[solved] What's your experience with asking "street prices"?

[mymaha786]

Well excuse me but the way it works is we can respond to anyone on the forum.

I’m sure there are some exceptions with some making Fiverr their sole source of income.

Really? :roll_eyes:

[misscrystal]

I take it Fiverr is your sole source of income :roll_eyes:

[mymaha786]

I said I work here about ten hours a day seven days a week so I HOPE so :rofl:

[viennadesign]

I said I work here about ten hours a day seven days a week so I HOPE so :rofl:

I said I work here about ten hours a day seven days a week so I HOPE so :rofl:

really? 😮

[misscrystal]

I said I work here about ten hours a day seven days a week so I HOPE so :rofl:

really? 😮

I thought I mentioned that. Yes I stay busy. I included time I spend casting spells in that. I thought most entrepreneurs work that much routinely.

[viennadesign]

I thought I mentioned that. Yes I stay busy. I included time I spend casting spells in that. I thought most entrepreneurs work that much routinely.

Holy carp! Make sure you don’t get a burn out. 70 hour weeks are not really healthy.

[misscrystal]

Holy carp! Make sure you don’t get a burn out. 70 hour weeks are not really healthy.

It’s not that unusual for successful Amercican entrepreneurs I assure you.

I’ve done this for many years. Fiverr makes it so easy. No more problems with websites, payment processors, seo, all of that. I love what I do.

[viennadesign]

It’s not that unusual for successful Amercican entrepreneurs I assure you.

I’ve done this for many years. Fiverr makes it so easy. No more problems with websites, payment processors, seo, all of that. I love what I do.

It’s not that unusual for successful Amercican entrepreneurs I assure you.

I don’t doubt that, but usually that success comes with a price. Don’t get me wrong, but at that rate of work you should make at least $250.000 a year. More like $300.000 since you did this for many years and can ask for a senior rate.

I don’t work 70 hours a month. Because that would mean i would make around 6k per month - which i neither do nor want to do. I rather have my free time.

[misscrystal]

It’s not that unusual for successful Amercican entrepreneurs I assure you.

I don’t doubt that, but usually that success comes with a price. Don’t get me wrong, but at that rate of work you should make at least $250.000 a year. More like $300.000 since you did this for many years and can ask for a senior rate.

I don’t work 70 hours a month. Because that would mean i would make around 6k per month - which i neither do nor want to do. I rather have my free time.

Ok then I will stop feeling quite so great about what I do here and start feeling bad at your suggestions. I’m kidding, sorry you don’t think I’m doing too well. Have a great new year and wishing you the best on fiverr!

[viennadesign]

Ok then I will stop feeling quite so great about what I do here and start feeling bad at your suggestions. I’m kidding, sorry you don’t think I’m doing too well. Have a great new year and wishing you the best on fiverr!

No, i think you are doing very well. I’m just concerned you might get a burn out at that rate. But that is your choice really.

[misscrystal]

No, i think you are doing very well. I’m just concerned you might get a burn out at that rate. But that is your choice really.

This is the only kind of burnout I’m doing from this thread. It was fun chatting with you btw:

[paulmaplesden]

Why keep telling people

Because people ask me and i feel like i want to answer them - just like you did right now. Btw.: i’m not trying to say that Fiverr is bad - and i’m sorry if i made that impression. I’m discussing the pros and cons of the opportunities. experienced Fiverr users tell me their side and i tell them my side. Nothing wrong about that imho

You think that all you do to start your own company is get a website and do some SEO, and get the friends of your clients to hire you, and you’re in business with a steady income and regular clients? It doesn’t work that way so easily for most people.

Well, that is what i am doing for a job. So, i know it works. And i know it works for anyone with a computer and internet. Btw.: Fiverr is nothing else than a google for gigs - so, it doesn’t really make that much of a difference if you build your network here or on any other business dedicated website - maybe linkedin, google for business, ect. - they all focus on bringing you customers, although most give you more freedom in doing so.

