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Non native English speaking sellers

prroducer99plus

By prroducer99plus
in Tips from Sellers

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ldnarquitectura Enthusiast

ldnarquitectura

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I spend quite a bit of time just reading the forum. Everyday without fail, a seller posts a thread titled “No sale on Fiverr gig no interest buyer help”. Or some variation of that. After clicking the thread, reading the post, and reviewing their gig, the most prominent issue most of these sellers have is broken english.

I understand that Fiverr is a platform that a lot of people from different countries use a way to get income, because there are not a lot of employment opportunities in their environment. Not to mention, most buyers speak English and are from westernized nations. So they must market to that demographic to have the best chance at making money. So I always find it unfortunate that they get such a bad rap, and have such a difficult time here because they have such broken English.

I just wanted to make a thread with some things I think might help them. I know this is a lot of words for a non native speaker to read so I’ll keep it simple (*Note that any seller can benefit from these tips, not just foreigners):

  1. Have someone EDIT YOUR GIGS/DESCRIPTIONS!
  1. Have EXAMPLES of your work on your gig page.
  • Due to strong prejudice (which you can spot at anytime in the buyer requests) you are already operating at a disadvantage because people prefer to work with native speakers. However, you can combat this by having examples of your work on display to show them that you are a SERIOUS seller; not a desperate seller.
  • I would say to even have someone create a promo video for you if you have the funds. This is a service you can hire on fiverr through this link: https://www.fiverr.com/search/gigs?utf8=✓&source=top-bar&locale=en&search_in=everywhere&query=create+promo+video
  1. Utilize the buyer request page, BUT…
  • Most sellers tend to steer away from this area but you can benefit from working with buyers this way and gaining reviews. But here’s the thing, most buyers will steer clear if it is obvious you are not a native speaker (most who look past it tend to be scammers preying on these kinds of sellers). It’s always better to tailor your cover letter to that specific request, but in the case that your english isn’t good, you should definitely have one set, broad, in depth and descriptive cover letter you can copy paste to all your request responses. It is your best shot. You should also utilize tip #1 and have it written and revised for you. You can hire this service on fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/search/gigs?utf8=✓&source=top-bar&locale=en&search_in=everywhere&query=write+cover+letter
  1. Don’t be desperate…
  • Don’t message other sellers asking for work… don’t advertise your gig in the forums to other sellers… don’t send spam messages to buyers who have not reached out to you. This is a bad look and a good way to get reported, banned, and/or erase any chance you have at getting business. I know times are hard but don’t shoot yourself in the foot. Have some pride about yourself and your services. Let your work speak for itself and everything else will fall into place.
  1. Lastly, be consistent, and patient!
  • Getting your first order can take TIME. Reaching seller levels can take TIME. Becoming successful on Fiverr takes TIME. Don’t leave the site or pack up shop because you’ve been on fiverr for 16 hours and no one has thrown their money at you yet. If you give up so quickly you just might miss your blessing. BE PATIENT. DON’T GIVE UP.

I hope this helped somebody. Good luck to everyone.

I understand that Fiverr is a platform that a lot of people from different countries use a way to get income, because there are not a lot of employment opportunities in their environment. Not to mention, most buyers speak English and are from westernized nations. So they must market to that demographic to have the best chance at making money. So I always find it unfortunate that they get such a bad rap, and have such a difficult time here because they have such broken English.

Or because our current job do not pay us to live without problems in our countries…

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misscrystal Grand Master

misscrystal

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Edit: I have to agree with you on the broken English thing by the way, when it comes to writing. I can’t imagine paying for an article and it’s littered with errors.

I don’t think that having your gig page being readable is misleading.

Most whom need it have a good enough understanding of the language to communicate. Which is all they really need. However they still need to have a professional gig page. Spelling/grammatical errors on your gig page is not professional.

Just because your gig page isn’t in broken English, doesn’t mean that you are tricking the buyer… unless you don’t speak English AT ALL, there’s nothing wrong with it.

Just because your gig page isn’t in broken English, doesn’t mean that you are tricking the buyer

It means that you can’t write properly in English but do not want people to know that or they won’t buy your gig. So you have to pay someone to write your gig page for you, to lure in buyers who think that is how you write, not knowing you can’t write well.

The buyers only find out you can’t write correctly after they hire you to write something for them. Or they find out after they order something that the seller does not have a good command of English and it causes communication problems that the buyer had no way to know about beforehand.

I can imagine a buyer’s dismay and disappointment in these cases.

So they must market to that demographic to have the best chance at making money. So I always find it unfortunate that they get such a bad rap, and have such a difficult time here because they have such broken English.

