Handling feedback as a creative professional sometimes feels like strapping yourself in a rollercoaster and hoping it will all just work out. An intense journey from: “You don’t know what you’re talking about, you fool!” to “Okay, you're actually right” and everything in between.

It isn’t a surprise that feedback is especially hard to deal for creative entrepreneurs.

That's because creativity is subjective by nature. Even when some choices are based on strategy and data, part of it stems from an inner world that took experience and courage to navigate. For us, feedback can get personal. Really personal.

We aren’t operating in an industry with consistent input and output. There is no one recipe for success. Variables change. Things evolve. In small and big ways, we're continuously reinventing our craft over and over again.

But amidst all of this chaos, we sometimes forget to take a step back. We get lost in our inexplicable world of experience and creativity.

“What do you mean, you want to change the music on this video? Don’t you know I spent 5 hours looking for this song that perfectly matches everything your brand stands for, has the correct tempo to drive the edit forward, isn’t one of those corporate tracks, balances the right mix of emotions, has a mid section that gives the edit some much needed rest… Don’t you see the years of experience that that led to this single creative decision!?” - (Angry Videographer, 2025)

To this day, even after 13 years of handling client feedback as a video agency owner, I still have to distract myself for a bit after reading feedback.

But after a small walk, I calm down.

And I say to myself: it isn’t personal. Let me handle it like a pro. For every round of feedback is an opportunity to take the client into the exciting world of creativity. Build trust. And yes, improve the output in ways you maybe haven't thought of before. Welcome to the world of feedback.

Uncover client expectations

Knowing how to handle feedback like a pro is cool.

But what if... we can avoid feedback all together?

There's something at play way before your project has even started. Something with the power to either send you into a deep bottomless pit of endless changes, or something that enables a smooth ride, maybe even avoiding feedback all together:

client expectations.

Expectations are the inverse of feedback. The Yin to the Yang. While feedback is given after your delivery, expectations are set before any delivery has happened at all. You could say it's some kind of mental benchmark.

If you meet or exceed the benchmark, the client is happy. If you fall short of it, you get more feedback. The delta between client expectations and the result is usually a clear indicator of how much feedback one can expect.

It goes without saying that understanding these expectations is crucial to fuel smooth projects. Even more so, by addressing these expectations, you can:

  • anticipate future feedback
  • position yourself as the expert
  • enable honest communication throughout the project
  • price your work more accurately

However. Too many creatives leave client expectations unspoken.

And I get why. Unraveling client expectation isn't a walk in the park. You might be scared to put tension on the relationship. It requires you to be open while simultaneously standing your ground. A bit like taking the lead in tango.

But this friction is only temporary. It's much easier to establish at the beginning of the project. For if you wait too long - it mayl cause big problems down the line.

There's no need to be afraid to talk about client expectations. In the end: there's only one thing that counts: delivering an end result that reaches the client's goals. Having a conversation about expectations is a great moment to show that you are committed to making something that works, not just something they want. It's an opportunity to align everyone around one common goal.

But what are client expectations? And how do you uncover them?

Well, there is no universal playbook. Expectations are set in many areas of the partnership. From communication, deadlines, budget to creative. There are some key areas that are especially important to discuss before starting the project. And usually, they can be simply uncovered by asking the right questions.

  • Strategy: What is the required output? What are some key metrics of success? What does your brand look like? What has worked for you in the past and what hasn't?
  • Timeline: What is the deadline? How long do you usually need to provide feedback? Are you willing to agree upon a certain timing for feedback?
  • Budget: What are your budgetary constraints? Would you rather spend more budget on x or y?
  • Creative: What are some things you absolutely want to avoid? Do you have any examples of work you liked?

Whether you are a videographer, designer, writer, musician, artist... Identify areas that are important to you and list questions that can help you better understand the situation. Write down the answers, summarize them and communicate your findings until everyone is aligned.

But there is more.

Pros ask good questions. Experts ask why.

For each question you ask, aim to not only get an answer. Aim for a deeper understanding of why they gave that answer in the first place.

"What is the required output" becomes "Why do you need 3 videos instead of 2? How did you get to that number?"

By diving a bit deeper into the reasons behind certain choices, you'll get a unique glimpse behind the curtains. This is the area where true partnerships grow. This is where you level the playing field by showing understanding, experience and care for the project.

Aim to make the largest useful mental picture of your client's expectations. By taking away doubts, aligning thoughts and deeply understanding your client's wishes, you'll make creative choices that more closely match their vision.

Sometimes, by doing this, you'll even avoid feedback all together...

Divide projects into milestones

Before further exploring how to manage feedback. When is the right time?

Creative work is rarely a straight line from start to finish. It's a bumpy road with different sections, each making up tens (if not hundreds) of creative choices that compound over time. A creative project is a bit like a pyramid, with choices made during the project all stacking on top of each other until the very tip.

Let's say you're a videographer. A client that wants you to make an aftermovie for one of their events. In the beginning of the project, you make the creative call to capture fast-paced, moving shots. In the editing room, you find out that a fast-paced EDM song works best. Because you used this EDM song, the end result feels amazingly alive and energetic. You're proud.

But then... feedback comes in.

"It's a bit too much. Can we make it... slower?". Oh no. You're trying to slow down the pace, but your rushes don't allow for that. You're trapped. All your shots have movement. You tried everything but it just doesn't work. If only you'd gotten approval on 3 potential songs before shoot day.

It's clear where this went wrong.

