• 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!

The Most Expensive Copywriting Mistake I’ve Ever Made

By Nicki Krawczyk 14 Comments

Blonde woman with hair tied in bun in black-and-white striped top and mustard-rimmed glasses covers her mouth with her hands in shock while a laptop sits open in front of her.

I’ve been a professional copywriter for more than 20 years, and I’ve had a lot of successes and worked with a lot of fantastic clients in that time. But part of what’s fueled that success has been learning from mistakes…and making sure I never make them again.

Lucky for you, you don’t have to make all of them in the first place; you can learn from my mistakes, instead! And today’s topic is definitely a doozy.

A Happy and Thrilled Copywriting Client…

About seven or eight years ago, I got an email through my website with an inquiry about copywriting services. (Incidentally, this prospect said she’d been referred by someone and, to this day, I have no idea who this person is. That’s what happens when you get your name out there, friends!)

This woman was a business owner who also coached other business owners to grow their businesses and revenue. She was super successful and looking for help to become even more successful.

She was looking for email funnel copy and some website copy. We agreed on the price, I wrote the copy for her, and she loved it. She was probably one of the easiest clients to work with I’ve ever had.

After those initial projects, she’d reach out every few weeks, sometimes months, with some other small project for me to do for her. Until…nothing. Silence. I figured she was all set with copy and didn’t need me.

Which is exactly where I went wrong.

…Until I Made this Major Copywriting Mistake

Around two years ago, she was running a several-hundred-person event for her company and I had cause to reach out to her. She was glad to hear from me and it turned out she had a project she could use my help with. That parlayed into a bit more work and a few bigger projects.

(Not to mention, by the way, work for several of her business-owning clients!)

One day, while we were on a call, she said, “You know, I feel like I should tell you something.”

“Let me know if this is unwanted advice,” she continued. “But as a business coach, I thought it might be something you should hear.”

Of course, my stomach dropped, but I encouraged her to go on.

“You know a few years ago when we kind of stopped working together? It wasn’t at all that I wasn’t happy with your work; I was actually very happy with it. But I was pitched by another writer who put together this whole big proposal for me with funnels and sales pages and a site rewrite and all kinds of stuff. It was a huge projec—around $8,000 or so.”

“And I’d been happy with your work but I figured that if you were able to do this kind of project for me, you would have mentioned it. So, I hired her and paid for that $8,000 project. If you’d pitched me something like that, I would have done it in a heartbeat.”

My jaw dropped. Of course! I’d been SO LAZY—just waiting for her to feed my projects instead of being the trusted partner she NEEDED me to be, evaluating her current marketing, and proposing how she could improve them.

How Much That Copywriting Mistake Really Cost Me

I’d lost out on an $8,000 project—but not just that. She’s a successful and popular business coach and she often refers her clients to me for copywriting work. In addition to that $8,000 plus any additional work I could have done for in the meantime, I lost out on at least five YEARS’ worth of referrals to other clients.

Conservatively, this one mistake easily cost me anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000.

OUCH!

And it was 100% on me. Instead of fulfilling my role as an expert who helps her clients build their businesses and increase their revenue, I was lazy and passive, just waiting for projects to be fed to me.

No wonder she went with someone else! No wonder another writer was able to easily lure her away from me with a well-crafted pitch and proposal.

I absolutely deserved to lose her as a client.

How to Avoid Making This Same Copywriting Mistake

Now, I happened to get lucky and won her back. I also happened to be lucky that she’s the kind of person who was willing to share with me what I’d done wrong so that I could learn from it.

And, also, of course, so you can learn from it. Don’t be like I was: Don’t be lazy and don’t forfeit $100K+ worth of work.

Be proactive. Be responsible. Be a partner for your clients to help them perpetually grow their businesses.

Don’t be the lazy copywriter. Be the copywriter who’s always coming up with new solutions and ideas for their client.

AND…be the smarter copywriter who steals a client away from the lazy one.

Watch More

Nicki and Kate are sharing some of the biggest mistakes of their careers so you can avoid making similar ones. They also share how you can make these mistakes right versus simply sulking in a corner or giving up on your career. Mistakes happen, but how you handle them reflects much more on who you are as a person than the mistake does. Watch now!

Your Turn!

Do you have any lessons to share? Or did my story resonate with you? Let me know in the comments below!

Last Updated on May 5, 2023

Filed Under: Business Development Tagged With: client relationships, land work, success

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.

Comments

  1. Angelina says

    April 27, 2020 at 2:30 pm

    This is wonderful insight and advice! Thank you so much!

    Reply
    • Nicki Krawczyk says

      April 27, 2020 at 8:12 pm

      Hi Angelina,

      I’m so glad you found it helpful! 🙂

      Thanks for commenting!
      Nicki

      Reply
  2. Angela Napolitano says

    April 27, 2020 at 2:34 pm

    Great advice! Thanks for your encouragement to take action. It’s a good lesson to learn, and great that you shared it with us. I hope to be one that continues to take action in life. I’m new to the course, and am finding the lessons exciting and overflowing with information that feeds my desire to be a great copywriter.

    Reply
    • Nicki Krawczyk says

      April 27, 2020 at 8:15 pm

      Hi Angela,

      Good for you! And I’d even challenge you not to “hope” to be one to continue to take action…but to *commit* to it. I know you can do it! 🙂

      Thanks for commenting!
      Nicki

      Reply
  3. Briana Smith says

    April 27, 2020 at 4:42 pm

    Ouch! It’s really nice that she finally shared that with you. It’s hard to learn from mistakes you don’t know you’re making!

    Reply
    • Nicki Krawczyk says

      April 27, 2020 at 8:19 pm

      Hi Briana,

      Yes – I’m definitely glad she shared it with me…but I really should have known better! Oh well, live and learn. 🙂

      Thanks for commenting!
      Nicki

      Reply
      • Karen says

        April 29, 2020 at 1:09 pm

        When you know better, you do better. In that way, feedback can make all the difference.
        Thank you for sharing your experience.

        Reply
        • Nicki Krawczyk says

          April 29, 2020 at 4:40 pm

          Hi Karen,

          So true! It’s how we all grow. 🙂

          Thanks for commenting!
          Nicki

          Reply
  4. Erica says

    April 27, 2020 at 11:40 pm

    Thanks for the lesson on being proactive!. This opens up a whole new level of pitching!

    Reply
    • Nicki Krawczyk says

      April 28, 2020 at 6:19 am

      Hi Erica,

      You are so welcome! And you’re right—it absolutely does. 🙂

      Thanks for commenting!
      Nicki

      Reply
  5. Mike says

    May 2, 2020 at 1:07 am

    Oh yes! I’ve slipped up on that front Ms Krawczyk. More times than I’d care to mention. 😀

    Reply
    • Nicki Krawczyk says

      May 2, 2020 at 8:25 am

      Hi Mike,

      We all make mistakes! The key is to learn from them. 🙂

      Thanks for commenting!
      Nicki

      Reply
  6. George Neba says

    May 4, 2020 at 5:10 am

    I had some valuable lessons from your write up: pro-activity, smartness, hardwork, and responsibility. Thanks.

    Keep.up!

    Reply
    • Nicki Krawczyk says

      May 4, 2020 at 6:42 am

      Hi George,

      I’m glad this was helpful!

      Thanks for commenting!
      Nicki

      Reply

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