Is Fiverr.com Worth It?

Fiverr.com is a great place for many people. You get to offer your skills for $5+. While there has to be something that you offer for the base rate of $5, you can quickly start charging more for other services to make a profit. But is it still a place for freelancers and marketers to make money?

There are so many Fiverr clones about, how do you know they’re not better places to be?

There are so many other opportunities online, are they better?

It Depends on Your Skills‼!

In all honesty, it does depend on the skills you have. As a writer, I’m on Fiverr but it’s not always worth it.

I’ve made many changes to my gigs over the past two years that I’ve been on the site of make sure it is worth my time. And it will always remain a part-time thing for me.

Over the last two years I’ve made just over $5,000 on the site. That’s not bad since I work part-time and I didn’t take it all too seriously. I’m also not a big one for marketing myself so it took me a while to set up this blog and start sharing my insights and show off my gigs.

However, I don’t think I’ll ever make a full-time income (some people claim to though) because of the time it takes me to do things. For some gigs, it’s just not worth the $5 and you have to start thinking how you can add more to your gigs to make more.

For the novelty items, like sprinkling words on coffee or writing messages on your hand, it’s great since they take very little time at all!

It Depends on Your Goals

For me, I want to make money. Writing is my business and I need to be able to make a profit to survive.

That makes Fiverr.com not the best decision in the world – and why I keep it part-time.

If I had a job and did Fiverr on the side, spending more time on my gigs would be more than worth it. I wouldn’t need the money to feed my family!

So, it depends on your goals. Some buyers find Fiverr.com is worth it. It helps them with a retirement or holiday fund. It allows them to buy the luxuries that they’ve always wanted. There are plenty of students looking to top up their income through Fiverr.

Others simply want to use Fiverr for fun. They want to offer quirky gigs and just have a laugh – the money is an extra bonus for them.

Some of the Recent Downsides

There are times that problems on the site make Fiverr slightly less worth the hassle. If you’ve been on the forums recently, you may have heard how Customer Support is taking days to respond.

The site is growing and more people need help but that means the few people on the support team are struggling. While that’s not too much of a problem for some – many ask questions that can be found on the forum – it is bad for those with orders coming up and they need the intervention of customer support or need their advice.

I had a couple of buyers lately that I started to question if they were the same person. I needed an answer from Fiverr support quickly but it took four days to hear from them.

I had to make the decision over whether to cancel the orders or just do them – I did them. Luckily, they weren’t the same person but this lack of support makes doing the simplest of job difficult.

There are other problems such as the withdrawal button not quite working and unplanned downtime due to the hosting company. When all these problems are put together, it makes me wonder why I’m still there but then I remember the side income I’m earning.

It’s up to you. For some, the hassles are worth it when they make the money they do. If you offer a gig that will take a couple of minutes to complete, then it’s great. But if you want to make money, you need to really think about your skills to determine whether Fiverr.com is worth it.

How to Make Your Fiverr Gigs Stand Out

Stand out and succeed. Image by nookhoog_buchachon/Freedigitalphotos.net

There’s a lot of competition so a newbie can’t succeed, right? Wrong!

You can succeed but it will be hard work.

You need to make your gigs stand out from the others. Give people a reason to check yours out and put some trust in to order from you.

I’ll admit that when I started out, I didn’t take Fiverr very seriously. I quickly created a profile and forgot about it. This was almost two years ago and things have really changed. One buyer put their trust in me and bought multiple gigs and it all went from there.

I then started to look at ways to promote my gigs and encourage more buyers to put their trust in me. But, I needed to make my gig stand out first – I needed to catch people’s attention.

Pick a Clear Fiverr Gig Title

Buyers rarely read the full gig description so your title needs to be as clear as possible. Tell buyers what you’ll offer for the base $5.

Take a look at some of the other popular gigs in your niche to see how they do it, especially look at the Level 2 and Top Rated Sellers.

Try not to be too long. While you want to be clear, it needs to be easy and quick to read. Buyers should be able to see from a glance that you offer X for $5.

Choose a Great Photo for Your Fiverr Gig

The Fiverr system states that you have to have a photo but that doesn’t mean you should find any photo. Find one that shows off your gig – if you can, choose a sample of your work to show off your skills. You can use those online but you’ll have to find a way to credit the person and you can’t break copyright laws!

Have a different photo for each of your gigs. You may offer something similar but choose something different to keep your gigs apart. This is easier for buyers to quickly glance and see that it is something different – remember, they won’t always read your description.

Images are great for SEO too, so definitely look for a great one.

Video will stand out. Image by a454/Freedigitalphotos.net

Have a Video

Since Fiverr.com offered the ability to add video, they have helped to make gigs stand out. They also allow you to explain much more.

Check out the video rules before uploading one.

You don’t need to talk on your video but you will need some audio so find royalty free music if you use text. Your video could show off your talents, depending on the type of Fiverr gig you are offering.

