Fiverr Just Isn’t a Fiver Anymore: The Truth About Creating Fiverr Gigs

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“Fiverr isn’t a fiver anymore.”

That’s something that I’ve heard a few people complaining about. In most cases it is just from people who don’t really understand the truth behind creating Fiverr gigs and how to utilize extras. In a minority of cases it is people who just want the world for $5.

It’s worth understanding the idea behind the gig economy and all about the set up of extras. At the same time, I want to clarify something about the Fiverr setup.

Why Is Fiverr Called Fiverr?

Many people get the idea that Fiverr is for those who want something for just $5. Yes, there are gigs available for $5. In fact, everyone must have something that starts at $5 and be willing to do something for that one gig.

In the majority of cases, it will cost more to get more.

Fiverr is from $5. That is where the name comes from. When I joined the site three years ago, there were no gig extras or the ability to buy multiple gigs at the same time. People had to buy individual gigs to add up to the amount required. Now it is much easier.

What Will You Do for $5?

The art of creating Fiverr gigs comes from deciding what you will do for $5. Don’t worry about others right now. What are you willing to do?

When I started, I was willing to offer 500 words of original content for $5. That decreased over time and is at 400 words right now. From September it will be 350 words of original content for $5. Those who want more words, will need to pay extra.

It really depends on what you offer, but you need to think about the time it takes and any outgoing costs you have.

Build It Up From There

Once you have your base gig—the thing you will do for $5—you can build it up from there.

As an article writer, I decided I’d offer my time to search for a creative commons image and help with keyword research. Those tasks come at an extra cost because they take me more time to do.

Again, it depends on what you offer but have a good think about it. At first you won’t have access to the gig extras, but that doesn’t mean you can’t offer something. Add it to your gig description with a price breakdown. When you get access to extras (from Level One), you can then use them to add in your offers.

Fiverr Buyers: Don’t Expect Everything for a Fiver

Just because the site is called Fiverr doesn’t mean everything will cost just $5. The gigs are fromi $5, so you may need to spend more.

Think about the type of work you’re asking someone to do, and the time that it will take. With it being a multinational site, there will be people offering more for less. This isn’t always a good thing, but they may be perfect for your needs. It’s worth reading their descriptions, looking at samples and feedback and placing a test order.

Don’t expect hours of work for just $5. It’s not fair on the person doing the work! Would you work for that little?

“Fiverr isn’t a fiver anymore...”

It’s time to get that thought out of your head. It never was a fiver, but it has changed a little over the last 18 months or so. The site is growing and you may need to spend more.

Copyright Alexandria Ingham, 2014. All rights reserved.

Hate the New Advanced Fiverr Review System? Let Your Voices Be Heard!

Do you hate the new Fiverr review system? This is the 5-star system, and if you read the forums you’ll see that it is causing some major agro with sellers and buyers alike.

You see, people don’t like rating things 5 stars all the time. It devalues the 5-star rating, but that is seriously going to affect sellers who have done well with a thumbs up/thumbs down system for the past up to four or five years.

So, do you hate the new system? It’s time you let your voice be heard. Here are a few things you can do.

Let the Fiverr Staff Know

It’s time to let the Fiverr staff know about your hatred. You can do this publicly and privately—and I really suggest doing both. Send a message to the support staff, and get in touch on the Facebook and Twitter pages. You can also tell the staff on the forums and on the blog post.

The more you speak up about it, the more people are going to hear you. One voice isn’t enough, but if enough Fiverr sellers and buyers let their hatred be known then Fiverr will eventually start listening.

Suspend Your Gigs

If you’re a Fiverr seller, make an effort to suspend your gigs. Of course, one person doing it isn’t enough. This is why there is a day on July 1 organized for sellers to get together and do this as one. I’d prefer it to be a week, but not many sellers are willing to do that.

One day may not sound like much, but if every seller suspended their gigs for that day it would send a very clear and honest message to the Powers That Be.

Those who are willing to, suspend your gig for a whole week and show Fiverr just what you think about the new star rating system.

Stop Buying Gigs

Fiverr buyers have much more power, and you can really affect the Fiverr staff. Why not go a day, week or even month without buying anything on the site? It may affect you at first, but you may find that all the best sellers disappear because they are fed up of their voices not being heard. Then where would you be?

Make it clear to the Fiverr staff that you support the sellers, and you don’t agree with this new rating system.

It’s time to do something about it. Fiverr just isn’t listening right now, despite so many people being against it. It’s time to make it clear that you hate this system every way that you can. If we all band together, we can let Fiverr know that we want the thumbs up/thumbs down back.

What to Do When a Fiverr Buyer Wants to Cancel

Cancellations affect sellers negatively. While the Terms of Service state that mutual cancellations have no affect on ratings (which is true), they are still calculated into the cancellation percentage. That is shown on the profiles after a certain amount, and it can harm the chances of reaching levels and the Top Rated Seller status.

There are times that Fiverr buyers will request a cancellation. I’ve had plenty of them who have done this. However, recently I’ve managed to stop the cancellations and gain orders out of them.

Here’s what to do the next time a Fiverr buyer wants to cancel.

Ask for a Clear Reason

Most of the time you’ll just get an “ordered by mistake” message. That doesn’t tell you, as a Fiverr seller, what’s gone wrong. Is your gig description not clear or did the buyer accidentally order?

It’s important to talk to your buyer and ask for a clear reason. There are times that it is malicious, but there are other times that the buyer thinks they have ordered the wrong gig. They may not even realize that you offer multiple gigs and can cover their needs.

