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Jun 05, 2023
How I Doubled My Upwork Earnings With AI
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The Old Ways: Templates and Standard Responses


I've been on Upwork since 2011 (when it was oDesk and Elance). Like many freelancers, I relied heavily on templates for my job applications. These were tried-and-true formats that I believed communicated my skills effectively. I would churn out standard applications to potential clients, hoping that my qualifications would shine through the sea of applicants.

 

However, now I realized that this approach had a major drawback. In the race to stand out, my applications were drowning in a sea of sameness. The templates that I was using were not just known to me, but to thousands of other freelancers. I needed a way to stand out, to craft personalized, unique applications that would catch the eye of my potential clients. And that's where AI entered the picture.

 

The Game-Changer: ChatGPT


ChatGPT is a sophisticated language model developed by OpenAI. It has the ability to understand, generate, and engage in human-like text. Here's how it transformed my Upwork game:

 

Personalized Applications
I started using ChatGPT to draft unique, tailored job applications. Instead of the generic ones I began crafting specific introductions that referred to the client's project. With ChatGPT's help, I was able to draft personalized pitches that highlighted my relevant experience and skills. I just tell ChatGPT my qualifications, then copy-paste the job description into it. As a result, you can get a "personalized" application.

 

Drafting Documents

As a lawyer, a significant part of my job involves drafting legal documents. The task is time-consuming and can often be quite draining. However, with ChatGPT, I was able to automate a significant part of this process.  When it comes to law, ChatGPT answers are about 80% accurate right from the start and produced 10x quicker than it'll take you to call a real lawyer to give them your credit card number. So, if you know how to spot the inaccuracies in AI's output, with some direction, it can deliver medium complexity contracts 3-5x faster than it use

d to take me to draft them manually.

 

By providing the model with key information, it could draft the initial versions of documents, which I could then review and tweak as necessary. This increased my productivity, allowing me to take on more projects.

 

Multilingual Blogs
ChatGPT's multilingual capabilities proved to be a significant advantage. I started adding languages that I don't even speak to my blogs in order to increase my exposure to non-English speaking clients. This not only expanded my client base but also allowed me to show presence in the markets that were previously inaccessible due to the language barrier. 

 

Each 4,000 word blog post takes 15-30mins, so blogs in English are already scheduled until September. Dall-E and Midjourney for illustrations. Ask ChatGPT to suggest prompts for AI-image generation.

 

More Tips for Success


In addition to these strategies, I also used ChatGPT in a few other ways to enhance my Upwork profile:

 

  • Profile, Project Catalog: I used ChatGPT to rewrite and enhance my resume, bio, suggest project catalog items, write descriptions.
  • Market Research: I leveraged ChatGPT's ability to digest and summarize information to conduct market research, understand trends, summarize news.
  • Learning and Development: I utilized ChatGPT as a learning tool, asking it to explain complex legal concepts or to provide summaries of relevant legal texts. It's not yet great at creating complex docs from scratch but it can summarize them very well.
  • Email: Summarizing and responding. This not only improved client relationships but also reduced the time I spent on email communication.


The Results


The quick improvements were amazing. By integrating ChatGPT into my workflow, I saw an immediate improvement in my productivity and the quality of my proposals. Within 4 months, my earnings rose from $3,800 to $7,200 per month. But the benefits didn't stop at earnings. My clients appreciated the personalized touch in my proposals and communications, the quick response times, and my ability to handle projects more efficiently.


The takeaway from my journey isn't that AI is replacing human jobs. Rather, it's that AI tools like ChatGPT can augment our capabilities, help us work smarter, and bring a unique edge to our services. My experience with ChatGPT underscores the potential of AI in freelancing platforms like Upwork and its ability to transform the way we work.

 

My advice to fellow freelancers is simple: Embrace the tools at your disposal, understand the potential they hold, and don't be afraid to experiment. The future of work is here, and AI is leading the charge.

 

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