• What is Copywriting?
    • Why Copywriting is One of the Most Enjoyable, Flexible Careers
    • Answers to Your Top Questions About Copywriting
  • Blog
    • Most Popular
    • Mindset & Professional Development
    • Portfolio
    • Business Development
    • Book Recommendations
    • Pitching
    • Copywriting Tips
    • Terms to Know
  • Podcast
    • Latest Episodes
    • Top Episodes for New Copywriters
    • Student Stories
  • Copywriting Course
    • Learn About the Comprehensive Copywriting Academy
    • CCA Student Sign In
    • CCA Next Level
  • CCA Reviews
    • CCA Student Wins
    • Videos: CCA Student Reviews
  • Store
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • About Nicki Krawczyk
  • Contact Us

Filthy Rich Writer

Tips, tools, & training for new and aspiring copywriters.

Tips, Tools and Training for New and Aspiring Copywriters

  • What does “Filthy Rich” mean? It means having a job you love, being good at what you do…and making great money doing it!

5 Ways to Make Your Copy Boss Hate You

By Nicki Krawczyk Leave a Comment

Bearded man wearing a dress shirt and tie breathes fire out of his mouth

In any job, you want to earn the trust and respect of your boss. But let’s turn that on its head a bit, shall we? We’re going to explore the things copywriters do that make bosses hate them. 

The easiest tips for making your boss happy with your work are to work hard, stay engaged, and keep learning.

But let’s look at it from another angle: What would a copywriter do to elicit their boss’s “hatred?”

Avoid these 5 things that drive copy bosses crazy.

Miss Deadlines

Missing deadlines is the height of irresponsibility. You’re given a deadline at the beginning of a project, and it’s up to you and your design partner to build your schedules to hit it.

Now, what if the deadline is too tight? Speak up! Sometimes there isn’t any wiggle room, but often there is. No one can know that a deadline is too much of a challenge unless you tell them.

A tight deadline is no excuse for missing it.

Don’t Ask Questions

If you want to tick off your boss, leave a kickoff, creative review, or any other meeting with unanswered questions. And then, when you need to reflect these things in your work, guess.

No one knows what goes on in your head but you. It’s not up to anyone else to figure out what you’re not understanding—unless you tell them.

You have every opportunity to ask questions, and people want you to ask questions to make sure the work turns out well.

If you avoid asking questions, guess at things, and the work turns out wrong or unusable because of it, you’ve just wasted a lot of people’s time.

Avoid Your Designers

A great way to make your boss and your coworkers angry is to avoid your design partners.

The best work comes from close collaboration between writers and designers. So, if you’re the kind of writer who likes to hole up in your cubicle, send your copy when you’re done writing it, and avoid any human contact, you’re going to pose a big problem.

Get up from your desk, go over, and sit down with your design partner in front of their screen to merge the design and copy.

Don’t make your designer guess your intentions or have to try to cut copy themselves because you aren’t a good collaborator.

Take Dictation

Often in creative reviews, key stakeholders will make suggestions for what copy should say.

And often this is because they don’t know that it’s better to explain why what you have isn’t working than to try to fix it themselves.

A sure sign of a lazy copywriter is one who writes down this suggested copy and always uses it verbatim.

Sure, some times the key stakeholders will suggest copy that’s perfect. And when they do, feel free to use it.

But if you use their copy every time, you’re clearly not putting in the effort to think through a project and come up with the best result.

Phone It In

When you’ve been at a company or working with a client for a while, you get to know the kinds of copy that usually get approved.

When you fall back on what you know your key stakeholders will be okay with, you miss the opportunity to challenge yourself (and your brand) to find even better copy.

It’s a trap that’s easy to fall into, and it’s always the mark of a copywriter that needs to reinvigorate themselves in their job—or to move on.

Your job is always to find the most effective copy, and that’s rarely going to be the easy copy. Stretch yourself to be better instead of going the path of least resistance.

Your Turn!

What other mistakes have you seen copywriters make that get their bosses angry with them? Let us know in the comments below.

Last Updated on April 26, 2023

Filed Under: Mindset & Professional Development Tagged With: leadership, on-staff jobs

Interested in Copywriting? Get our Free Video Training!

Plus, get on the list for updates, freebies, and more :) 



About Nicki Krawczyk

Nicki is a copywriter, copy coach and the founder of Filthy Rich Writer. She's been writing copy for more than 20 years.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Click here to subscribe

Click here to subscribe

Comprehensive Copywriting Academy

Join the copywriting training program that's helping people just like you build successful copywriting careers!

Learn more
Comprehensive Copywriting Academy from Filthy Rich Writer

Portfolio Tips

  • Nicki Krawczyk, founder of Filthy Rich Writer and the Build Your Copywriting Business podcast
    Ep. 43: 4 Biggest Copywriter Portfolio Mistakes
  • Home office with desktop computer, tablet, and a mobile
    3 Copywriter Portfolio Examples That Wow Clients
  • Nicki Krawczyk, founder of Filthy Rich Writer and the Build Your Copywriting Business podcast
    Ep. 22: Why Every Copywriter MUST Have an Online Portfolio

Top Resources

  • What is Copywriting?
  • How Much Do Copywriters Actually Make?
  • Is Copywriting Hard to Get Into?
  • Why Copywriting Certificates Are B-S
  • How Soon Can You Make Money as a Copywriter?
  • What Does a Copywriter Actually Do?
  • Copywriting vs. Copyediting: What's the Difference?
  • Avoid the Copywriting Niche Trap
  • Upwork is NOT the Path to Copywriting Success
  • Getting Started in the Comprehensive Copywriting Academy

Recent Articles

  • Headshot of Comprehensive Copywriting Academy student Courtney Cherry.
    Copywriting Lets This Mom Live Life on Her Own Terms
  • Hand changes wooden cube block from B2C to B2B.
    B2B vs. B2C Copywriting: What to Know
  • How Do I Save for Retirement if I Am Self-Employed?
  • Hand lifts up a laptop that sits next to a pink old-fashioned alarm clock on a wooden desk.
    What Are Your Copywriting Business Rules?
  • Pinched fingers hold a block with a heart and people in it, placing it on the top right corner of a stack of 3 by 3 blocks each representing an employee benefit.
    Freelance Copywriter Benefits: How to Build Your Own Benefits Package
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

Copyright © 2023 Filthy Rich Writer | About Us | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy| Business Affiliates