Tone of Voice Masterclass 4: Troubleshooting TOV issues with clients

Summary

In this masterclass, experts tackle the challenge of managing tone of voice inconsistencies with clients in copywriting. They discuss the subjective nature of the work, emphasizing the importance of specificity in client feedback to avoid vagueness and constant changes. Strategies like creating a style guide and tone of voice checker are highlighted to streamline the process. The session also covers how to handle clients who are unsure of their brand voice, suggesting a consultative approach to help define it. Lastly, the panel addresses the balance between guiding clients with expertise and respecting their final decisions, even when it means compromising on the copy.

Takeaways

• 😀 The session is focused on troubleshooting tone of voice issues with clients, particularly when they are unsure of what they want.
• 🔍 There is a level of subjectivity in copywriting that can lead to challenges, but it's generally easier to refine copy than design.
• 👍 Copywriters are advised to appreciate the relative ease of receiving feedback on words and sentences compared to logos or designs.
• 📝 It's crucial to establish clear guidelines and ground rules for clients to follow when providing feedback.
• 🤔 When clients are vague or keep changing their minds, it's often due to a lack of specificity in their initial feedback.
• 📉 To manage client uncertainty, encourage them to be specific about their likes, dislikes, and reasons for their feedback.
• 📋 Use tools like Google Docs for clients to provide specific feedback, which can help in refining the copywriting process.
• 🚫 If clients continue to be vague or change their minds frequently, it's important to address the issue promptly to avoid wasted effort.
• 💡 Creating a style guide or brand voice guidelines can serve as a reference point and help manage client expectations and feedback.
• 💰 Understanding when to charge more for additional work due to client changes in the brief is essential for fair compensation.
• 📝 Conducting a tone of voice check on a critical page, like the homepage, can set a solid foundation before expanding to other parts of a project.
• 🤝 When clients are unsure of their brand voice, it's an opportunity for copywriters to offer strategic guidance and define the voice collaboratively.
• 🚧 It's important to know when to push back on client requests with data and expertise, but ultimately the client's wishes should be respected.
• 🏆 Maintaining humility and recognizing that the client's satisfaction is paramount, even if it means accepting less-than-ideal outcomes for one's portfolio.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video script?

The main topic of the video script is troubleshooting tone of voice issues, particularly with clients in the context of copywriting.

Why is it sometimes challenging to handle client feedback in copywriting?

It can be challenging because there is an element of subjectivity involved, and clients may not always be specific or consistent with their feedback, leading to frequent changes in direction.

What is the first step suggested in the script when dealing with clients who keep changing their minds?

The first step is to ensure that the client's feedback is specific and that they can articulate why they don't like something and what they would prefer.

How can copywriters manage clients who are vague with their feedback?

Copywriters can manage this by asking for specific examples, focusing on granular feedback, and establishing a clear feedback process.

What is the importance of creating a style guide for a client?

A style guide helps to establish a reference point for the client's preferences and expectations, which can be used to maintain consistency and manage changing minds.

Why is it recommended to do a tone of voice check before starting a large copywriting project?

A tone of voice check helps to set a solid foundation and ensures that the client is happy with the tone before expanding the project, which can save time and effort.

What should copywriters do if a client insists on a direction that contradicts their professional advice?

Copywriters should provide their professional advice backed by data or case studies, but ultimately respect the client's decision as they are the ones paying for the service.

How can copywriters handle situations where a client doesn't know what they want initially?

Copywriters can work consultatively with the client to define their brand voice, which may involve additional brand strategy work for which they can charge.

What is the role of humility in copywriting according to the script?

Humility in copywriting involves recognizing that the work is for the client, and sometimes stepping back and accepting the client's wishes even if it means the copy is not as the writer would prefer.

What is the recommended approach for copywriters when they feel their work is being butchered by a client?

Copywriters should argue their case respectfully and provide their professional opinion, but ultimately accept the client's decision, keeping in mind that pleasing the client is more important than personal satisfaction.

What is the purpose of the masterclass mentioned in the script?

The purpose of the masterclass is to help copywriters navigate and resolve tonal voice issues with clients, providing strategies and insights for effective communication and project management.

Outlines

00:00

🤔 Navigating Client Uncertainty in Tone of Voice

This paragraph discusses the challenges of working with clients who are unsure of their desired tone of voice, leading to frequent changes in direction. The speakers suggest that the subjectivity inherent in copywriting can make it difficult for clients to provide specific feedback. They emphasize the importance of setting clear guidelines and seeking detailed feedback from clients to understand their preferences. The paragraph also touches on the relative ease of adjusting copy compared to design and the need to manage vague client feedback effectively.

