“Needs fewer fingers,” I told my client, squinting at the new product image.
He blinked.
“What do you mean?”
I circled the hand on the screen.
Six fingers. Maybe seven. A grotesque mockup of a phone grasped by what looked like a human-but-not-human creature.
Ah yes. Another MidJourney masterpiece.
We were on a Zoom call, reviewing his updated product page. My client—let’s call him Clint—had decided to cut corners on design. Hired someone cheap.
And that someone’s idea of “design” apparently meant:
Type random stuff into an AI art generator and hope for the best.
If you’ve never used MidJourney, it’s an AI image tool that spits out gorgeous, cinematic, sometimes utterly horrifying content.
It’s almost perfect.
Until you notice:
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The baby has too many toes.
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The dog’s face looks like a Pixar demon.
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The hands have more digits than a centipede in gloves.
But hey—it’s fast. It’s cheap. And when it works? Pretty slick.
Same story with a lot of AI-generated copy.
Which brings me to this:
AI Templates Are Killing Your Freelance Career
Any time I post a job on Upwork, my inbox gets flooded.
And 90% of those responses?
Copy-pasted. Robotic. Low-effort junk.
Clearly AI-written.
It’s easy to spot:
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Starts with “Hey [Client Name]!” but forgets to replace [Client Name].
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Lists a bunch of irrelevant “skills.”
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Feels like it was written by a polite alien impersonating a human.
And that’s just the beginning.
Most freelancers don’t realize that the actual writing is only one piece of the puzzle.
They mess up:
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Their proposals
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Their profiles
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Their follow-ups
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Their pricing
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Their client management
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Their mindset
No wonder clients ghost them.
It’s not because “Upwork is too competitive.”
It’s because you’re pitching like a clone.
Want to Fix That?
If you’re struggling to land freelance clients—on Upwork or anywhere—it’s probably not your skills that are holding you back.
It’s your strategy.
And I’ve put together a free daily email list where I break that strategy down. Real talk. No fluff. No ChatGPT-written filler.
Just field-tested lessons on writing, persuasion, and freelancing that get clients to say:
“Girl, let me get those extra digits.”
Metaphorically speaking, of course.
👉 Join the list here: nickbandy.com/freelance
You’ll get lessons. Rants. Stories. And the occasional demonic MidJourney baby.
See you inside,
Nick
Man of many appendages
