never helps to say something along the lines of “this sucks.”
Not only does that approach lack empathy, but it doesn’t sufficiently explain what you didn’t like as well – making the entire feedback-giving process subjective.
Back up your comments with an example
One good way to explain your point is by backing your feedback with specific examples. For instance, if you find the introduction isn’t strong enough, share examples of other content with engaging introductions in your feedback session.
A client once explained that I was using several analogies at a time and that I needed to stick with one or two. She also included a relevant example of a post building on one analogy to explain that point to me. Not only did I understand her point better (thanks to the example), but I learned a good lesson. Win-win.
Always use a tool that allows for collaboration
You’ll want to use a tool that allows the writer to see what edits you’ve made so they can learn for next time. GatherContent is a great tool for this as it allows writers to clearly see the changes made to the content.
In GatherContent, writers can see which changes were made so that they know how to improve next time.
GatherContent also allows the editor to leave comments and questions on specific sections of the document. This is a great way for writers and editors to collaborate in real-time. Not to mention, the comments are pinpointed to a specific section of the text so that the writer knows exactly which changes to make.
Here’s an example from one of my clients:
This is a great example of feedback that explains exactly which changes were made to the original piece of content.
This is a great example of a client using their communication skills to leave constructive feedback as a note on the doc. This note summarizes what edits have been made so that the writer can be aware next time. If the writer has further questions, they can follow up with the client for more specifics.
Leave some room for the writer’s opinion, too
Chances are you’ve pointed out something that a writer purposefully chose to put that way. Or, the writer has learned something works better in X fashion rather than Y. Either way, it’s best you don’t give feedback like it’s an ultimatum.
Allie gives space to writers to voice their concerns if needed. She shares:
"All my writers know that my comments are 100% up for discussion. Despite being Head of Content at Omniscient, I recognize these pieces were written by brilliant, creative writers—which is why we hire these folks to begin with. I don’t want my feedback to be an ‘I-have-the-final-say’ system; I want it to open a dialogue of ideas and various approaches to storytelling and SEO."
Besides, leaving space for discussion also tells the content creator you respect their work, which helps you build good relationships with them.
Tying it all together
To recap, make sure you aren’t being subjective or vague as you give feedback on content. Back your points with examples and explain what’s off. Plus, don’t forget to have a feedback forward approach or, as Allie puts it, “give feedback in a future context.”
This technique is known as Feed Forward. Its focus is simple: you give feedback in terms of how a content writer can do better in future scenarios. Here’s an example from Allie on how to do so, “instead of commenting on how a writer poorly explained a concept, I’ll say “Let’s expand on X, give examples, and approach future topics in the same way.”
This way you’re telling your writer what works and what doesn’t while also reducing the odds of getting the same sort of edits in other content pieces.
How GatherContent makes the content review process easier
With the right tools, creating an effective content review process is a breeze. GatherContent allows teams to spend less time focusing on the logistics and more time focused on the actual content.
With GatherContent, you can create your content review process and assign responsibilities to your team so everyone is on the same page.
Need to Know: GatherContent Workflows make responsibility and actions clear, to keep content creation moving and avoid content bottlenecks.
Organizations can manage their entire content review process in GatherContent. You can assign work, deliver content briefs, write content, collaborate on content, review content, and leave feedback - all in one place.
Not to mention, you’re able to set the status of content so that everyone is on the same page. Wondering where the blog post for next month is? A quick glance at GatherContent will tell you whether it’s in the drafting, review, or publish stage.
GatherContent makes it easy for teams to collaborate on content, with the option to leave notes right on the page.
With GatherContent, there is no ambiguity over content requirements or who should be doing what. Everything is clearly laid out for the whole team to see, making it easier to collaborate and create a seamless content review process.
Masooma Memon is a pizza-loving freelance writer for SaaS. When she’s not writing actionable blog posts or checking off tasks from her to-do list, she has her head buried in a fantasy novel or business book. Connect with her on Twitter.
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