How Can You Make Money On Fiverr
My Relationship With Fiverr
I recently wrote an article explaining how I used Instagram captions to earn $10,000 a month as a writer.
While Instagram has been a n advantageous platform to market my services and connect with prospective clients, I can't deny that Fiverr has also been a great help.
Fiverr has a bad rap. If you're new to Fiverr, it's an online marketplace for freelance services. It initially began as a platform offering gigs for only a fiver ($5), where the name originated. As of today, gigs can be priced at up to $995.
According to a recent report by Priceonomics, 96.3% of sellers on Fiverr make less than $500 or less per month, with the majority (70%) making less than $100. It's estimated that only 1% of sellers are earning $2,000 or more per month.
As of 2019, there are 830,000 freelancers. In short: there's a lot of competition and a low statistical likelihood of earning much.
It is possible though. This Forbes article interviewed three people that make six figures a year on Fiverr. To be clear: these people are an anomaly. They made it to Forbes for a reason. They are probably in the top 0.01% of earners.
How much I've earned on Fiverr
Being in the top 1% of earners sounds really cool, but in reality, it's nothing to write home about.
In just over two years of working as a freelancer on Fiverr, I've made $33,212 as of November 6, 2020. 65% of which (approx. $22,000) was made in 2020.
When you're living in southern California (as I am), $22,000 is not going to get you very far. It has definitely supplemented my income, given me solid writing experience, and helped me establish a global network of clients. Overall, it's been a successful business decision for me.
What Fiverr Doesn't Tell You
Signing up for Fiverr seems like a no-brainer for freelancers looking to make some more money. There are a plethora of undeniable downsides that need to be mentioned, including:
- Fiverr takes 20% of your earnings.
- Buyers have 100% privileges, completely neglecting seller rights.
- Highly competitive
- Low earning potential
- A buyer can cancel and receive a refund after receiving the work.
- Once an order is completed, the money takes 14 days to be cleared and available to you.
- The level system is a sham.
In more detail
Explanation 1: I have had a few experiences in which a buyer has baselessly decided they either: weren't happy with the work or no longer needed it, so requested a refund, which they received immediately, despite the hours I put into producing the deliverable. When I reached out to Fiverr, they just stated the terms of the agreement: that the buyer can cancel the work at their discretion.
Explanation 2: Despite having 234 five star reviews, I have had a few less than 4 stars. One customer rated me 3 stars because I wrote in UK English (I am from the UK). The knock-on effect of this was that I was demoted — if you receive a low rating you go down a level in their level system.
At level one, it becomes difficult to make any money so I reached out to the buyer to explain I'm from the UK hence the spelling of colour (i.e. not a mistake), hoping he would offer to change his review. Instead, Fiverr gave me a warning for contacting the buyer, and I was demoted to unrated. For nearly three months I made no money.
Explanation 3: My final rant: the level system is very deceptive. As mentioned, you are demoted if you:
- Get a bad review — even if it's baseless
- If a buyer cancels an order — even if they ordered by mistake
- If you have a less than 90% response rate — even though you get hundreds of spam messages a day
Being a top-rated seller is the highest accolade you can achieve on Fiverr. However, the way it is advertised is very deceptive. As you can see in the graphic below, you would assume that you move from unrated, level one, level two, to top-rated, assuming you complete all the prerequisites (as listed below).
However, that's not the case. After completing all the prerequisites, I expected to be promoted. When I wasn't, I reached out to Fiverr for clarification. I was then told that top-rated sellers are handpicked by the staff at their discretion. So essentially, I had been working towards nothing.
Enough Complaining: How Can You Actually Make Money on Fiverr?
Based on my own experience, here are some of the most effective tips to be successful on Fiverr.
1. Be specific, but not reductive
When advertising your gig, be specific enough to draw in a customer, but do not be so specific that your skills can't be transferable.
As an example — there are thousands of writers on Fiverr. Many advertise their gig as blog posts, article writing, or content creation. While this is logical, it also fails to differentiate you. When you're new to Fiverr, that means you just get lost in the sea of other writers.