Create a Clear Description

So, not all Fiverr buyers will read the gig description but some definitely do. Make it as clear and descriptive as possible – telling your buyers everything you will do for the base $5 and everything that you won’t do.

However, your description also needs to be concise. Use short sentences. The Fiverr system doesn’t allow paragraphs so people use stars and other symbols to help split up their descriptions to make it easier to understand.

Your gig description can be changed regularly and this is often trial and error. I’ve had to make changes as buyers misunderstand something or I find that I didn’t include something that I should have.

Think About Your Fiverr Tags

You want your gig to show up in search, right? Well, part of that is down to the tags used in your Fiverr gigs. Really think about them – what would you search for if you wanted your gig?

Your tags will also help your gig show up in Google search, which is essential if you want people off Fiverr to find out about you.

Finally…Think of Something Different!

I’m guilty of not doing this…

The best way to make your Fiverr gig stand out is to think of something different. Think of something that no one else on the site has offered before.

This is difficult with so many Fiverr gigs on the site but there is bound to be something. Can you offer an innovative way of marketing? Can you do something with video that no one else can?

Quirky and fun is a great way to stand out with buyers and the Fiverr Powers-That-Be!

If you have to offer something that others already offer, find a way that makes you different from them.

So, there you have it – tips to make your Fiverr gig stand out. As you start getting orders, deliver quickly and with quality. A lot of people say to over-deliver but I’ve never found that makes sense (if you over-deliver all the time, they will constantly expect that). You could opt for delivering faster on the first couple and then go back to your regular lead time.

Good luck with your gigs and I hope to see a blue, red or even a yellow badge next to your name very soon!

How to Choose a Fiverr Seller

With so many sellers on Fiverr, how do you know who to choose? It’s easy to opt for a Top Rated Seller but how do you know there’s not a newbie on the site who could offer you a better deal? There’s no Fiverr sellers every day of the week and many are hard working and just want a break. But, you want the best value for your $5, right? So, how do you choose a Fiverr seller?

Look at the Seller Rating

All sellers have a rating. Those who have consistently offer everything their buyers want and gone over and above everything they state in their gig description will have high ratings and great feedback. But, does that mean that someone with a less than perfect rating is bad? Not always. Take some time to check through any negative comments to see why they were placed.

With many of the gigs offered on Fiverr.com, the end result is subjective. Think about it – most of the gigs are artwork, logo designs and writing. Not everyone is going to like the same thing.

Do you necessarily like my writing style? If you say no, I’m not going to be offended – we just have different tastes.

The negative comments may be due to something like that…of course, they could also be because the seller isn’t as great as he/she makes him/herself out to be. Check the negative comments before making a decision.

The Previous Gigs Fulfilled

Newer sellers are going to have fulfilled less gigs than someone who’s been on the site for months but the number of gigs filled is worth looking into. Don’t just look for whose sold the most – look at it on the basis of how many they’ve sold in their time on the site.

You may find that someone who has been on the site for just a couple of months has a higher ration than someone who’s been there for the past year. This is a good sign for them – there must be a reason why they get so many.

You can see their number of orders by looking at the amount of feedback gained and the number of orders in the queue. However, bear in mind that not all Fiverr buyers will leave feedback so take that into account.

Levels and Top Rated Status

Since January 2012, Fiverr.com introduced Levels and the Top Rated Status. Click the link for more information about these.

These are a good sign. The Fiverr sellers have proven to offer quality gigs, gain positive feedback and have been on the site for a while. Top Rated Sellers are handpicked and have proven that they offer quality.

However, just because someone doesn’t have one of these badges, doesn’t mean they’re bad! It may just mean they’re new or they’re not getting the sales they’d like.

Check Out the Description

A note for all Fiverr buyers: please read the full gig description!

This tells you everything that the Fiverr seller is willing to offer for the $5 – and the stuff that the seller will not do. If you order something out of the scope of the gig description, guess what – the seller isn’t going to be happy.

The seller won’t want to cancel because it affects them negatively, so they’ll try to work with you – give them that chance and be open to negotiation.

If you are in doubt, contact the seller before placing an order – definitely contact if the seller asks you to in the gig description!

Don’t Opt for the Cheapest Gig

All sellers have to offer the base rate of $5 for something but that something changes. I offer 400 words for an article for $5 but there are other sellers offering 1000 words or more! Does that mean they’re better? Not necessarily.

Think of it this way: sellers come from all over the world. For some sellers, $5 an hour is perfect for them; others need to earn much more than that.

They want you to have the best quality, which means offering less for the money. By paying more you get better quality, so it works out to opt for that, right? If you’re unsure about why you should opt for someone offering less, contact them and ask for samples – most of us will be happy to do that.

So, don’t go for the cheapest gig and buy with care. Take your time to look at the ratings and the amount of gigs that a Fiverr seller has sold. Also, look out for the dodgy gigs (many of the SEO and link building ones)! More on that to come soon!