What do you do if your professional reputation takes a hit after a failure?

Mistakes are there to be made! Years of doing something right will never teach you anything other than what you know. But make one mistake, and you are learning something new. So those that pretend that mistake do not or should not exist, are making the biggest mistake. Acknowledging you mistake and presenting the "lesson learned" is the key. If there is nothing to be gained by that mistake, it is as good as being stuck in mud. So acknowledge, embrace, and come up with a solution. And above all never make the same mistake twice. And those that took the brunt of your mistake are now your stakeholders, and you should share your solution with them so that they could gain back what they lost through your mistake and gain their trust again.

As a matter of fact, most new products and services are actually solutions to previous shortcomings. So pretend you are remedying a situation cause by someone else. Come up with a comeback, redeem your mistake, be there for your costumers, and slowly go back to the trust they had in you in the first place. It is a fact that people trust those that stand by them at hard times, more that those that are there when everything is clear and fine. So be the one to solve their problem (caused by you) and stand by them even though you created the situation in the first place. And all the time learn how to bounce back from a dreadful situation.

DO NOT GET SCARCE! No one likes a deserter. Be there, and show you are willing to pay for what you did, even if it is only time and effort. To do that you have to see how your mistake impacted others. Don't be discouraged by bad moods, don't take silence as a good sign. Every little feedback is worth hearing and like a medicine, it is vile, bad tasting, and goes down burning, but you have to take it, and learn from it. The fact that you are willing to find out what went wrong, and find a solution, will gain other's trust in you and is a step towards gaining back you lost reputation

Smile though your heart is aching Smile even though it's breaking When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by If you smile through your fear and sorrow Smile and maybe tomorrow You'll see the sun come shining through for you

I think you'd have to do something pretty egregious (outright plagiarism, for example) for your reputation to "take a hit" because of a "failure" as a copywriter or content writer. Like, what did you do? Use "you're" instead of "your" throughout a 10,000-word blog post? Unlikely. And even if it did happen, well . . . I imagine you won't make that mistake again. Listen. Mistakes happen. Failures happen. Remember that famous quote from Samuel Beckett: "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." DO THAT. And maybe have a little chocolate.

Change is learning from your mistakes, otherwise you will continue to do the same thing over and over without any improvements. An unwanted mistake obviously is not welcome, but nevertheless happens, so consider it a threat and turn it into an opportunity. An opportunity that continuing to do the right thing would never have given you. So if you know that "Mistakes" will happen eventually, and there is an "Opportunity" to be gained from them, eventually you will embrace them with dignity and pride, but have certain mechanisms to approach them properly, and even make a positive change from them. The fear of making mistakes will slow you down, but if you slow down to make a positive change from a mistake, then you are a better person for it.