Ugh. I finished about a third of a website rewrite project yesterday, and I received some harsh criticism this morning. In essence, they said, "Hey, this is not what we wanted!"

My first reaction was to curl into a ball and declare myself an incompetent writer. But I thought about it for a few minutes, and I called them directly.

"Sounds like I missed the mark on this first draft. Let’s figure out how to fix this," I said.

I had based my rewrites off the copy they had been using, but they really wanted something very different. They softened their tone almost immediately, and we came up with a plan on how to revise.

The problem here is not really with my writing — it’s with my listening. I should have spent more time asking questions and getting a better feel for what they needed.

Here’s a short list of lessons learned…

1. Ask for examples of websites that reflect what style they’re looking for. They told me, "Our competitors’ sites do a great job of making that emotional sales appeal." Ah, I said. Send me a list.
2. Ask questions about what makes the company unique. After our discussion today, they gave me three major points they want to emphasize about their capabilities.
3. Ask questions about what they like and don’t like about what they already have.

The problem is that some clients don’t know what they’re looking for. They don’t know specifically what they like or dislike. They don’t know what the final version should look like. But you can help lead them to understand their own expectations by asking enough questions.

Gulp. This was a tough way to wake up this morning.