Differentiate your skillset by being more specific, for example: mental health blog posts, long-form fitness articles, medical writer, etc. Use more specific key terms to help with your SEO.
A prospective buyer may be looking to have a blog post written about pharmaceutical treatments — if they see you are a medical writer, it's clear that your skills are transferable. If you are too specific about what you do, you may put potential buyers off.
Takeaway: Differentiate yourself by being specific enough. It's the difference between advertising yourself as a writer vs. medical writer vs. medical copywriter. The aim is to find the middle ground to make your gig relevant, specific, and transferable.
2. Say yes to pretty much everything
In the early days of Fiverr the goal was twofold: get orders and get reviews.
It's essential to be open to doing other tasks within your skill set, even if you may have never done it before.
When I first started on Fiverr I was just selling meal and workout plans. I was asked to write a blog post about an exercise concept I had included in my workout plan, so I said yes and added this as a service. After a few months, it was clear that health and fitness writing was a much more valuable service on Fiverr.
Now I write about everything from packaging copy for a skincare brand, medical equipment to ghostwriting ebooks about marketing for gyms because I always said yes.
To be clear, I didn't say yes and then played the guessing game, crossing my fingers that the work would be okay. I said yes and then extensively researched the topic or writing style to ensure I was providing a high standard.
As I got more reviews and customers, I increased my prices in line with my increasing experience level.
Takeaway: If you're desperate for customers like I was, you'll say yes to pretty much anything. You have no reviews or legitimacy on Fiverr, so you don't have the luxury of being choosy. I have worked on hundreds of projects I hated, but they helped me get reviews and money, so it was worth it.
2. Have a high-quality video
According to Fiverr, the gigs that have videos sell 220% more than the gigs that don't. Having a high-quality video in the gig description can be a great way to show prospective customers what the gig is, who you are, what your experience and background is, etc.
When you can show your personality, potential customers can connect with you — it's why people often have things like I love cats and pasta in their bios. It's strategic sharing to make you feel connected.
Try to make the video as high quality as you can. That doesn't mean you have to hire a videographer and editor, but it does mean:
- Use a good enough quality camera.
- The sound quality is clear.
- The lighting is crisp — daylight is preferred.
- The background is plain and/or relevant.
How you look and present yourself in the video is an undeniable factor that can sway your sales.
That's not necessarily about whether you are attractive or not (but I don't doubt that comes into play) — it's about looking well put together, smiling, making eye contact with the camera, etc. Imagine how you would act and look in a job interview — do that.
Takeaway: Use the resources available to you to show prospective customers that you are a true professional. For a little amount of effort, a video can bring about big rewards.
3. 99% of the time you need credentials
There are, no doubt, many successful freelancers on Fiverr that have no credentials or relevant educational background. However, having this does help.
I am a registered nutritionist and personal trainer with two degrees, work experience as a consultant at a Fortune 100, and a solid social media following. This has legitimized me as a freelancer, helping me differentiate myself from the crowd.
If you have the skills but don't have a college degree or relevant work experience, don't worry. Go to Coursera and enroll in some free certified courses. They offer courses from reputable establishments like Yale, University of California Davis, Berkeley, etc. Find other ways to differentiate yourself.
Takeaway: be realistic. If you are attempting to do medical writing, you need to have studied science, medicine, health, or a related topic before you attempt to write a 3,000 word analysis on diabetic treatments. But if you're offering fashion blog posts, get some certifications in SEO, content creation, social media etc. It really helps to legitimize your services.
4. Be patient
As mentioned earlier, 65% of everything I've earned on Fiverr happened in 2020. When I first joined Fiverr I was charging a low rate for my services and have only increased it this year, once I had enough reviews.
Even if you've worked as a writer for 10 years, you can't expect to join the platform and charge your usual rate with no reviews. That's why it's not for everyone. Be patient. If you're consistently working and stacking up your reviews, you'll notice a big jump in your earnings.