Once you get a clear reason—or lack of one if it is malicious—you can move onto the next step. If it is malicious, cancel and report the seller to Customer Support.

Discuss Project Requirements

If the buyer has ordered the wrong gig but you can do the request, talk about the requirements for his/her project. Discuss any limitations that you have on your gig, and share the relevant one in a message.

This will help you both determine if you can work together. Remember to remain polite and courteous at all times. You’re trying to turn this into a sale.

When to Cancel

There are times that you can’t offer the buyer anything he needs. If this is the case, make sure you accept the cancellation.

There are also times that the Fiverr buyer will just want to cancel and find a seller he/she wants to work with. Honor that cancellation and move on.

If you do ever get a vibe that a customer is going to be hard work, there is nothing wrong with choosing to cancel. This is especially the case if there has been an issue on a project, and you’re sure the buyer is just going to leave negative feedback. I’d do this if I hadn’t already started the work. Now that I have a highly positive reputation, I’m willing to take a negative hit from an unscrupulous buyer. But that is a personal choice.

Hopefully you won’t get too many Fiverr buyers wanting to cancel. But the good news is you can turn it into a good sale. I’ve had positive feedback from the ones I’ve managed to prevent cancelling. Good luck!

Did you find this blog post helpful? Please feel free to share it with your Fiverr friends and help them deal with Fiverr buyers who want to cancel.

What Should You Do With an Abusive Buyer or Seller on Fiverr?

While most buyers and sellers on Fiverr will conduct themselves with patience and professionalism, there are always one or two bad eggs in the bunch. Some of these buyers and sellers become abusive. They can use disgusting words and phrases, and even become threatening.

I’ve had to deal with buyers like this, and I see it on the Fiverr forum as more and more deal with these abusive people.  The question many people have is what can they do about it?

It really depends on whether you have a gig open with them or not. Here are a few options to handle an abusive buyer or seller on Fiverr.

When You Have an Open Fiverr Gig

The first thing I would do is cancel the gig. There’s just no point in dealing with someone like this. Yes, you may lose out on money, but isn’t that better than the stress and aggravation that comes from dealing with these people?

It will also help avoid the issue of getting negative feedback that isn’t justified removed, if you’re a Fiverr seller.

Remain polite and explain that you have done everything you can and would like to cancel. Make it clear that the work (if you have done any) is not theirs to keep, though. Otherwise you could lose your work and your money.

If the buyer/seller refuses then contact Customer Support to have the gig cancelled and explain your reasons carefully.

Without a Fiverr Gig Open

Sometimes, the communication happens in the messages. It may be someone who has previously left feedback and is now looking for something for free. Or you may be dealing with someone who hasn’t even placed an order yet.

The best thing you can do is report the abusive person to Customer Support. There are chances that the account will be blocked.

You can quickly report messages by hovering over the message and clicking the “report” button that appears. This will mean the buyer/seller can no longer contact you via messages too.

Don’t Feed the Troll

Always avoid feeding someone who is like this. He or she is playing on hurting your feelings and scaring you. Remain polite and ask them to stop contacting you, and that you will no longer reply to messages.

Eventually, the person will be so annoyed that you’ve stopped communicating back that he or she will stop. It does mean the person moves onto someone else though, so there is one more thing you can do.

Report the Fiverr Buyer or Seller to Customer Support

Always report the person to Fiverr Customer Support. There have been instances of the staff not doing anything, so you need to play dirty.

Include the part of the TOS that makes it clear this type of behavior is not tolerated on the site.

Here is the specific part that you want to copy into your messages:

“Posting or sending adult, illegal, rude, abusive, improper, copyright protected, promotional, spam, violent, nonsense or any uncool stuff is strictly prohibited. Doing so will get your account blocked permanently.”

I would bold the “abusive” and “violent” parts to make sure the staff member sees it.

You can go one step further by requesting that the matter is dealt with, and failure to deal with the matter means that Fiverr is breaking its own terms of service. I’ve used that line in the past for something else, and it lead to a change in the terms of service and apology from Fiverr.

Nobody should have to deal with an abusive buyer or seller on Fiverr, but unfortunately it does happen. Remain calm, and don’t rise to the person’s attempts. Stop communication and press the report button immediately.

Fiverr Gig Description Tips to Improve Sales

Your Fiverr gig description is the one thing you need to concentrate on. It’s the thing that tells buyers what they’re going to get for their money and what you’re not willing to do.

However, it’s really easy to miss out some essential parts of your description and it will lead to issues later. Here are some important tips to help your Fiverr gig description improve your sales and chances on the site.

Use the Characters!

You get 1,200 characters to use, so use them! I’ve seen far too many sellers have a short description and a block of text that is near impossible to read.

Your gig description needs to tell buyers just what they’re going to get for their money, what you can do and about your extras. It also needs to include your revision policy and anything you refuse to do. Use up the characters and go into as much detail as possible.

If you’re not sure about what to include in your gig description, here are the things buyers are looking out for.

Space Everything Out

Don’t put the text all in one clump. You need to space it out into paragraphs, include some bolding and highlighting, and make it as easy as possible for your buyers to read it. They’re not going to want to read your description, so break it all down easily and clearly.

Don’t give them a reason to skip past it and just order from you.

It’s really easy with Fiverr Version 2.

Make It Sell

Now it comes to the hardest part for some. You need to make it sell. You want buyers to find you and think you’re the best seller for their needs, and your Fiverr gig description does all that.

If you need help making your Fiverr gig description sell, check out my gig to help. For $5, I’ll look at much more than the description to improve your gig.

Do you have other tips to improve a Fiverr gig description? Share them in the comments below.