Fiverr is a very popular platform among freelancers and one of the most used. In fact, it currently has approximately 14 million users and everything indicates that it will continue to grow.
However, for that very reason, Fiverr is a platform where there is a lot of competition and that is why many freelancers will wonder if it is the right place to start their career and find their first clients.
Is Fiverr A Good Option For Beginners?
Fiverr is a good option for beginners freelance because you can start selling any digital product or service for $5.
That means that no other freelancer can offer a lower price and if you want to make your service stand out, you cannot do it through the price but a promotion of your services, which can be as creative as you want.
That makes the competition fairer and allows you to get jobs as a beginner. Although of course, you should learn how to promote yourself.
What Makes Fiverr Special?
It is a platform where people from different countries can register to offer services or products that can be done online.
Anything from web design, graphic design, writing, digital marketing, audio, music, SEO to photography, the amount of services that can be found within the platform is really quite large and varied.
Simply put, Fiverr can be described as an independent marketplace where people can sell or buy products or services starting at $5, with this price being the one that gave the platform its name.
The good thing about the millions of users on Fiverr is that there will always be someone interested in what you offer, and when you make sales you will receive a rating that will make you level up, the more levels you go up, the more sales you can make successfully.
In general, in many of the best freelance websites for beginners it is the freelancer who must apply for vacancies. In the case of Fiverr, it is the customers who will come to you.
Here, freelancers have to create their profiles and explain the type of services they offer along with samples of their work.
Hirers are simply looking for the freelancers that best suit their needs and they can visit the profiles of freelancers and transparently view their profiles, work samples, and reviews of previous collaborators making the decision easier.
Source: fiverr.com
However, there is currently another alternative to Fiverr that is testing a similar business model, Upwork, which is considered one of the highest paying freelance websites.
The main difference between the two is that Fiverr has handled the sale of packages since its beginning and in Upwork, it is a new option, so it is not yet widely used by all customers and the demand on both platforms can be very different.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Fiverr
These are some of the advantages and disadvantages that you should take into account when using this platform:
Advantages
- You can offer any service that you can provide online.
- The platform can be used for free, without having to pay for registration.
- Provides service feedback through reviews that each buyer must complete after the transaction.
- It is a great way to build a visible reputation and turn it into your main source for finding clients.
- Here you can earn enough money to have a stable income.
- Fiverr encourages buyers to tip sellers (as they will also receive a 20% commission). Fortunately, shoppers tend to tip quite frequently and are usually quite generous. This helps offset Fiverr’s 20% commission.
- You do not have to bid to get customers. Unlike other freelance websites like Workana or Upwork, you do not have to spend all day bidding on potential projects. With Fiverr, buyers will come to you. Just sit back and wait for a notification email to arrive.
Disadvantages
- Only top-level sellers can withdraw their earnings within 14 days of being paid. It is a security measure, but it can be a problem for some.
- They charge a 20% commission for each transaction, including tips.
- You will start receiving low income. Fiverr is called Fiverr for a reason, and that is because most gigs cost $5 (or at least start at $5). So after the 20% cut, you are really only making $4 per project.
- They have an extremely strict policy on making contact outside of Fiverr (although this is common on most freelance platforms). This really means that while you are building a good list of paying customers, you cannot properly market to them and if they ever leave Fiverr, you will not be able to contact them again.
15 Pro Tips That Will Help Beginners Kickstart Their Gigs
1. Define Exactly What You Want To Do For $5
If you really want to sell your work at fair rates, worry about describing in detail what you offer on your gig.
For example, if you are a web developer, it does not mean that you have to make a web page for $5, that would be working for free. Instead, you can offer diagnostics for $5 and within the gig include extra services for the rate you think is correct.
Many of those who offer animations say, “I’m going to make an animated video for $5” but when you read the description they specify that for five dollars you get 3 seconds of animation. So they force you to buy the extras to make longer animations.
2. Use Eye-Catching Images
Through an image, you can generate trust in buyers and even convey what type of freelancer you are.
Try to use quality images that are not pixelated and that show the type of work that they will receive or some referential image about what you are offering.
In these images, you can also add text that explains what the gig is about (although you should not put much, only relevant and meaningful text).
If you have no experience designing images, you can use applications like Canva that already have default designs that you can use, or you can also make your image from scratch.
Rest assured that if you have images that look good and with good resolution, that will make you stand out above those that do not have quality images or that do not have any.
Source: blog.fiverr.com
3. Optimize Your Profile
Creating a profile on Fiverr is not enough to get started. If you want to make money with Fiverr, do your best to make your profile look attractive and professional.
Start using real images, videos and offer a good description of your services. It is not enough to mention your name and service; present your content in a way that attracts buyers.
4. Use Your Target Keywords Wisely
This is a very important tip if you want to earn money and learn how to use Fiverr: promote yourself wisely. Fiverr uses your defined set of guidelines while displaying specific SEO results.
If you want a good ranking, make sure you use target keywords at least 3-4 times in the description and use them wisely in the title as well. Find a way to integrate them into the text so that it sounds natural.
For example, if you offer postcard design services on Fiverr, give a title like this: “I will create unique postcard designs and also renew your old postcard designs.”
As you can see, “postcard designs” appears twice and those are the words that customers will use in the search engine.