05:00

📝 Establishing a Style Guide to Manage Client Expectations

The second paragraph focuses on creating a style guide to help manage client expectations and provide a reference point for consistent tone of voice. It discusses the importance of doing a tone of voice check on the home page before proceeding with other content to ensure the client is satisfied with the direction. The speakers also address the issue of clients changing their minds frequently and suggest using the style guide to charge for additional work resulting from significant changes to the brief, distinguishing between valid feedback and changes in client requirements.

10:02

🔍 Balancing Expertise with Client Autonomy in Copywriting

In this paragraph, the discussion centers on the balance between using professional expertise to guide clients and respecting their autonomy in decision-making. The speakers recommend backing up recommendations with data, case studies, or articles to provide a strong rationale for suggested strategies. However, they acknowledge that the client has the final say and that copywriters must be prepared to accept their decisions, even if it means compromising on the desired outcome for the copy. The paragraph concludes with advice on maintaining humility and professionalism in the face of client demands.

Keywords

💡Tone of Voice

Tone of voice refers to the style, personality, and manner in which a brand communicates with its audience. In the video, it is the central theme as the speakers discuss how to handle issues related to clients' uncertainty or changes in their desired tone, which is crucial for maintaining brand consistency in copywriting.

💡Subjectivity

Subjectivity in this context means the personal opinions or feelings that can influence a client's preferences for their brand's tone of voice. The script mentions that unlike mathematics, copywriting involves a degree of subjectivity which can lead to challenges in aligning client expectations with the final copy.

💡Feedback

Feedback in the script is the input clients provide regarding the copywriting work. It is highlighted as a critical component that, if vague, can lead to confusion and multiple revisions. The speakers suggest seeking specific feedback to minimize subjectivity and improve the copywriting process.

💡Vagueness

Vagueness is used to describe the lack of specificity in a client's feedback or instructions. The script warns against the pitfalls of vague feedback, which can result in a copywriter making unnecessary revisions or misunderstanding the client's intentions, thus emphasizing the need for clear and detailed feedback.

💡Copywriting

Copywriting is the process of writing copy for the purpose of advertising or marketing. It is the main focus of the video, where the discussion revolves around the challenges copywriters face when dealing with clients' changing preferences and the strategies to overcome them.

💡Brand Strategy

Brand strategy involves defining the identity, positioning, and value proposition of a brand. In the script, it is mentioned as a service that might be needed when a client is unsure of their brand voice, where the copywriter can assist in developing a clear brand strategy to guide the tone of voice.

💡Revisions

Revisions refer to the changes made to the copy based on client feedback. The video discusses the importance of managing revisions, especially when clients are indecisive or keep changing their minds, to avoid unnecessary work and maintain a clear direction.

💡Style Guide

A style guide is a set of rules or guidelines for writing and designing content in a consistent manner. The speakers in the video suggest creating a style guide as a reference point to help manage clients who frequently change their minds or fail to provide clear instructions.

💡Tone of Voice Checker

A tone of voice checker is a method or tool used to ensure that the written content aligns with the desired tone of voice. The script mentions using a tone of voice checker as a best practice to avoid extensive revisions by getting the foundation of the copy, such as the home page, approved first.

💡Client Involvement

Client involvement pertains to the level of participation and input a client has in the copywriting process. The video script discusses the challenges of working with clients who may be uninvolved or provide unclear feedback, and the importance of encouraging specific and detailed input.

💡Pushing Back

Pushing back in the context of the video means advocating for the copywriter's professional opinion when it differs from the client's. The speakers discuss the fine line between guiding the client with expertise and accepting their decisions, emphasizing the importance of professional humility and client satisfaction.

Highlights

Navigating tone of voice issues with clients is the focus of the masterclass.

Clients may not know what they want, leading to frequent changes in feedback.

The subjectivity in copywriting contrasts with the precision of mathematics.

Copywriters are fortunate as feedback on words is easier than on designs.

Establishing clear guidelines helps manage client expectations and feedback.

Vague client feedback can be combated by requesting specific examples and reasons.

Use a Google Doc for clients to provide specific comments and feedback.

If clients keep changing their minds, seek specificity to understand their needs better.

Difficult clients may require a more granular approach to feedback.

Creating a style guide can help manage client expectations and provide a reference point.

Charging more for changes in the brief is justified as it requires additional work.

A tone of voice checker is crucial to ensure the client is satisfied before proceeding.

Working with clients who don't know what they want requires a consultative approach.

Defining a brand voice may fall under brand strategy and can be charged for.

Finding the balance between accepting client feedback and pushing back with expertise.

Using data and case studies to support strategic decisions in copywriting.

The importance of being frank and honest with clients about potential strategic mistakes.