I agree that it is sad for sellers who can’t communicate well in English but this is a business, not a charity.

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ldnarquitectura Enthusiast

ldnarquitectura

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Just because your gig page isn’t in broken English, doesn’t mean that you are tricking the buyer

It means that you can’t write properly in English but do not want people to know that or they won’t buy your gig. So you have to pay someone to write your gig page for you, to lure in buyers who think that is how you write, not knowing you can’t write well.

The buyers only find out you can’t write correctly after they hire you to write something for them. Or they find out after they order something that the seller does not have a good command of English and it causes communication problems that the buyer had no way to know about beforehand.

I can imagine a buyer’s dismay and disappointment in these cases.

So they must market to that demographic to have the best chance at making money. So I always find it unfortunate that they get such a bad rap, and have such a difficult time here because they have such broken English.

I agree that it is sad for sellers who can’t communicate well in English but this is a business, not a charity.

Sorry about my english as well. And of course! this is about business. But I did not said that quote…

It is really sad that we have to work after work!!!

But someday I think i will quite my actual job… And move on from my country. It is not just about money and business.

This is about to get a different style of life.

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prroducer99plus Newbie

prroducer99plus

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Just because your gig page isn’t in broken English, doesn’t mean that you are tricking the buyer

It means that you can’t write properly in English but do not want people to know that or they won’t buy your gig. So you have to pay someone to write your gig page for you, to lure in buyers who think that is how you write, not knowing you can’t write well.

The buyers only find out you can’t write correctly after they hire you to write something for them. Or they find out after they order something that the seller does not have a good command of English and it causes communication problems that the buyer had no way to know about beforehand.

I can imagine a buyer’s dismay and disappointment in these cases.

So they must market to that demographic to have the best chance at making money. So I always find it unfortunate that they get such a bad rap, and have such a difficult time here because they have such broken English.

I agree that it is sad for sellers who can’t communicate well in English but this is a business, not a charity.

Well that’s scenario based it doesn’t really counter act the point. Because really, if you can’t write well in english you shouldn’t have an english writing gig period. That’s a separate issue. But even if I were to say the buyer is “tricked” because the gig page has less grammatical errors than whatever message the seller sent, that’s far from something that we should care about. At least not more. The sellers need it more than the buyers will be negatively affect by it.

However, the problem that sellers have is not basic communication. Which is all that’s needed to complete a gig. The issue really arises when they are tasked with having to write a persuasive summary of their services, while covering all the bases so that there is no confusion on the buyers part. The most crucial part of the transaction here is when buyers are first reading the gig. They need to understand your services. They need to understand what you offer and don’t offer. They need to understand how you can help them while having their FAQs answered. And why YOU should be the one to help them and not the 100s of other sellers in your field.

That is why having clear and legible english on your gig page is important. Hiding the fact that you are not a native speaker is on the smaller side of things. It is a factor. For reasons such as discrimination, and not wanting to attract the attention of scammers who prey on sellers such as this. So it’s definitely a part of it, but not the biggest part of it.

At the end of the day, if the sale goes left, the buyer is protected because Fiverr will undoubtedly step in if there some crazy transaction ending language barrier. Not to mention if that seller can’t communicate, there would be no way for them to hire someone on here who can to edit. So that’s not a real concern. A seller’s protection, however, IS a real concern. Fiverr has no way to protect these sellers against scammers. Fiverr has no way to protect these sellers against discrimination. Not to mention, if these sellers were to ever get in a position where they could defend themselves, there’s no guarantee that they would get justice. Especially if their page is hard to understand, and a buyer demands services that you don’t offer, but sounds like you did because you typed it wrong.

If a buyer feels duped because the page was flawless, but the buyers responses has grammatical errors, that’s a buyer none of us wanted to deal with anyway. The real goal is to get the work done and get it right. Transaction successful. Not become ELA teachers. Sellers have to protect themselves because no one else will. Especially ones who are not native english speakers.

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misscrystal Grand Master

misscrystal

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Well that’s scenario based it doesn’t really counter act the point. Because really, if you can’t write well in english you shouldn’t have an english writing gig period. That’s a separate issue. But even if I were to say the buyer is “tricked” because the gig page has less grammatical errors than whatever message the seller sent, that’s far from something that we should care about. At least not more. The sellers need it more than the buyers will be negatively affect by it.

However, the problem that sellers have is not basic communication. Which is all that’s needed to complete a gig. The issue really arises when they are tasked with having to write a persuasive summary of their services, while covering all the bases so that there is no confusion on the buyers part. The most crucial part of the transaction here is when buyers are first reading the gig. They need to understand your services. They need to understand what you offer and don’t offer. They need to understand how you can help them while having their FAQs answered. And why YOU should be the one to help them and not the 100s of other sellers in your field.