You've gone too fast. You made creative decisions that weren't aligned with client expectations. Did you communicate about the pace of the edit before shoot day?

By waiting for feedback until the very end of the project, we risk receiving feedback on a creative choice made early in the process, setting of a chain reaction of changes so big that we might as well start all over again. Sometimes, you just can't remove a brick from the bottom layer of the pyramid without collapsing the entire structure.

The solution is simple. Divide the project into smaller milestones and regularly ask for approval.

Involve clients in decisions about what (objectives, tone, key messages) but handle the how mostly yourself (technical execution, specific creative choices).

I'm not urging you to involve the client in every creative decision. This will lead to a whole bunch of problems on its own. Instead, identify key "points of no return" in your creative process and ask for written approval before you proceed.

If you're in the process of building a pyramid and think: "oh uh, if I have to undo this decision further down the line, this pyramid will collapse", then is a good time to ask approval. Once approved, the risk is mitigated.

On top of that, you can always refer to earlier approvals to stand your ground or charge extra if necessary.

Handling feedback like a pro

You've understood client expectations and have broken down the project into milestones based on the "key points of no return". By doing this, you've probably avoided quite a bit of feedback.

But how to deal with the feedback that does come through?

For simplicity's sake, I've broken down how to handle feedback in a few simple tips. Don't take them as absolute truths, rather a non-limited list of simple principles that can help.

Tip 1: Position yourself as the expert

Clients hire you because they have a problem to solve. No matter how big or small. I talk about this in depth in Charge more, work less.

If the client was able to solve this problem all by themselves, if they had enough internal resources and knowledge, they probably would've already solved the problem a long time ago.

But they are, in fact, looking for an expert.

It's crucial to understand that, even when the client comes entirely convinced of the problem and a possible solution, they're still reaching out to you to fix it. Use this situation to your advantage. Clearly explain how you solve these kinds of problems, and how you've already solved similar problems in the past.

That's why the first few conversations with a new client are especially important. It's an opportunity to establish this expert-client partnership. Take every opportunity to listen carefully to their problem and show your expertise.

For if you don't, the client may take the lead, force you to make wrong decisions and blame it on you afterwards. Or even worse, without an expert position, you'd have no authority to push back on any feedback if necessary.

Being an expert doesn't mean dismissing the client's wishes or talking about yourself all the time. It's about carefully listening to their requirements, asking good questions and growing mutual respect.

This will make managing feedback a lot easier down the line.

Tip 2: Only involve the right people

Everyone likes to give feedback because it's an easy opportunity show expertise and receive ownership. But when too many people get involved, personal opinions start to get in the way.

Slowly, you'll drift away from what truly matters: an end result that actually works.

Especially in larger companies, governments and non-profit organisations with longer decisions chains, this issue is ubiquitous.

There's a couple of things that you can do to prevent this from happening.

  1. Ask the client to appoint a SPOC (single point of contact) who has the sole authority to communicate feedback with you.
  2. Ask your SPOC to gather all feedback and deliver it to you in a single document.
  3. Get an idea of the decisionmakers and communicate to your SPOC that it's in their best interest to only involve those who actively work on the project.
  4. Limit the number of rounds of feedback the client can make to one or maybe two. Each email with feedback from your SPOC counts as one round.
  5. Agree that all feedback must be given within x days or by a certain date. This prevents the project from dragging out due to internal politics.

This might sound overwhelming at first, but you'll quickly notice that this way of working is so much more comfortable for both you and the client.

Tip 3: Put it into a contract

You've uncovered client expectations. You've laid out a plan with milestones. You've positioned yourself as the expert. You have a SPOC and agreements are made. Congratulations!

All of this is useless if there is no way to enforce what you've agreed upon.

I get it - contracts sound scary. They're long documents written in font size 6 with abstract words that only a lawyer can understand. They'll scare off your client, limit your creative freedom and undermine trust, right?

In my 13 years of managing hundreds of projects, I can confidently say that the opposite is true. As we say in Dutch: "goede afspraken maken goede vrienden", or "good agreements make great friends". It's true.

I highly recommend hiring a lawyer to draft your contract. It requires some investment now, but it'll pay itself back in no-time. Just think of the investment you'd have to make if one client is unhappy and you have to redo all the work?

💡
Contracts are an important tool for both parties. They provide legal coverage in case something goes wrong and summarizes the agreements that have been made. But it isn't a magic bullet. There's always a subjective component to creativity. Flexibility is still advised.

If you don't have the funds to hire a lawyer, don't worry. You can also write down your agreements in a quote or email ask your client for a written confirmation or signature. It doesn't have to be long or contain complex words to be effective.

No matter the shape or form, just make sure everyone's on the same page.

Tip 4: Don't make it personal

This is probably one of the most essential drivers for handling creative feedback like a pro. But it's also the most difficult one to master.

Because no matter how experienced you are... Sometimes, feedback just feels like a direct attack on your personality. Especially in the creative career. When you've put your heart and soul into your work. When you've spent days navigating uncertainty... just one small request can feel like the pyramid is about to collapse.

What I've learned is this. When that endless email with feedback hits. When you open that 5-page document or when you get that phone call... just take a step back. Don't reply immediately. Breathe. Listen. Give yourself time.

You are not your business
How misunderstanding business can limit your growth and sabotage your career
MotionbaseArne

Remember that you are not your business.

Stay professional and buy yourself some time. Position yourself as the expert. Involve the right people. Refer to the contract if necessary.

That's how you handle creative feedback like a pro.