Takeaway: You seriously have to play the long game. Be prepared.
5. Put in the work before you expect a reward
Start by charging a low rate. Once you get 30 reviews and promoted to level one, you can increase your rate.
If you're in the west — remember that you're going up against sellers from India who have extraordinarily low rates. The Times of India actually published an article about Fiverr, titled "The things Indians are willing to do for $5." What it comes down to is if you're not willing to do a task for cheap, someone else will.
Of course, cheaper is not always better. But if you're starting out and have zero reviews, in a buyer's mind — you're not the better option.
When I started out, I wasn't going to offer an article for $5. I first put my price at $10 for a 250-word writing sample, $25 for a 500-word blog post, and $55 for 1,000 words. Luckily this was my entry into the writing world so I didn't know if this was fair pricing and did each task willingly and gratefully.
Once I got reviews and more customers, I put my prices up. Now I charge around $120 for a 500-word article.
Takeaway: It's a good idea to start Fiverr as a side hustle alongside your regular job, as you're unlikely to make enough money to support yourself in the beginning. Understand that you're going up against people charging $5 so make sure you are adding value for your buyer that goes beyond a cheap price.
6. Be professional
On Fiverr, I have encountered CEOs of publicly listed companies, professional athletes, celebrities, global heads of marketing, etc. — these people are used to dealing with professionals in their career. Just because you're on Fiverr, communicating through an app, doesn't mean you can't be up to par.
- Always practice correct grammar, punctuation, capitalization, etc.
- Reply to messages in a timely manner.
- Never miss a deadline.
- Under promise and over deliver — quote a four day turn around and deliver in two.
- Offer to discuss a project on the phone.
- Do not add colloquialisms — the client is not your friend.
- Ensure the client is happy with the final delivery.
- If a client isn't happy and is likely going to give you a bad review, cancel the order — you lose money but you also avoid the knock-on impact of a bad review.
- Respect yourself — if a client is rude and disrespectful from the jump, I don't work with them, they are likely going to leave you a bad review and impact your ability to get work from other customers.
Takeaway: you are a professional. Act like it! Show your prospective customer you are offering a professional service from the first conversation all the way through to the deliverable.
7. Be attentive
One of the major factors in the Fiverr algorithm is how often you are online and how quickly you reply to messages.
Download the Fiverr app and try to go on it on your phone at least once every 30 minutes when you're new to the platform. It may seem excessive but it was one of the easiest ways to connect with new clients because they always saw that my little green availability light was flashing.
Reply to messages as soon as possible; if you have the mobile app this is easy because you'll get a notification. Even if you immediately reply saying "Hi" before taking the time to reply to the rest of the message, this will show the algorithm and your potential customer that you are on the ball.
Takeaway: When buyers go on Fiverr, they want someone to do the job then and there. If you take more than an hour to reply, I can guarantee they will have already found someone else.
8. Sell a PDF
You can advertise multiple gigs. For at least one gig, sell a PDF that you don't have to work on, you just send it immediately when someone buys it. For example, I sell a weight loss workout plan.
Offering this as a cheap service is a good way to get your reviews up, improves your delivery time because you deliver it instantaneously — which benefits the algorithm and it can help you earn money from work you've already done.
Takeaway: If you have work you've already done that can be resold, why not offer it and see if there's any interest? You don't lose anything by doing so.
Conclusion
This article probably didn't inspire you to join Fiverr, and I don't blame you. There's a slim chance you'll financially benefit from it, and you have to be prepared to deal with rude clients, an unfair system, and a lot of poorly paid jobs. That's just the cold hard truth.
But, if you're desperate for work like I was, you'll take the hit. If you're patient, open to trying new things, and willing to put in the work — you can actually do quite well on Fiverr.
How Can You Make Money On Fiverr
Source: https://bettermarketing.pub/my-experience-with-actually-making-money-on-fiverr-9636b99be862
Posted by: lustweepleget1968.blogspot.com
0 Response to "How Can You Make Money On Fiverr"
Post a Comment