A lot of you have been asking about Upwork specifically, and while this group is not about 'how to win clients on Upwork,' I think there IS a place in this world for Upwork discussion that isn't the hive of negativity formerly known as Reddit. So...here you go! Have at it. What's working for you right now? What isn't?

Ads are great. I've been using them for almost a year. Biggest issue? Especially with Facebook ads? Bot traffic. Here's how I'm dealing with bot traffic to this Skool group (see screenshot). See the high-tech screening question I'm using? Broccoli is my favorite fruit, too. How many of you are running ads, or plan on running them soon? Ads to what? Services, products? Let's hear it.

I've just written perhaps my thousandth email about durian, and it got me thinking... What kind of weird or frowned-upon food do you like to eat? For example: I remember someone who used to drink dill pickle brine from the jar. What about you? Email reproduced below for historical accuracy... ### Subject: How to get kicked out of a taxi Nhu and I have just stepped out of our taxi into a muggy Singaporean afternoon. Trembling with anticipation. The menu plastered to the wall in front of me cheekily declares: “Hold your breath.” I refuse. What should we order? Stinky Bomb? Stinky Roll? Stinky Scoop? 😵 This is heaven. This is… 99 Old Trees—Singapore’s go-to stall for the freshest, most deluxe-est durians in town. “What do you want to eat?” my wife whispers into my ear. “Something that will get us kicked out of our next taxi,” I whisper back. I’ve written about durian so much in this newsletter that you might easily mistake these emails for blog posts from a globetrotting fruit connoisseur. I assure you—this is a very serious business publication. But if you’re new here… Durian is the king of fruit. The size of a football and covered in spikes, durians resemble medieval torture devices on the outside. Let’s just say Isaac Newton was lucky an apple fell on his head. On the inside? They resemble pungent, creamy custard with the faintest BREATH of onions that, once cracked open, releases their enticing and repulsive aroma like a mushroom cloud in a 3-mile radius. For perspective… Every subway car in the city warns: No Eating ($500 Fine) No Explosives ($5,000 Fine) No Durians (Life In Prison) (No fine for the durians, but you’d better not or you’re very naughty.) After stuffing ourselves with an absurd amount of fruit, Nhu and I pile into a black minivan headed back to our hotel. The driver points nervously at the plastic bag in my lap. “That’s…that’s not DURIAN, is it?” “No! It’s just bottled water from 7-11,” I grin. He squints at me in the rear-view mirror a moment before shifting into drive…and pulling a facemask out of his breast pocket.