How bad feedback became my brand

Feedback is a part of life when you work in advertising. You get it when you expect it - during a WIP session or after sending some work to a client. You get it when you want it - when asking for input. And a lot of the time, you get it when you would rather have anything else - when a manager passes your desk, or a member of the public tweets about it, or a client emails you after dreaming about a different idea that isn’t what they asked for at all, but WHO CARES?

It’s something we have to deal with every day, and some of the time it is not good. This post will show you how I deal with bad feedback, why it happens, and how I’ve used a good chunk of it to define the copywriter I am today. Maybe you’ll learn something from it, but if not, you can have a good laugh at my expense.

I remember the bad more than the good

Bad feedback lingers. I think it’s because it hits you harder than the good stuff, it makes you feel stronger emotions and likely leads to more angry conversations. When I get good feedback (which I do, promise) I kind of think, “Great, job done.” Without meaning to brag, good feedback is what I expect. I’m a solid 8/10 copywriter, this is what I do. If I was constantly expecting bad feedback it would mean I was shit at my job or working with the wrong clients. Whenever I get bad feedback, it stands out. It makes me jolt and pay attention, shakes me, and makes me doubt all the confidence I had when writing the copy in the first place.

Basically, good feedback is like breathing in air, while bad feedback is like an unpleasant smell that sticks in your nose. It’s hard to get rid of.

Fortunately those memories made writing this post a lot easier. Every cloud.

What the critics had to say

From legitimate feedback from well-meaning people, through to narcissistic CEOs who fancied a crack at writing the copy themselves, my bad feedback has come from all walks of life, and I’ve found a blissfully ignorant way to use it all to my advantage.

Feedback 1: This copy is frankly horrible

This bit of feedback felt so unnecessary that I actually printed it out and pinned it to the wall next to my next. This was back when I was an agency copywriter, and it came off the back of some FREE work for a client’s Christmas campaign. I’ve highlighted the word ‘free’ there because there should be an unwritten rule that if you’re doing someone a favour, you can’t describe it as being ‘frankly horrible’. But they did.

Funnily enough, the client ended up working for the same agency as me later, and they were actually really nice. Must have had an off day.

How I used it

This feedback lived by my desk for about a year after I received it, reminding me that no matter what other feedback I got, it was unlikely to ever be that soul destroying. I still use it now. I guess once you’ve hit rock bottom, the only way is up.

Feedback 2: You don’t seem to be growing as an SEO copywriter

Now, this feedback came in a role where I didn’t know I was meant to be an SEO copywriter, so it was no surprise to me that I wasn’t getting any better at it. That’s like telling Erling Haaland he’s not growing as a right back - bad feedback, but feedback that’s not really that relevant.

If you hire a square peg and then try and force it repeatedly into a round hole, don’t be surprised when that square peg quits and becomes a freelance peg instead.

How I used it

Oh, I kinda gave the ending away early with this one. This feedback was the shove I needed to give freelancing a go. I started redoing my website the next day, stuck a post up on LinkedIn, and began laying the seeds to grow as the kind of copywriter I actually was, not the kind my manager had decided on a whim that I should be. (Spoiler: I have no desire to ever be an SEO copywriter. The thought gives me a migraine.)

Feedback 3: You rush your work

Being told my work was rushed wasn’t based on any actual timings. No-one had sat next to me with a stop watch and said, “On your marks, get set, write!” and I hadn’t broken any world records. I’d just delivered some work within the allocated time frame. The reason I was told it had been rushed was because I’d done it differently to how the feedback giver would have done it themselves. After three days on a brief, they’d have ruminated in the ideas, swam about in a sea of thoughts, gone back over the brief countless times and come up with some initial musings. No problem with that. Me, on the other hand, given the same three days, would have had some ideas, narrowed them down to my favourites, turned each idea into a series of executions and have produced something ready to show off. No problem with that either, it’s just a different way of doing things. You say rushing, I say being efficient.

How I used it

Turns out when you’re freelancing clients love it when you can turn work around on a tight deadline. It saves them money, it means they can get more out of me, and it means I can fit more work into a timeframe and earn more dollar. Win win. My speed was a negative for some people, but for the people I work with now, it’s a massive plus.

Feedback 4: This sounds too ‘Ash’

Finally, the bit of feedback that has flowed through my very bones ever since I first heard it. This one felt personal. It came off the back of some copy for a major international bank, where my lines had perhaps sounded too flippant or too humorous. In short, they’d had too much personality in them, and that wasn’t what the brand wanted. Fair enough, but the ‘too Ash’ phrase kept coming back. ‘This sounds too Ash, dial it back. This has too much Ash in it, take it out.’

It was used as a stick to beat me with, as if being ‘Ash’ was a negative.

How I used it

Now obviously when you work in an agency, not every brief will be perfect for your skill set. Often that means not writing to the best of your ability, or writing in a way that doesn’t suit you. I held back the inner Ash for a huge chunk of my work, making clients happy but leaving me feel empty and my portfolio featuring plenty of work I wasn’t proud to show off.

Now I use that style of writing to attract the type of work that suits me perfectly. People no longer approach me to write at 60% of my self - they want the full package, and come to me because that’s what I can give them. It’s nuanced, sure. Not everyone wants the same tone of voice, and not every brand I work with wants to sound exactly like me. That’d be hell. But they all want a part of me, and that means I can be 100% Ash 100% of the time, making clients even happier and leaving me feel full of Billinghay beans.

How to flip your own negatives

Turning bad into good is a useful tool for any creative to have up their sleeves. Not only can it help you become better, it can help you unlock some potential in a brief that would otherwise have been missed. Not every brief will have a glorious USP or cunningly crafted proposition. In fact, throughout your career you’ll encounter a lot of briefs that look exactly the same as each other. When you meet challenges like this, turning those negatives into positives can make your life a lot easier and your work a lot more fun. Recently I helped promote an event at a tiny venue. I made it sound exclusive. I’ve previously advertised mortgage deals that are substantially worse than other deals on the market, and I’ve bigged up the service (‘cos fewer people are applying for them, you’ll get seen faster). Listen, it’s not always morally great, but it works.

Look at what the negative is and what the opposite of that would be. If it’s still shit, ignore it. But if you can get something out of it, go wild.

I could easily have been beaten down by bad feedback, but have I let it get the better of me? No! I’ve stubbornly refused to pay any attention to it and now here I am, glowing like a beautiful star.