When you work alone a lot of the time as a freelancer, you get 100% of the highs and 100% of the lows. That means it’s not always easy to put things in perspective when receiving feedback on your work—especially when you’ve worked crazy-hard on it.
Even though I have been freelancing for nearly 15 years, I know that sometimes clients aren’t going to love what I deliver. That doesn’t mean what I’ve produced is bad per se, it just means that somewhere along the line there might have been a breakdown in the process, which means I missed the mark. And that happens even with projects I think are stellar.
I remember delivering the homepage copy for a company that did design builds for home renovations. I’d done my due diligence of going over their brand voice, making sure I understood their goal for the project—all of it. But when they reviewed the homepage, it came back with so many track changes, my copy doc was unrecognizable. I didn’t know where my copy ended and their ideas began or why they liked or didn’t like the copy.
After I took a deep breath (ok, many deep breaths), we eventually got on a call to talk it all through. Turns out, reading the copy actually helped them realize some things about their business they hadn’t thought of before—and obviously couldn’t tell me before I started. The next round was much closer to the mark and, honestly, the copy was much, much stronger. And the truth is, we couldn’t have achieved such clear messaging without that crummy first round!
Of course, you always try to bring your A game to whatever project it is that you’re working on, but the clients you work with are always going to have added insight and opinions based on their own expertise.
So instead of getting defensive and putting a client relationship at risk, I want to share the framework that I find helpful for handling feedback like a pro as a freelancer.
1. View It As Feedback, Not Criticism
The first step in dealing with feedback on a project is to shift your perspective. Your clients are not trying to make you feel bad—they’re offering feedback because they value your expertise and want to see you succeed.
Although it *feels* like the output belongs solely to you, that’s really not the case—everyone on the team involved in the project is accountable for its results. And everyone on that team has different expertise and insights that can help make it better.
So, embrace your feedback as a chance to grow, build confidence, and refine your craft!
2. The Feedback is on Your Work, Not on YOU
Facing feedback can often trigger imposter syndrome, especially if it’s something you’ve never received before or haven’t had to deal with in a while. But it’s crucial to remember that the feedback is not questioning your capabilities or your worth as a person. No one is suggesting you lack creativity or skill; they’re simply offering insights to improve the end product.
And remember, too, that no one expects perfection the first time. In fact, the chances are slim that you’ll get it perfect the first time because there are so many insights and angles that you can’t possibly have considered.
What people *do* expect is that you put your best foot forward with every piece of work—that means dotting your i’s and crossing your t’s to avoid any glaringly obvious errors.
We know it’s easier said than done but when you can detach your self-esteem from the feedback and view it objectively, you can approach it with a much clearer and more open mindset.
3. Don’t Respond Right Away
When you receive negative feedback, it’s easy to hit the panic button. But it’s important to resist the urge to react immediately. The last thing you want to do is fire off an angry message explaining why you’re right and the client is wrong.
Take some time to process the feedback and see things from the client’s perspective. By reflecting on the feedback when you’re not in an emotional state, you can approach it with a calmer and more rational mindset. So take a step back, breathe, and respond thoughtfully when you’re ready.
(And as painful as it may be, be sure to thank clients for their feedback to keep the relationship respectful, even if you disagree!)
4. Get Clear on Exactly What Needs to Change
“Something’s just not quite right…”
Receiving unhelpful feedback from clients like this is…frustrating, to say the least. But if a client isn’t happy with your work and it’s not clear why, you deserve some clarification.
Often it’s the case that marketing managers, product managers, and other stakeholders just don’t have the right words to articulate what’s not working for them (or they could be suffering from “lazy client syndrome“).
But by asking specific questions, you can get to the root of the issues and understand how to address them effectively. For example:
Which parts need changing in order for this to meet the brief?
If I fix this section, will you be happy to sign off?
It’s always a good idea to ask for specific feedback in writing, so that you have something to refer to as you make your revisions—and that includes positive feedback, too!
Ask your client if something is working particularly well. Maybe you nailed one section, but a small detail in another section is throwing the client off. This information can be just as helpful for addressing areas that need to change and can help you nail future projects for that client.
5. Steer Clients Away from Offering Solutions
While it’s natural for clients to want to help find solutions to problems, remember their input may not always be helpful or relevant. Politely remind them that you value their feedback on the problem rather than prescribing solutions.
Keep the focus on understanding what’s not working. The best way they can help you is to let you know what the root cause of the problem is, so that you can come up with a new execution that solves it.
6. Allow Yourself to be Disappointed
The hard truth is, sometimes people just aren’t going to like something that you love. It sucks—especially when you’ve poured your heart and soul into a project. So go ahead and acknowledge your emotions, but don’t dwell on them for too long. Allow yourself to feel annoyed or disappointed, and then refocus your energy on moving forward.
7. Use It as a Learning Experience
Every piece of feedback, whether positive or negative, is an opportunity to learn and grow. So take the time to reflect on the feedback you got and consider how you can apply it to future projects.
It helps to look for patterns or recurring themes in the feedback so you can identify areas for improvement in your work. Maybe it’s time to polish up your communication skills at project kickoff? Or maybe there are changes you could make to your creative process?
Even if it wasn’t really your fault, and the client provided a brief that wasn’t specific enough, could you put something in place in your workflow to try to ensure this doesn’t happen again?
8. Don’t Hit Delete!
Just because a project doesn’t meet a client’s expectations doesn’t mean it’s a failure. If it’s a project you love, keep it and keep a record of feedback to inform your creative decisions moving forward.
Even if a project doesn’t see the light of day, it can still serve as a valuable learning experience and showcase your skills to potential clients—not everything in your portfolio has to have actually been produced. You can still explain to prospective clients what you loved about it, even though the team ultimately ended up going with a different execution.
Your Turn
Have you had to deal with feedback and criticism? Which strategies did you use to handle it? Let us know in the comments below!