5. Work On Similar Gigs
While expanding your portfolio seems like a good opportunity, you do not need to make a big transition to totally different topics and niches.
One technique many freelancers use is to work on variants of a job they are already doing.
For example, if you offer content writing services, you can expand your portfolio by offering related services like blogging, content editing, and creating relevant content for websites. Just by doing things wisely, you can get more work.
6. Use Your Social Networks
The best and easiest way to use Fiverr and earn money is to inform the world about your services. Share your gigs on social media platforms like Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter and Quora to network with more people and keep them on top of what you do.
You can also share your gigs in Facebook groups related to the work you do, or send the link to your friends so they can ask for a gig if they need it or also to recommend it to other people.
7. Create A Video That Invites Your Customers
In Fiverr you can also add a video to promote your gigs and this is so that customers are encouraged to trust you and the quality of your service.
In that video, you can talk a little about what you do, your experience, and better explain what service you offer.
That will give you much more seriousness and will undoubtedly give you an advantage over other freelancers on the platform.
This will also show buyers that you take your work seriously, that you give it attention and care, and that you truly know what you are doing.
Even though you are a beginner on the platform, using this tool will make you look very professional.
Source: pitiya.com
8. Create Gig Tags
Tags or labels, make it easier for contractors to find your service easy and fast. Selecting the correct labels will make a difference in the number of sales.
Go through the gigs of similar services featured, see the tags they use, and use them as a guide for the selection of your tags.
Tags are a simple and easy step that will make you visible in the search engines used by contractors.
Now, once you have selected your tags, it will be easier to find and remember that the more possible ways to find your gigs, the better.
9. Upload Your CV
Your CV is something that cannot be missing from your profile. Although to be a freelancer you do not need professional academic training, clients will be interested in knowing what you have done, what you have worked on, and what you have studied.
In fact, this information may be what makes them prefer you over others, so do not skimp on any information about you that may be useful.
This is very important especially when you are a beginner freelancer since surely you will not have much work experience to tell but you can talk about your interests, your studies, courses you have taken, among others.
10. Make Fast Deliveries To Your Buyers
In Fiverr they force you to comply with the delivery date that you establish yourself.
Suppose you are a copywriter capable of delivering an article in an hour but even if you are fast, never commit yourself so tight. In fact, the minimum delivery time on Fiverr is 24 hours.
You may think that this contradicts the title, but the idea is that if you think you can deliver something in an hour, you may still specify that the delivery will be done on a working day.
So when you deliver your service in an hour or less than a day, the client will appreciate how fast you are and will be satisfied with the work. That will ensure a positive score and the more high scores you receive, the better.
Calculating the delivery time of a gig right is very important since you do not want to be affected by not being able to deliver something on time.
Imagine getting your gig bought from you on a Saturday night, you might not even realize that the service was purchased from you.
When the weekend passes you will open the platform and you will see that you are late for your delivery and your ranking and reputation will be lowered. Set a reasonable time and calculate any possible delays.
11. Ask For Feedback
Getting feedback on the work you have done will give you credibility on the platform. Here customers can leave a comment, like a small testimony telling how it was working with you.
Of course, make sure that this is with clients with whom you have had a good experience so that the feedback is positive. The more feedback you receive, the better positioning your gig will have within the platform.
12. Keep Your Clients Happy
A happy customer translates into a recurring customer. This means someone who will buy your services again and one of the most important things to keep in mind when offering services on Fiverr is to keep your customers happy.
Satisfied customers give good reviews and especially recommendations.
How to make buyers happy? It’s easy.
Maintain the quality of your work, meet deadlines, and update your clients on progress.
Offering additional incentives is another way to retain customers and stay above your competitors, these incentives can be to include extra details in the jobs they ask for, such as an extra correction or more seconds of a video.
13. Invite Those Interested To Talk To You Before Buying
Some buyers just buy and later they make the questions and some need to ask a lot of questions before buying.
Be open to answering all their questions so that they are encouraged to buy the gig and through that conversation, they will be able to get to know you a little more and build trust.
If you recommend them to talk to you before starting the purchase, you can get to know their requirements and give them a more accurate and satisfactory answer without worrying about their expectations. So when they buy the gig you will be ready to work and satisfy them.
14. Provide High-Quality Service
To make money with Fiverr, you have to pay attention to the ratings. On Fiverr, grades have a huge impact on your level.
To move up the ranking, you need to make sure you consistently get good reviews for your services and the easiest way to do that is by making sure you consistently provide high-quality service.
Therefore, make sure that the services you provide are as described and that you always deliver your work on time.
15. Call To Action
Invite the client to buy your gig. Do not be afraid to encourage the buyer to make a decision.
Example: And don’t forget that I offer unlimited reviews and a 100% money-back guarantee with my Gig… Click Buy Now to get started!
Remember that it never hurts to know a little about marketing and put it into practice, it is something you must learn if you want to promote yourself within a platform as competitive as Fiverr.
Decide If It Meets Your Expectations
If you are just starting in the freelance world and you want to invest your time in a work platform, you must bear in mind that although Fiverr is a useful platform for this, it will require your effort and perseverance.
You should not only be in charge of delivering quality work but of learning how to promote your work within that website.
If you do not learn how to do it, getting your first client could take longer than it should.
Gaining popularity on Fiverr will take time, but it will certainly pay off when your gig starts making its first sales.