Why have a weekly writer’s crit?
by Jason Hunter, Yael Levy, Riley McGriff, and Laura Horton
There’s extensive discussion and documentation online around how to best run live design critiques, or “crits,” within design teams. And at many companies, discussions of content improvements are folded into these design crits. Writers at Thumbtack attend design crits with our product design partners, and we often get into content-focused discussions during the sessions, especially with projects that are heavy on copy.
That said, our social media, product, brand, and help content writers decided in the last year to start running our own separate crits, to focus specifically on the words. When we first partnered together to set up this special weekly crit, we asked ourselves a few questions. What would be the format? How would it be similar to other crits? How would it be different? What goals were we looking to achieve?
It took us a while to figure out the answers to these questions. There isn’t as much in the way of existing information online around best practices. But once we really nailed it, these meetings became such a crucial part of our weekly rhythm as writers. That’s why we wanted to give you some insight around what’s worked well. Here’s how the Thumbtack writing community has benefited from our weekly crit together.
Jason — Staff Content Designer
For me, our weekly Thumbtack writer’s crit serves so many different necessary functions. First, it’s the only weekly meeting where content is the sole focus, and everyone there is a content expert. We talk about things that don’t get covered anywhere else: issues of style, voice, tone, brevity, grammar. Our writer’s crit is a vital space to think primarily about the overall narrative that’s being told. Am I delivering clarity to the end user? Is the copy providing a clear and easy path forward? Are there opportunities to trim, and make something more concise?
Second, it’s one of the only meetings where we get an enforced, mandatory quiet time to ponder the design. In other forums, designs may be presented live to a group, and then feedback is immediate and off-the-cuff. This has the benefit of mapping accurately to the real experience of the end user. Like a real customer, the rest of the team sees a design, and then reacts to it immediately, just as though they’re using the product. But we pad our writer’s crit with a short period in between a presentation and a feedback session. This allows the writers to silently read through each screen. We can more fully understand what’s being communicated to the user. We’re really analyzing the content at a level that goes beyond the off-the-cuff reaction. We read every word, and think holistically about how each chunk of copy works or doesn’t work in combination. Every link, every header, every line of body copy is picked apart in detail. It takes more time, but it ultimately yields a deep level of polish and sophistication.
The bottom line is that copy is really exciting to us as writers. So when we get that writer’s group together, we’re uniquely improving the product by diving passionately into what we’re actually saying to the user. We can debate for 10 minutes around a single call to action — is it enough to say “Claim your reward,” or should we shoot directly for “Get your $50 now?” Or is there something in between? Is the right verb “claim,” “get,” “access,” “receive”? This is a space where we can huddle and come up with the very best presentation of words possible.
Yael — Lead Brand Writer
Our weekly crit is multi-purpose. It’s a chance to let content take the spotlight, and a space to sharpen our skills. It’s an opportunity to workshop a problem sentence, to put CTAs to the test in front of a fresh audience, to debate the overuse of em-dashes (guilty). Each of these use cases is sincerely a joy for me. Surprise! Writers love talking to writers about writing.
Unlike some of my previous workplaces, Thumbtack’s writer’s crit is voluntary. Everyone, regardless of writing function or seniority, can freely provide and receive feedback without ego. And we collectively recognize the time is precious. We’re only able to review a fraction of the projects we write. The result, at the risk of sounding sappy, is really lovely. Suggestions are given and received without ego. Information and expertise is shared. The work always leaves stronger.
My favorite thing about writer’s crit, however, is the chance to catch a bird’s eye glimpse of a user experience in all its written forms. I always enjoy seeing how brand marketing, help content, content design, and social media come together to address, for instance, a single product feature. This weekly meeting is one of the few opportunities we’re granted as writers to focus specifically on ensuring cohesion, comprehension, and a seamless journey from one surface to another. And, personally, it’s a weekly chance for me to appreciate how Thumbtack writers, across separate teams, among so many other disciplines, are essential to our company goals and mission.
Riley — Senior Help Content Writer
Crit is a unique meeting that provides so much value to my week. Not only is it a place where we’re able to get our work reviewed by writers of different disciplines (we love a working meeting). But we also challenge the way we think about our writing.
My job focuses on help content — the how-to of the Thumbtack product. It can often be pretty technical. Step 1, step 2, step 3 — that sort of thing. But going to our weekly crit and seeing the personality each writer puts into their content has been so inspiring. It’s helped me think more creatively about my own writing. I typically leave this meeting having not only learned something new, but feeling playful with my current projects, and determined to make them better.
Sure, I’m still writing the how-to’s, but I’ve found I’m also expanding the way I think about help content — the way I explain complicated features, or how I design the help page. I’ve grown! And I think that’s pretty extraordinary. Getting work done and developing at the same time? Yes, please.
Laura — Social Media Associate
I write copy for Thumbtack’s social media channels: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Yes, that’s actually a real job — and, yes, it’s so much fun. Social media is where we get to push our brand guidelines a bit more and explore new territory. And while I love being the voice of Thumbtack on social media, it also comes with its challenges. Am I writing this in the tone of our brand? Am I being inclusive of all our audiences? Will our followers find value in this? How do I fit everything into a 280-character tweet? Cue writer’s crit!
These meetups are a highlight of the week. Not only do I get insight into other parts of the business and product, I also get to brainstorm with some seriously talented and creative people. It’s so helpful to see how other writers choose to word or phrase things, especially those speaking to the same audience, just in a different medium. It’s also the perfect chance to get a sneak peek into the inner workings of our product, and the thought that goes into how our writers set up the user experience. I love coming in with fresh eyes to ask questions and provide suggestions on how copy could be more conversational or more educational for our users.
On the flip side, our weekly writer’s crit also provides the perfect forum to receive great feedback on my social media copy. It’s good for me to be hyperaware of what’s going out into the world on behalf of Thumbtack. So it really helps to have an arsenal of writers offering up suggestions from different viewpoints. It can also become tricky to find multiple ways to say the same thing. Our Thumbtack writers are always coming to the rescue with ideas.
Our writer’s crit is important for many reasons, but mostly I feel like it makes me a better writer, more in tune with the big picture. I just hope the other writers have as much fun reviewing my social copy as I have writing it.
