Use Feedback to accelerate your personal success

[finndev478]

Hey Fiverr-Sellers,

I wanted to quickly ramble about how feedback is a very important factor for your personal success. Not only as a freelancer, but generally in life and career.

So first of all, in my opinion the skill level and also variety of skills, directly influences the quality of your work and is therefore one of the most important factors for success.

I have taught myself many skills over the years: 3D modeling, texturing, programming, web design, aswells various instruments, audio recording + mixing, video editing etc.

And what I noticed is, that my personal learning curve was accelerated, when I actively looked for feedback on my work.

I actively reached out to professionals, or other learning individuals in the same field or even people who have no idea about the topic.

I asked them what they thought about my work, what they like and dont like and what they think I should improve.

Doing this, especially in arts, can be very difficult. Its not easy to hear that your work is not up to standards, especially when you put alot of effort into it.

But its a NECCESSITY to hear it. And you have to USE that feedback and work on the problems that hinder your work from standing out.

 

Long story short, never be afraid to get feedback on your work and always try to make the best out of it and constantly improve yourself.

I would like to start a discussion here about how you reach out to get feedback and what makes constructive criticism. Dont just spam "thank you" in the thread, but please contribute to this topic.

[rachelbostwick]

I'm very bad at this, as you already picked up on. I'm a boot strap girl who prefers to do everything by herself and expects to automatically succeed.
My response to feedback is as follows:

"WHAT HOW DARE THEY NOT THINK I AM PERFECT"

*angrys sobs*

*disappointed sobs*

*throws self to floor*

two hours later.......

*peels self off of floor*

"Oh, wow, they are so right. I really need to grow in this area."

*throws self into learning and improving.*

I am greatly exaggerating, obviously, but it is hard for me. I do recognize it, though, and I am trying to do better.

[finndev478]

On 9/7/2021 at 2:52 PM, rachelbostwick said:

 

I know the feeling. I am also a loner basically. I do most of my projects alone and I am generalist because of that. Its not a bad characteristic, dont be afraid to live and learn that way. But still, nobody suceeds depending completely on themselves. Its a necessity to put yourself out there and get feedback as much as you are comfortable with.

I suggest, if you generally feel easily "hurt" by feedback, to find someone you are comfortable with. Preferrably someone with experience in the field you want to get feedback on and then have that person being some kind of a mentor to you. That way you can build trust and it will become easier for you to accept their feedback. And maybe you grow and also feel comfortable with receiving feedback from strangers.

Also a note. Not all feedback is viable. So getting feedback doesnt mean that person is RIGHT. Its always opinion based and your opinion can still be different from their feedback. There is no shame in that. But its always good to hear other point of views. It helps to focus and find out what it is that you want to do and what you are really good at.

[finndev478]

And yeah, your comment in the other thread reminded me of this topic. Its a very important one that I again and again encounter when talking to people. Especially when I do tutoring, this 99% of the time comes up. Many people dont feel comfortable with it, even though its a very helpful tool for self-improvement.

[smashradio]

On 9/7/2021 at 3:59 PM, finndev478 said:

Hey Fiverr-Sellers,

I wanted to quickly ramble about how feedback is a very important factor for your personal success. Not only as a freelancer, but generally in life and career.

So first of all, in my opinion the skill level and also variety of skills, directly influences the quality of your work and is therefore one of the most important factors for success.

I have taught myself many skills over the years: 3D modeling, texturing, programming, web design, aswells various instruments, audio recording + mixing, video editing etc.

And what I noticed is, that my personal learning curve was accelerated, when I actively looked for feedback on my work.

I actively reached out to professionals, or other learning individuals in the same field or even people who have no idea about the topic.

I asked them what they thought about my work, what they like and dont like and what they think I should improve.

Doing this, especially in arts, can be very difficult. Its not easy to hear that your work is not up to standards, especially when you put alot of effort into it.

But its a NECCESSITY to hear it. And you have to USE that feedback and work on the problems that hinder your work from standing out.

 

Long story short, never be afraid to get feedback on your work and always try to make the best out of it and constantly improve yourself.

I would like to start a discussion here about how you reach out to get feedback and what makes constructive criticism. Dont just spam "thank you" in the thread, but please contribute to this topic.

Congos on a nice rant! I totally agree with you. Many sellers are afraid of getting anything but five-star reviews, and become angry or frustrated when clients have complaints and things they might want to bring up during the order. 

If there's one thing that can help you improve, it's feedback. I encourage everyone to take advantage of especially negative feedback to learn and improve. 

Here's what I do: 

On larger projects, I'll reach out to the buyer within the active order to get feedback on deliverables. This helps me better understand their project and needs. Let's say I'm recording a 10.000 word eLearning project. I'd record the first 10 minutes or so, send it to them, get feedback and then do the rest. 

I'll also make sure to ask if there's anything else I can do once I deliver. 

As a Seller Plus member I also get access to at least general views of how I'm doing when it comes to the hidden feedback left by buyers after an order has been completed. Knowing if there's any issue with parts of my service can really make a difference! Of course, I don't get to see the actual hidden reviews left by buyers, but I do get a generalized view of it from my SM if I need it. According to her, I'm getting really positive feedback, so that's great. 

On rare occascions I'll get a review that's less than stellar. This happens very rarely, but when it does, I answer in a professional and curteous manner, and leave it at that, because those reviews rarely contain any useful information. I wish it did, but I can't expect buyers to take a lot of time out of their day to write constructive criticism. 

I think any constructive criticism should be factual, and point out both the positive and negative sides. It's also important to point out what you think could have been done better and the reasons why. 

Generally, you should be really careful about soliciting reviews from your buyers. You're not allowed to manipulate the process in any way, shape or form, so even asking for a review without mentioning what it should say, can be dangerous. 

I simply ask at the end of each order "If you're happy with my work, please mark this order as complete and let me know how I did. I really appreciate your feedback! Thanks!". I point this out after I've made it clear that I'm happy to make changes if they need it. That seems to be acceptable. 

But I never push for feedback, or inbox my buyers after orders and so on to get feedback. I'd be annoyed if I was the buyer and a seller did that.