Hey friend 👋, Sometimes even those bummers of a story have a happy ending. Like when you lose a client to AI, but they come crawling back and are now paying you double for the same work. That’s what happened to me this week. I think it teaches a very important lesson about AI, freelancing, and why high-quality writers should feel more confident than ever in this job market. Speaking of those top-notch folks, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who purchased our 2025 State of Freelance Writing report last week! The reception was outstanding, and I love hearing how it’s helping people understand the crazy market we’re in right now. Hearing your feedback also has me thinking of some awesome content that we’ll be rolling out over the next few months! But as always, my main goal is creating content that helps YOU. So, what is your #1 freelance writing obstacle right now? I’d love to hear about it and help you overcome it. Just hit that reply button and let me know. Best, 🐦⬛ Cody – Founder @ Ravenwood Writing Academy
🧛 Freelance Bites:News and Resources in 2 Minutes
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My Client Ditched AI and Hired Me Back. Now I Charge Them Double.
Six months ago, I lost a long-term client to AI. They were an international company in the B2B technology space, and I had been writing deep-dive industry news articles and thought leadership pieces for them for over a year. The company exists in a highly technical niche with an audience of specialized engineers and COOs. In an effort to cut costs, they replaced my role with AI. Fast-forward to today, and guess who’s back on their payroll? Me. Doing the exact same work. But now, I’m charging twice as much. Let’s talk about why. We’re So BackEarlier this week, I got an email from this client. They wanted to know if I’d be open to working together again. They didn’t say, “Hey, the AI thing was a disaster, and we need you back!” but they didn’t have to. They wanted me to do the exact same work AI was supposed to handle. I told them I was available but would only do the work for double my old rate. They jumped on the deal. Zero pushback. No negotiation. They accepted immediately. So what happened? Where the AI Experiment Went WrongLike many companies, this client assumed AI could do what I did, just faster and cheaper. Feed it some prompts, get a full article in minutes, and save thousands of dollars a month in freelance costs. Except… that’s not what happened. You knew that already. So what went so horribly wrong that now they’re thrilled to pay me twice as much to come back? I checked out some of their AI-generated content. Spoilers, I saw some major issues: No industry nuance – Their niche is very technical, with constant shifts in technology, global economics, and politics that impact buying decisions. AI might know a lot about a little. But it didn’t understand the complexities and produced overly simplified, generic writing. Misinformation – AI doesn’t know things. It predicts words based on patterns. This meant the content often contained misleading or flat-out incorrect information. A layperson might not pick up on these errors, but an executive at a billion-dollar firm who reads this specialized content sure will. Which brings me to the next issue… Lack of credibility – The audience for this content is made up of experts in their field. Anyone in their shoes could instantly tell the writing wasn’t coming from someone who actually understood the field. That’s a quick way to ruin your credibility and leave your audience looking for resources elsewhere. Ultimately, I can’t even blame them. Plenty of people are misinformed about what AI can and can’t do. Brands are spending trillions on the current AI hype train—and leaves the ones who aren’t with some serious FOMO. For this client though, the result was predictable. They thought AI would solve their problems, but quickly realized that bad content costs more than good content. The Takeaway: Why AI Won’t Replace Great WritersI don’t want this to come off the wrong way. I’m not the world’s greatest writer. I’m nowhere close to perfect. But I had written in this niche for years, and built up a wealth of expertise along the way—not to mention a reliable network of sources. This allowed me to create insightful articles that connected with their audience and delivered tangible value. This is why having a niche is so important. AI can replace generalist writers who only cover surface-level topics. It’s good enough to do that somewhat convincingly. But AI is not a replacement for expertise, nuanced insight, or writers with real understanding of a niche. When businesses try to swap out skilled writers for AI, they often learn this lesson the hard way. This isn’t a story about AI being useless. It’s a story about how good writers—those who bring real knowledge, critical thinking, and nuance—are more valuable than ever. So if you’re worried about AI taking your job, take a look at your niche. If you don’t have a niche, the time to find one was yesterday. It’s the best job security you can ask for. I’m extremely grateful for it. Because in this case, AI didn’t take my job. It just proved why I deserved to be paid more for it. Cody’s Top PicksThis is the part where I share some of the content I’ve been enjoying lately. Hope you enjoy! (This section may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I’ll earn a small percentage, which helps support this free newsletter at no extra cost to you.)
“A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success.” — Elbert Hubbard, American writer
💼 Jobs for Writers1️⃣ Bisnow is looking for a freelance real estate writer to create content for their audience of more than 1.5M subscribers.
2️⃣ Stephanie Pitera Statile (Business Insider) is looking for a lived experience piece from a writer who has tried (or plans to try) the new Amtrak USA rail pass.
3️⃣ Column Five, a B2B marketing agency, is looking for a part-time copywriter that specializes in brand and content marketing for SaaS companies.
4️⃣ Alina Hamilton is looking for freelance resume writers for occasional work.
5️⃣ Kendra Fortmeyer (DISCO) is looking for a freelance digital copywriter for 15-20 hours per week. Legal writing experience HIGHLY preferred.
6️⃣ Claire Mainprize (The Good Information Foundation) is looking for a freelance writer with experience in lifestyle/culture. Must be based in Iowa, North Carolina, Wisconsin, or Texas.
7️⃣ BuzzRx is looking for a contract-to-hire staff writer to create blog content in the consumer pharmaceutical space.
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What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do
(Guest Post from Stephanie Mickelson): In Cody’s April 2 newsletter, he talked about the fact that freelance writing can be