The client is always right; their satisfaction is paramount even if it impacts the portfolio.

The need for humility in copywriting, understanding that the work is for the client.

Transcripts

[Music]

hi everyone welcome to the last part in

our tone of voice master class which is

all about

troubleshooting tonal voice issues

mainly with clients

so we're going to help you navigate all

of those tricky little things that crop

up

when we've tone of voice um

[Music]

conrad what i was gonna i thought a good

place to start would be

when we all have to deal with this all

the time is when a client doesn't

actually know

what they want they think they do but

they might not

um actually know

so they can come so it will be like

things like changing their minds

um or so it goes back and forth and back

and forth and back and forth

what do we do with them just

give up just stop copyright no i'm

joking um

obviously as we mentioned in the last

video

there is an element of subjectivity

involved in the work that we do we're

not mathematicians

and it can lead to some troublesome

situations at times

i would say first of all comparatively

to

being in the design game we've got it

pretty good

generally it's easier to kind of chisel

copy into a place where the client is

happy than

you know design and it's easier for

people to give feedback on words and

sentences than

looking at a logo which can be

incredibly difficult so first of all

we're lucky that we're in the

copywriting game

um but naturally yeah people have

different ideas

um there's some subjectivity involved as

much as we try to make it scientific we

try to

uh set the ground rules and create

guidelines

and kind of point them to the guidelines

sometimes they will

come back and say no i that's not right

um or i don't think that's correct this

is how it should be

um i feel like i've lost sight of the

original question what was that what was

the question what do they do and they

keep changing their mind it's like

i think but what you a big thing that

you

is the problem of vagueness with the

client so you'll get

they'll highlight things on the dark and

it'll be things like

i don't like this or i still don't like

this

or but there's no without them being

specific

and i think that when a client keeps

changing their minds

a lot of the time it's because they

haven't been specific about their own

feedback

in the first place so they're not even

sure what their starting point was or

where they're going so i think that

getting them like the feedback process

really firmly in place

making sure that they're when they're

giving you feedback they're specific

about why they don't like something

why don't like they like that tone why

isn't it working for them get them to

give examples

of things that they do like and um

that special specificity is going to go

a really long way

to helping you actually manage their

changing

minds 100 yeah it's like

loose vagueness as you as you put it is

is where

it is is the stuff of nightmares you

know when it comes to

um and you know you'll again like i said

we

are providing something on a google doc

where they can write comments so if they

just have this overall feel yeah it just

feels you know jazz it up

for example if they say that you know

try to get more specificity like what

sentences do you like what sentences

don't you like

unless you feel confident that you

understand that feedback

and you have a crack at it if it keeps

happening like if it's happened the

second time

definitely you know nip it in the bud

and

and do what ella says which is like you

know

get them to be granular

about which sentences work and which

don't and why

they might find that a bit annoying and

sometimes you've got this

client that is not only bad at giving

feedback they also don't like

getting involved you know it's

it's unavoidable there will be clients

that just

not great to work with and if there's

kind of a perfect storm

of of uh challenging

issues that they that they have when it

comes to feedback you know they

they don't they don't want to write

things down specifically they want to be

vague

but they keep changing their mind yeah

the more you can focus their attention

in and explain you know

this and not this and why and then you

know if you've got

something some longevity to the project

or it's a retainer

and you kind of sense these or see these

like red flags early on

take those instructions and take them

out into another dock and make a kind of

a a what we call a style guide

for that particular client because again

it's like the brand voice guidelines

which you may or may not have

you know especially if you're writing

long-form content you can then come back

because if they change their mind they

go but look you said here i followed

these instructions so

not only does it preempt you from

falling into the same

problems again or making the same

mistakes

if they are that type of client that

keeps changing their mind

you can use that as a reference point

and say but hang on

you know actually i'm going to have to

charge you more because you've changed

the brief this isn't just a round of

feedback i haven't got it wrong

and there's it needs to be a very clear

definition

and division between um you know

writing uh revisions based on

feedback that is is what you know valid

against them changing the brief because

arguably if they're changing the brief

they should be paying you more money

definitely

and i think that's a money's a really

important point as well and it's a

it's something we can talk about because

if you talk about money

let's talk about money if you're going

back and forth

so okay you write you've been asked to

write

eight pages of web copy you write the

web copy from start to finish

according to um their tone of voice

guidelines if they have them or

according to

and the briefs that you've been given

and they come back and they don't like

it they

no it's not the kind of voice we want so

now you have to start

all the way at the beginning and edit

all of those tonal voice

um the tone of voice for all of those

pages so

a really really important thing that you

can do here and i think we do mention

this in the course

