Howdy, Vikans!
*gasp* a Blog Post that’s NOT on a SUNDAY?!
Yeah, I’m stunned and excited at the same time.
Isn’t this December so much fun?
*sarcasm*
*slightly*
So, onto the subject of this blog post.
So I recently dove into the mysterious realm of Fiverr as a way to keep my creative brain agile and my logical brain focused for as long of periods as I can. My gigs are mainly creative/editing/brainstorming focused, because that’s the fun stuff, with 1 Gig geared toward IT/Excel. If you are a creative individual, continue on, as I list all my current Fiverr Gigs below. Since I’m starting out, I could use a good number of customers to both help me get noticed, as well as keep my ADHD under control and stop my life-long severe anxiety preoccupied enough to not torment me inside my mind constantly.
Problem is, now that Fiverr is so saturated, getting your first customers is mainly luck. You need to figure out what skills you have that people could need help with, then determine what to offer for each of the 3 package levels, strategize price points for them, decide how fast your turn around time would be for each level, figure out if you can offer additional add-ons, describe your Gig in a paragraph or two, form questions for your customer that encompasses everything you need to do the job (or at least get the order started), and then FINALLY let it loose to the public!
*sigh of relief*
Yeah, sounds complicated, right? Once you get the hang of it, though, it will be smooth sailing (mostly…) to add more services to your Seller Portfolio.
Now what you might be thinking is that at this point, you should be swimming with orders now, right? After all, you’ve put up a good number of options that you’re good at. But days go by, and most of the messages you receive are scammers from other countries (I gotta say, though, that Fiverr has their game up on spammers; they lock the messages for those people before I can even open the app to read it. Props to Fiverr on that front!).
You’ve got your Gigs set up, you look at the Analytics for your Gigs via the website and see plenty of impressions are being made, yet you still haven’t gotten many, if any, customers. And, if you have had someone reach out to you, it’s a 50/50 chance it will lead to an actual job order.
So, what might be the problem?
For me, it’s one of two reasons:
(1) The way you designed your Gig
(2) Luck.
(1) – Set-Up / Design
For (1), this is error on your end. Doesn’t mean you’ve messed up royally, it just means that your set-up wasn’t optimized enough to grab someone’s attention. Now, Issue (1) has a few sub points of interest::
(1a) — The thumbnail photo. This, along with your subject/title of the gig, are the first 2 things potential customers see when scrolling through the HUGE directory of all kinds of sellers you are now competing for attention with. I’d suggest 2 ways to go with the photo, and 1 way to NOT go with for a photo:
The DOs::
#1:: Content you’ve already created that is related (even slightly) to this particular Gig. The thumbnail should be the one best quality that is closest to what service your Gig is offering. Fiverr laso allows you to put a couple more files and/or pictures as a portfolio for each Gig when you build it. Starting out, you might not have much portfolio to upload. No worries; I’m in the same boat. So, option #2 could be better, if you are handy with Paint or Photoshop —
#2:: Create your own thumbnail. Get creative. Add quotes, a backdrop of some kind, the actual title and/or brief byline of your service directly into the picture. Just get creative and have fun with it! (Take note, though, that there is a pixel limit when it comes to size. Keep that in mind when designing. DO YOUR HOMEWORK!)
The Do NOTs::
— DO NOT STEAL SOMEONE ELSE’S HARD WORK. This means fan art, covers or documentation you did not do yourself, etc, etc.
I myself have crappy thumbnails for my current Gigs, mainly stock designs and basic, non-copyrighted cover images, but they are just as temporary placeholders. The holidays wiped me out, so had to postpone updating my thumbnails. However, I plan of making better ones myself within the next week or two.
(1b) — When you design a Gig, the title needs to be condensed, but unique; meaning using the characters you’re allowed to both tell the potential buyer what service it is, while tailoring the words to catch their eye toward you in the first place. Don’t use big or complicated words, though. We’re talking primary/elementary school level here: simple, but unique.