Fiverr is nothing else than a google for gigs

It is much, much more than that. In fact, I covered off why Fiverr is awesome, and why i have no problem paying 20% commission in a blog post I wrote for Fiverr. You can read it here:

http://blog.fiverr.com/so-how-and-why-does-fiverr-commission-work-anyway/

I think this explains pretty well why many of us love the platform, despite the commissions and limitations. The benefits and additional revenue far outweigh those things, at least for me.

That said, I do believe that Fiverr works best as one part of a freelancer’s revenue stream - I am a strong believer in diversifying risk and income.

[scottwaltonvo]

I read this whole thread but didn’t see where anyone said that Fiverr has its own built in traffic of clients who are already wanting to spend money and purchase your service. A lot of the money you spend on marketing and advertising is used just trying to find those customers. The last time I checked, Fiverr was the 11th most trafficked website in the world that is full of people who don’t need to be wooed into spending their money. I think that is well worth 20%.

I don’t see why you can’t do both. Build your Fiverr business AND build your non-Fiverr business as well. That’s what I plan on doing.

[eoinfinnegan]

@eoinfinnegan one question: you are a SEO expert - wouldn’t it make more sense to use your skill to bring your own company up on google and draw customers that way? From what your Gig says, you ask for 870€ per gig, meaning you pay Fiverr 174€ per gig. So, let’s say you do 1 gig per week - that means you pay 696€ to Fiverr per month or 9048€ per year - that is a healthy Ads budget right there. You really think you can’t find a better way to invest that money into your own company? I’m curious about that, because i’m a SMO guy, not a SEO guy (well, a bit, but SMO is really my thing).

About your question: Friends of Friends could be Facebook - which is a great place for that, because nothing sells better than friends who like you. But it is generally called Word of Mouth and can work in any medium, like Mail, Landing Page, Flyers, Events, Calls, you name it. I made some pretty successful offline campaigns for my customers. Like “Bring a Friend, get X% off” worked great for a family focused business. Also Affiliate is a form of that. Which also can work in many forms offline. I don’t think i could do any of that on Fiverr.

Like @paulmaplesden said, to make Fiverr work, i would have to charge more than my street price to make up for what Fiverr charges. Because doing anything else would mean i am actively loosing money, not making it. So, in order to not loose money on Fiverr i would have to charge 90€ per hour - which is ok for B2B - but i’m not sure the Bs, who pay 90€ per hour, are looking on Fiverr most of the time. But more importantly:

Fiverr is so avid about keeping customers from making deals with me outside of Fiverr that they will actively prevent me from bringing my reputation onto this platform, because, even though i can connect my Social Accounts to their page, they will hide my social accounts from people here. So they get all of my data, but i can’t use my Rep to make money here. Meaning two things really: a) i have to start from zero to build my Rep here, which i will not own ever, because i have no access to the customer data aka network and b) if you ever quit Fiverr you are left with nothing at all. No database, no customers, no leads, no Rep, no network - because they own all of it. And, as any good business (wo)man will tell you: the network is where the money is. I’m not even sure if it would be allowed to sell your account if you leave - probably not - which again means you are loosing money. Going with the example of one of your gig’s per week again, that would be around 143.000€ worth of a network that you could sell at retirement. Which you probably can’t because you don’t own it - Fiverr owns it. (as i said, i’m not sure you could sell your account - maybe you can).

So, let’s say you do 1 gig per week - that means you pay 696€ to Fiverr per month or 9048€ per year - that is a healthy Ads budget right there. You really think you can’t find a better way to invest that money into your own company?

Yes, it would be a healthy ads budget but as a marketer yourself, what return on that investment would be good in your opinion? I know people who use Google ads for local service type business consider 2-2.5 times ROI a good campaign. Well when I look at the money that goes to Fiverr as my ads budget then I actually make a profit of 4 times what is invested with absolutely no risk of losing money through running “a bad campaign” that just didnt work.

to make Fiverr work, i would have to charge more than my street price to make up for what Fiverr charges.