is always do a tone of voice checker um

and we've learned this the hard way over

the years but now it's like we

wouldn't do a project with our tone of

voice check which is basically

for that website would be your home page

because it's always the trickiest to um

to get right get that set in stone get

just work on that home page

until they're happy with it and then

you've got your basis and

and you can build on the copy and it

will go the project will go a lot

quicker from there on

yeah definitely a really good point yeah

um and

yeah i think that's kind of it i think

that i think one other thing we could

cover is when a client actually doesn't

know what they want at all to start off

with

because i think that that does happen as

well like people will come and they're

just

you know i don't know i'm not sure what

i want so

from that point you

can kind of you have to work with them

to try and understand and like because

what you don't want to happen is for you

to keep

jumping around different tones of voices

that they're just gonna until they're

happy with one

so um what do you think at that stage

it's more

it yeah it's a tough one

and sometimes and often that is the case

especially when you're starting out you

will be working with startups

um and small businesses and they might

not know

um and so i guess it's almost like

this is where sort of brand strategy

work comes in

or helping them to define that voice

which really falls into the bucket of

kind of brand strategy which you can

charge for

so again just think you know have your

commercial hats on and and think that

like

you want to set this project up for

success right

you both want to get to that end goal

which is that perfect

shiny copy that's going to compel and

convince and convert

customers so what steps are going to be

needed to get there if they don't have a

set idea

of what that brand voice or what their

brand is

it's going to be very difficult for you

to to get there and and

and like ella said it you might go in

one direction that we like no

another direction no so so work

with them you know consultatively and

charge for that time

to kind of flesh it out and ask them

these questions and

and and and get paid for it and you know

you're making more money

they're getting you know a more logical

process that will lead to a

a good end result so it's a win-win

situation

yeah um and i think another thing we

wanted to chat about

correct them correct me if i'm wrong i

was is

uh that i think some people in

in the course were kind of wondering

where where's that line

between when they should just accept

what

the client is saying and when they

should push back

yep the good point

it is i'm asking you i'm throwing that

question you yeah

i think it's our job to i don't think

there's a definitive answer i think that

it's our job to and we use our own

expertise

to guide them and to use

and whatever we're trying to guide them

towards try and back up

with case studies with data like

articles you can find on the web

um for a particular headline formula

you've used or for a different title or

whatever direction you're going in

try to back it up with convincing data

or stats or past work so

you're kind of coming at it with not

just saying

because it's my opinion it's like these

are proven techniques

um it's proven strategy um

and it really works but i mean

ultimately they are the client and all

you can do is advise

and as long as you've done that to the

best of your ability um

then something if they still want to go

in a different direction you just have

to go okay

that's fine yeah and what i'll say is

one thing we do in the

pitching process is we say look we're a

frank

an honest agency we state how it is

if we see something that we believe is a

strategic mistake

we're going to kind of call you out on

it and we're going to

not in a a rude way we're gonna kind of

yeah um we're gonna point point it out

and say look we believe this isn't quite

right or this is what you should be

doing

and yeah like ella said wherever

possible back it up link to an article

link to something that that proves it's

not just your opinion

yeah um it's like yes sorry go on

um and what was i gonna say i lost my

train of thought

and what was i saying back it up yeah

link to it

and then you know like ella said there's

only so much you can do

and even i say that in the pitching

process i say look we're always going to

do that and they

they respect that often it's a good

spell

oh that's what we want whether they do

or not you know you don't know in

reality but

they want often they want that or they

like you saying that so it helps

sell you before you've even sealed the

deal but then when it comes to the the

reality of the situation

is you give that suggestion you send

that email or you

you jump in that meeting and if they say

no

then you know the client is always right

at the end of the day they're paying you

for your

services so you have to do it and don't

get too kind of

precious we see this with freelancers a

lot

yeah i know you want to have that

perfect copy on the website for your own

portfolio

right but don't push back too hard

otherwise you are going to piss off the

client

yeah exactly they want to butcher their

your copy and put it on the site you can

argue your case

and then once and that's it it's your

portfolio is not

as important as their what they want and

pleasing the client and that's

really important i think it is it's

about there's a big part of copywriting

which is about humility like you do

have to just step back and it's not your

writing it's for the clients you know

like and you do just have to step back

and go okay

fair enough i think that's a really good

point and i think that

is something that copywriters can easily

stumble into because it's not very nice

seeing your copy get butchered but

all the time all the time exactly

cool i think that's everything

um can you think of anything else have

we covered everything off

i think we i think we've we've had a

perfect

session perfect session cool look out

for the next masterclass guys hope it's

been useful

and feel free to ask us any questions in

the community as well

cheers guys