That is why having clear and legible english on your gig page is important. Hiding the fact that you are not a native speaker is on the smaller side of things. It is a factor. For reasons such as discrimination, and not wanting to attract the attention of scammers who prey on sellers such as this. So it’s definitely a part of it, but not the biggest part of it.

At the end of the day, if the sale goes left, the buyer is protected because Fiverr will undoubtedly step in if there some crazy transaction ending language barrier. Not to mention if that seller can’t communicate, there would be no way for them to hire someone on here who can to edit. So that’s not a real concern. A seller’s protection, however, IS a real concern. Fiverr has no way to protect these sellers against scammers. Fiverr has no way to protect these sellers against discrimination. Not to mention, if these sellers were to ever get in a position where they could defend themselves, there’s no guarantee that they would get justice. Especially if their page is hard to understand, and a buyer demands services that you don’t offer, but sounds like you did because you typed it wrong.

If a buyer feels duped because the page was flawless, but the buyers responses has grammatical errors, that’s a buyer none of us wanted to deal with anyway. The real goal is to get the work done and get it right. Transaction successful. Not become ELA teachers. Sellers have to protect themselves because no one else will. Especially ones who are not native english speakers.

The issue really arises when they are tasked with having to write a persuasive summary of their services, while covering all the bases so that there is no confusion on the buyers part.

That is the tip of the iceberg and is part of the main problem that they cannot communicate well in English.

There is going to be lots of confusion on the buyer’s part when they order the gig and find out they are not able to communicate or understand anything with this seller.

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prroducer99plus Newbie

prroducer99plus

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The issue really arises when they are tasked with having to write a persuasive summary of their services, while covering all the bases so that there is no confusion on the buyers part.

That is the tip of the iceberg and is part of the main problem that they cannot communicate well in English.

There is going to be lots of confusion on the buyer’s part when they order the gig and find out they are not able to communicate or understand anything with this seller.

Yes but that’s extreme. If you can’t communicate then you can’t sell English gigs.

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carineb Proficient

carineb

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I spend quite a bit of time just reading the forum. Everyday without fail, a seller posts a thread titled “No sale on Fiverr gig no interest buyer help”. Or some variation of that. After clicking the thread, reading the post, and reviewing their gig, the most prominent issue most of these sellers have is broken english.

I understand that Fiverr is a platform that a lot of people from different countries use a way to get income, because there are not a lot of employment opportunities in their environment. Not to mention, most buyers speak English and are from westernized nations. So they must market to that demographic to have the best chance at making money. So I always find it unfortunate that they get such a bad rap, and have such a difficult time here because they have such broken English.

I just wanted to make a thread with some things I think might help them. I know this is a lot of words for a non native speaker to read so I’ll keep it simple (*Note that any seller can benefit from these tips, not just foreigners):

  1. Have someone EDIT YOUR GIGS/DESCRIPTIONS!
  1. Have EXAMPLES of your work on your gig page.
  • Due to strong prejudice (which you can spot at anytime in the buyer requests) you are already operating at a disadvantage because people prefer to work with native speakers. However, you can combat this by having examples of your work on display to show them that you are a SERIOUS seller; not a desperate seller.
  • I would say to even have someone create a promo video for you if you have the funds. This is a service you can hire on fiverr through this link: https://www.fiverr.com/search/gigs?utf8=✓&source=top-bar&locale=en&search_in=everywhere&query=create+promo+video
  1. Utilize the buyer request page, BUT…
  • Most sellers tend to steer away from this area but you can benefit from working with buyers this way and gaining reviews. But here’s the thing, most buyers will steer clear if it is obvious you are not a native speaker (most who look past it tend to be scammers preying on these kinds of sellers). It’s always better to tailor your cover letter to that specific request, but in the case that your english isn’t good, you should definitely have one set, broad, in depth and descriptive cover letter you can copy paste to all your request responses. It is your best shot. You should also utilize tip #1 and have it written and revised for you. You can hire this service on fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/search/gigs?utf8=✓&source=top-bar&locale=en&search_in=everywhere&query=write+cover+letter
  1. Don’t be desperate…
  • Don’t message other sellers asking for work… don’t advertise your gig in the forums to other sellers… don’t send spam messages to buyers who have not reached out to you. This is a bad look and a good way to get reported, banned, and/or erase any chance you have at getting business. I know times are hard but don’t shoot yourself in the foot. Have some pride about yourself and your services. Let your work speak for itself and everything else will fall into place.
  1. Lastly, be consistent, and patient!
  • Getting your first order can take TIME. Reaching seller levels can take TIME. Becoming successful on Fiverr takes TIME. Don’t leave the site or pack up shop because you’ve been on fiverr for 16 hours and no one has thrown their money at you yet. If you give up so quickly you just might miss your blessing. BE PATIENT. DON’T GIVE UP.