(1c) — I hate to be the one to break this to y’all, but when your level 1 Gig Package costs $20 and you have 2 to no reviews or orders, you’re kidding yourselves. You need to get a reputation. You need eyes on your thumbnail enticing enough for them to click through (see points (1a) and (1b)). But, if they finally click through to your details, and see the cheapest option is decently high, and you hardly have any ratings or reviews, they’ll very swiftly move on to another candidate. I know some of you are saying, “My quality and experience is worth more than that $20 Gig anyway, so they are getting a good deal from an expert!”
Guess what? THEY DON’T KNOW THAT. At least not yet.
Fiverr’s customers look for decent details, packages that suit what they need, AND the cheapest option for the quality they want. That means that YOUR discount, which you see as fair… Chop it down even more. Dangerously low. If it’s a Gig you can perform with a quick turnaround time, then start the initial level package at 5$, and add additional Gig features for extra options for customers to choose from, should they desire. When you start on Fiverr, your goal shouldn’t be to roll around in your earnings like Scrooge McDuck! You need to get eyes on your Gigs. You need to accept and deliver orders. You need to reel in reviews.
YOU. NEED. TO. PLAY. ON. THEIR. GREEN.
Until you get a good amount of orders, ratings, and reviews, then you will have proved your professional ability, and then, ONLY THEN, you could raise your prices. But, be sure to raise them to a reasonable level. You might have 200 reviews for your editing capabilities or quick turnarounds for verbal transcriptions or get 20 orders in a given month, but rarely will you find someone on Fiverr who will purchase your Level 3 package at $500, or even a Level 1 package higher than $50. So, as a tip, flick away that little ego demon on your shoulder telling you to gyp customers, and, starting out, Level 1 should be at the base $5, until you feel like you can rope them in for a higher price.
(2) – LUCK
Unfortunately, sometimes you have to pray, or wish, or summon a genie or demon of some kind and make a deal to get your first customers, and just wait.
And wait.
And wait.
Yep, you guessed it: a Waiting Game. Lots of freelancers can relate, am I right?
That’s how I got my first customer. I just kept tweaking parts of my Gig details: everything from prices, additional extras, descriptions – In hopes of roping in my first customer. When I did, I put my initial turnaround would take 6 days, knowing I could accomplish this order sooner than that.
My turn around was only 2 days, and my buyer gave a decent tip as well, along with a comment that they would definitely want me to help them in the near future.
*****
So, that’s a “small”, “basic” explanation on tackling Fiverr yourself, if you want to give it a go.
Which leads into shameless self promotion…
I am on Fiverr myself (if you couldn’t figure that out already o.o ), and looking to build my portfolio and help out anyone who could use my help in their creative endeavors. If you want to browse my Fiverr offerings, go to the “FIVERR” tab above, or click [here].
My Fiverr Seller Username is @angelslite
Here’s a brief list of what I currently offer (as of 12/26/2019)::
Creative Outlets
(1) – “Beta read your fantasy or scifi or ya fiction”
(2) – “Brainstorm and suggest ideas for any creative medium”
(3) – “Create book layout for ebook, kindle, AMZ, print interior”
(4) – “Write short fiction story based around a single phrase”
(5) – “Create promotional materials for your book, business, or event”
(6) – “Craft fiction character profiles with information you supply“
Analytical/Organization-related Outlets
(1) – “Create excel spreadsheet for your collection based on photos“
Hope this post helps some of you aspiring freelancers like me. I also hope some of you all might want to order my Gig services, because just like the newbie to Fiverr I described in this post, I’m starting out, and some of you readers could be a few of the customers I get from PURE LUCK.
For those of you considering going this route, it’s a wild ride, believe me.
I think one of my usual sign off lines perfectly relates to this post….
“Assume Nothing.”
Until the weekend, guys. Big news this weekend. Stay tuned.
– Chrissy
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Terrara Vikos 