Sent a private request via message system ... help!

[rosefiend]

Hey guys --

I got a private request recently to revise some copy. I was working on the copy and had a lot of questions about what exactly he wanted done, so I sent the client an edited version of his copy with questions in the text, but, not thinking, I pasted it into a message to the client and sent it off ... and then I thought, "You know, that was probably the wrong thing to do." Naturally I haven't heard back from the client since then!

Things are hectic at my full time job right now so I have only half a brain. Should I go ahead and submit the message/edited copy I was sending my client via the regular system?

Too bad they don't give you an "undo everything now!" button. But then I'd be using that baby all the time.

Melinda.

[Debbi]

Melinda,

Have you seen the webisodes of "Ctrl" at Hulu? An office drone discovers that his keyboard can undo, copy-and-paste, etc. in real life. Wouldn't that be great?

http://www.hulu.com/ctrl

[Celeste Stewart]

I would absolutely submit the content as an article submission as normal so that the client has the opportunity to buy it. He may not have had a chance to respond to your message or may even think no response is necessary - that you were thinking out loud or something. Since you haven't heard back with further direction, assume you are on the right track, submit the article and let the customer buy it or tell you otherwise.

[MelissaNott]

Along this same line, I've received a private request for a ton of blurbs for a clothing web site. Is the customer supposed to send me something official, or do I just submit the blurbs like a regular article? A ton of blurbs do not an article make, however, and Ed might think I'm crazy if I have no way of indicating this is for private request.

[Celeste Stewart]

While technically it's nice for the customer to submit a private request because of the automation involved, it's still possible to get to work right away. Say you're going to create a document containing 50 short product descriptions. Go ahead and create it. Submit it with a short note in the short summary that says "For a private request / customer's name only." When uploading, select Private Request from the category list. This makes the article invisible to everyone else. Where you'd normally select "this is for a public/private request," you'll have to leave at the default "not for a request" setting because no official request exist to link the article to. Ed will understand that the article is for a private request and will evaluate it based on that. Once approved, you will need to find the document in your list of documents, view it, copy and paste the URL, and then notify the client that it is ready by responding to his message and providing the link.

[Debbi]

You can ask the customer to make a formal private request OR you can put a note in your summary to Ed that your article (collection of blurbs) is for a specific customer as requested. Mark the article as a "Not for a request" (since there won't be one to choose from) but then choose the "Private Request" category in the category list.

[MelissaNott]

Thank you, Celeste and Debbi! Excellent advice!