I hope this helped somebody. Good luck to everyone.

Have someone EDIT YOUR GIGS/DESCRIPTIONS!

A few weeks ago I was about to pay someone to rewrite my gigs but finally I decided to leave my gig with my “french touch” and my very personal broken english. My difference here is that I am a french native and my opinion is that people want to be sure that I am a real french native. As I can’t give them my ID card I show them my broken english 😂

PS :

I agree with what you have written (I’m just an exception with strange ideas)

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prroducer99plus Newbie

prroducer99plus

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Have someone EDIT YOUR GIGS/DESCRIPTIONS!

A few weeks ago I was about to pay someone to rewrite my gigs but finally I decided to leave my gig with my “french touch” and my very personal broken english. My difference here is that I am a french native and my opinion is that people want to be sure that I am a real french native. As I can’t give them my ID card I show them my broken english 😂

PS :

I agree with what you have written (I’m just an exception with strange ideas)

I get what you mean. It can work in your favor too depending on the gig hehe

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vira_lanka19871 Contributor

vira_lanka19871

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Its a nightmare when it comes to bad communicative english.Its even worse when you find that your buyer is not really good at english when you are halfway through the project and he cant explain the revisions or adjustments because of low language skills.so i suggest we all should know a buyers communication skills before starting anything. :):roll_eyes:

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prroducer99plus Newbie

prroducer99plus

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Its a nightmare when it comes to bad communicative english.Its even worse when you find that your buyer is not really good at english when you are halfway through the project and he cant explain the revisions or adjustments because of low language skills.so i suggest we all should know a buyers communication skills before starting anything. :):roll_eyes:

But if the buyer can’t communicate, the buyer shouldn’t be selling english products. That’s not what I referring to. I said that these sellers usually have good enough english to communicate. But their gig pages are a mess when they start typing large paragraphs and the grammar is a mess.

If you’re a buyer who is fluent in english, and you purchase from a buyer like this, you can understand what they are saying. We always do. Which is why they are able to post in the forum. Which is why we are able to review their gigs. But broken english all over your gig page can be seen as unprofessional by most buyers. In the communication process there is a looser tongue accepted.

edit: I also just remembered that a sellers language level is displayed on their gig/page.

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gina_riley2 Veteran

gina_riley2

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But if the buyer can’t communicate, the buyer shouldn’t be selling english products. That’s not what I referring to. I said that these sellers usually have good enough english to communicate. But their gig pages are a mess when they start typing large paragraphs and the grammar is a mess.

If you’re a buyer who is fluent in english, and you purchase from a buyer like this, you can understand what they are saying. We always do. Which is why they are able to post in the forum. Which is why we are able to review their gigs. But broken english all over your gig page can be seen as unprofessional by most buyers. In the communication process there is a looser tongue accepted.

edit: I also just remembered that a sellers language level is displayed on their gig/page.

I said that these sellers usually have good enough english to communicate

Agree. I work with a seller in South America who does excellent illustration. We are able to communicate and no problem getting excellent product.

The unfortunate thing is you’d be amazed at the number of article writers and proofreaders that have atrocious writing. I was recently fooled by one. His gig page/profile was flawless, our communication was decent. The end product was shocking. It was so bad, I’m not even sure where to start. It was a $30 gig not a $5 one.

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prroducer99plus Newbie

prroducer99plus

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I said that these sellers usually have good enough english to communicate

Agree. I work with a seller in South America who does excellent illustration. We are able to communicate and no problem getting excellent product.

The unfortunate thing is you’d be amazed at the number of article writers and proofreaders that have atrocious writing. I was recently fooled by one. His gig page/profile was flawless, our communication was decent. The end product was shocking. It was so bad, I’m not even sure where to start. It was a $30 gig not a $5 one.

That seller is ridiculous and shouldn’t be doing writing gigs period. I wouldn’t fault every buyer because of this individual though.

Did his profile say he was fluent in english?

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gina_riley2 Veteran

gina_riley2

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That seller is ridiculous and shouldn’t be doing writing gigs period. I wouldn’t fault every buyer because of this individual though.

Did his profile say he was fluent in english?

Yes. His entire page was extremely well written. No doubt someone else wrote it for him. 😞

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