How to handle tricky client feedback without losing your mind (or your profit margin)

Ah, dream clients. The winning lottery ticket of the copywriting world.

You vibe on the discovery call. They accept your quote without haggling. You dig their business, and the words practically write themselves. Revisions? Minimal. The feedback? Specific and helpful. The invoice? Paid without a single “just circling back” email. And—chef’s kiss—they immediately book you for more work.

🛎 Ding-ding-ding! Jackpot!

But then there are the other clients.

The ones who take you on a rollercoaster of confusion, contradictions, and feedback that makes you question your entire career.

You know the comments…

💬 “Can you just make it pop?”
💬 “It’s not hitting the mark.”
💬  “I don’t know… I just don’t like it.”

Where do you even start with feedback like that? Are we talking a full rewrite or just swapping out a few words? Cue the existential spiral.

If you’ve ever stared at client feedback, wondering if you accidentally wrote their copy in Wingdings, you’re not alone.

But before you yeet your laptop out the window, take a breath. Let’s break down how to handle tricky feedback without losing your cool—or your profits.

Fix for next time: Set clear expectations from day one

Revisions in a copywriting project are normal. Your clients need to know this before they hit you with “I thought the first draft would be perfect???”

On the first page of my copy deck, I include a simple breakdown of the revision process:

📌 [Version 1] This is a first draft. It’s our starting point to make sure we’re on the right track. You have two rounds of revisions to fine-tune it.
📌 [Version 2] Now we’re refining the language. There’s one more round of revisions left.
📌 [Version 3] Final draft, baby! Once you give me the green light, I’ll get it professionally proofread.

It’s also important to talk about revisions before the project begins. Like, on the discovery call and in your proposal.

Normalising the process makes clients less likely to freak out if the first draft isn’t spot on.

Fix for next time: Teach clients how to give better feedback

Here’s the truth: most clients don’t actually know how to give good feedback. And that’s fair! They’re not copywriters. Just like I suck at giving useful feedback to any graphic designer beyond “Uhh… can you make it look… different?”

A designer once saved me from my own vagueness by saying, “Don’t try to solve the problem. Just tell me what feels off and why.”

Game. Changer.

So now, I do the same for my clients. Instead of leaving them to fumble their way through revision requests, I give them a feedback framework. You can too.

Here’s what I include in my copy deck:

• Fact-check the details. Are all names, numbers, and processes accurate?
• Highlight anything that feels off. Are there phrases you’d never say? Do any sections feel too formal, too casual, or just not you?
• Be specific. Instead of “This doesn’t sound right,” try “This part feels too playful—can we make it more professional?”

You’re not handing them a red pen and an open invitation to rewrite your work. You’re guiding them to give you feedback that actually helps you improve the copy without unnecessary back-and-forth.

But even with all this prep work, sometimes you’ll still get feedback that’s either too vague, too aggressive, or just plain overwhelming. 

Here’s what to do when that happens.

Working through tricky client feedback

1. When the feedback is vague AF

If the feedback is so vague you’d have better luck interpreting tea leaves, don’t guess. Instead, hop on a call and do a line-by-line walkthrough of the copy.

Nine times out of ten, you’ll realise:

• The client doesn’t actually hate everything—just a few specific phrases.
• There’s a voice tweak that can be applied across all pages.
• They just needed to talk it through to figure out what they actually want.

TL;DR? Once you get them talking, the revisions will probably be way smaller than you feared.

2. When the feedback feels like a personal attack

Sometimes, clients react emotionally. Maybe they’re stressed. Maybe they expected the copy to read their mind. 

Either way, their email feels like a gut punch.

And when that happens, step away from the keyboard.

Seriously. Close your inbox. Do not fire off a defensive reply while your heart rate is in “about to fight a bear” mode. Instead:

• 🔥 Do something physical. My go-to? A rage run. I do not enjoy running, but the sheer suffering of it distracts me from my anger and gets my endorphins flowing. Highly recommend.
• 🗣 Vent to a friend or fellow copywriter.
• ⏳ Give yourself 24 hours to cool down.

Then, when you’re in a clear-headed state, respond professionally. You’ll thank yourself later.

3. When the feedback is… A LOT

Sometimes, it feels like a client wants a complete rewrite. And yeah—sometimes, we get it wrong and need to fix it.

But before you assume the worst, go back to the approved brief.

👉 Does the copy actually match what was agreed upon? If so, gently remind the client of the original direction. You’d be shocked at how often clients forget what they asked for.

👉 Has something changed in their business? If they’re asking for major shifts that weren’t in the original scope, this is your moment to say, “Great! That’s a bigger change than expected—let’s talk about how adjusting the scope will impact the project.”

This keeps you from doing extra work for free just because the client had a last-minute epiphany.

Quick reminder: You’re a copywriter, not a mind reader

Tricky feedback is part of the game, but you don’t have to let it wreck your workflow or your confidence.

Pro copywriters don’t just “deal with” feedback, they direct it. They guide their clients to give useful, actionable input before it turns into a frustrating mess. And that’s what makes their process smoother, their projects easier, and their client list full of dream clients.

I’m talking about:

• Teaching clients how to give good feedback.
• Setting clear expectations for revisions.
• Staying calm and talk it out.
• Holding your boundaries when scope creep sneaks in.

And most importantly? Don’t take it personally. Your copy isn’t your soul—it’s words on a page that can be tweaked. And they’re not even your words. They’re your clients. 

You got this. 

Now go forth and conquer those tricky client revisions like the word-wielding badass you are.