8 Tips for Providing Constructive Feedback to a Freelancer
Giving feedback and ensuring your vision is brought to life can be one of the trickiest parts of outsourcing your creative projects to a freelancer. However, offering critique continually remains a crucial step. We have compiled our list of helpful tips when providing constructive feedback to a freelancer.
- Be as specific as possible
It is important to provide crystal clear instruction. General statements such as “I don’t think this font works” makes it challenging for freelancers to adjust their work. Let the individual know what in particular doesn’t seem to be working.
Poor feedback: I don’t like this color.
Great feedback: This color doesn’t pair well with our current branding colors. Can we try using (blank) instead?
Being as specific as possible ensures your criticism is constructive and allows your designer to create the project you envisioned.
- Provide visual examples
Not sure how to articulate what you’re looking for? Providing visual examples can be a helpful alternative. After all, they say a picture is worth a thousand words. These can be images from Google, past projects, or examples found on platforms like Pinterest.
- Set expectations of your timeline
Be sure to give the freelancer a timeline of when you will be able to get back with revisions, which members of your team need to review the project, etc. Letting he or she know your process will give the freelancer a better understanding of what to prioritize and how to work most efficiently.
- Don’t feel the need to micro-manage
Trust the freelancer our technology has paired you with. We encourage you to communicate with your designer or copywriter as much as you’d like through the platform, but there’s no need to stress about due dates, source files, etc. Our freelancers are trained to follow a set project flow, and, in addition, we have members of our team that consistently monitor projects and are reachable virtually around the clock if you have any questions or concerns.
- Be responsive
Responding to freelancers in a timely manner is important, especially when there are time differences involved. At the end of the day, it’s your project and returning feedback in a respectful timeframe will allow your freelancer to get the final product to you even sooner.
- Remember that freelancers are human too
By no means is it acceptable to receive a project back with a series of typos or missing information, but having one or two misspellings is understandable. Just alert your freelancer and the changes will be made in the next round of edits.
- Be respectful
When providing critique, keep comments respectful and specific to the project. It doesn’t hurt to tell the freelancer what you like, as well–feedback doesn’t always have to be negative. Be firm and direct on the changes you want to be made, but be sure to do so in an encouraging way.
Poor: Your work isn’t what we were looking for.
Good: Though we liked certain aspects of the draft you provided, we felt that the design was not in line with our targeted audience. Can we adjust the project to fit this type of individual? Here are some ideas I have to do so…
- A draft is just that, a draft
Keep in mind that a draft of your project is not the final product. At times a client may not know what they’re looking for until they are presented with something they either like or don’t like. If the draft you are presented with isn’t exactly what you were looking for, constructively communicating specific feedback–using the tips mentioned above–and work with your freelancer to finalize the project. A draft is meant to be altered and improved.
Now, it’s time to take these tips and put them into action. When hiring a freelancer be sure to set expectations from the beginning and provide as much information as possible. These can be actions like filling out as many areas as you can in project briefs, providing a context of your target audience, how or where the project will be used. Following these steps and the eight tips above can greatly enhance your ConceptDrop experience for you and your freelancer.
Want to keep these tips on hand for the next time you’re working with a freelancer? Download here.
