Rant: That $50 Fiverr gig I bought to fix my portfolio ended up costing me a real client

I paid a guy from Pakistan $50 to rewrite my About page and tweak my project descriptions. Sounded good at first, but then a potential client in Austin told me the tone sounded nothing like my actual work samples. I learned that trying to fake a polished voice just makes you look inconsistent to people who actually read. Has anyone else had a cheap service backfire like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_ben5d ago

I completely agree about the generic corporate language thing, but I think you're being a little generous to Grammarly there lol. Grammarly can actually push you toward that same boring corporate tone if you let it. It's good for catching typos, but it'll strip out your personality if you accept all its suggestions.

patricia_hill605d ago

Completely agree that it's a trust killer when your writing doesn't match your actual work. That client probably felt like you were hiding something or just didn't know your own style. I've seen folks hire cheap writers to sound "professional" but end up with super generic corporate language that has zero personality. The real trick is to keep your own voice but clean it up yourself using tools like Grammarly or Hemingway, or just read it out loud to catch awkward parts. It takes more time but at least your portfolio actually sounds like you made it.

kai8395d ago

Three years ago I hired a freelance designer who used all that fancy corporate talk in their proposals. When the work came back it looked nothing like what they described, and the whole thing was just a mess. It felt like they were trying to sell me a Cadillac and handed me a rusted bicycle. Reading stuff out loud is honestly the best trick I have found too. It catches stuff your eyes just skip over when you are staring at a screen for hours. Keeps it real without needing to sound like a robot.