I’m not sure Paul said that but if he did then he is wrong. How much time would you invest in order to gain an off-Fiverr client? Are you calculating that time into your working week? What is your total cost of sales if you allow your hourly rate of $80 for all the time you invest that is not billable? The 20% paid to Fiverr is the only cost of sales here. There might be a little of over and back with a client pre-sale but in general this is minimal. I would say 80-90% of my time is spent on billable work rather than the 50-50 split that I get from off Fiverr sales. That is a large difference and as I grow my regular client base, that % is getting larger.

To summarize, if you charge $80 an hour but have a 50-50 split in billable/non-billable work you do then in actual fact you are earning $40 an hour.

Anyway, my services which are paused atm due to being overbooked are digital and offline marketing and SEO consultations so I won’t lose any sleep if everyone offering similar thinks the way you do, leaves more for me 😃

[paulmaplesden]

So, let’s say you do 1 gig per week - that means you pay 696€ to Fiverr per month or 9048€ per year - that is a healthy Ads budget right there. You really think you can’t find a better way to invest that money into your own company?

Yes, it would be a healthy ads budget but as a marketer yourself, what return on that investment would be good in your opinion? I know people who use Google ads for local service type business consider 2-2.5 times ROI a good campaign. Well when I look at the money that goes to Fiverr as my ads budget then I actually make a profit of 4 times what is invested with absolutely no risk of losing money through running “a bad campaign” that just didnt work.

to make Fiverr work, i would have to charge more than my street price to make up for what Fiverr charges.

I’m not sure Paul said that but if he did then he is wrong. How much time would you invest in order to gain an off-Fiverr client? Are you calculating that time into your working week? What is your total cost of sales if you allow your hourly rate of $80 for all the time you invest that is not billable? The 20% paid to Fiverr is the only cost of sales here. There might be a little of over and back with a client pre-sale but in general this is minimal. I would say 80-90% of my time is spent on billable work rather than the 50-50 split that I get from off Fiverr sales. That is a large difference and as I grow my regular client base, that % is getting larger.

To summarize, if you charge $80 an hour but have a 50-50 split in billable/non-billable work you do then in actual fact you are earning $40 an hour.

Anyway, my services which are paused atm due to being overbooked are digital and offline marketing and SEO consultations so I won’t lose any sleep if everyone offering similar thinks the way you do, leaves more for me 😃

I’m not sure Paul said that but if he did then he is wrong.

Just to clarify - what I said was is that I charge 15% more to clients to do work through Fiverr than I do if I am working with clients privately. I do that because I am in the fortunate position of having far more offers of work than I do time to complete it, so I can pick and choose.

That means ensuring prices are equivalent across the board (the reason I charge 15% more is because private payments processing costs me 3%, which Fiverr does not charge me). I can then fairly balance Fiverr work vs. private client work.

That said, if I were not so busy, I would be happy lowering my prices so that my Fiverr and private prices were equivalent. As I mention in the blog post I link below, the benefits provided by Fiverr far outweigh the 20% commission I pay. In fact, the ability to easily adjust rates up and down to control demand is another excellent service for Fiverr sellers.

In other words, I raise my prices because of supply and demand, not because of the platform - my opinion also remains that Fiverr is by far the best platform for finding and creating freelance work, for the same reasons I covered in my blog post about it.

http://blog.fiverr.com/so-how-and-why-does-fiverr-commission-work-anyway/

[viennadesign]

So, let’s say you do 1 gig per week - that means you pay 696€ to Fiverr per month or 9048€ per year - that is a healthy Ads budget right there. You really think you can’t find a better way to invest that money into your own company?

Yes, it would be a healthy ads budget but as a marketer yourself, what return on that investment would be good in your opinion? I know people who use Google ads for local service type business consider 2-2.5 times ROI a good campaign. Well when I look at the money that goes to Fiverr as my ads budget then I actually make a profit of 4 times what is invested with absolutely no risk of losing money through running “a bad campaign” that just didnt work.

to make Fiverr work, i would have to charge more than my street price to make up for what Fiverr charges.

I’m not sure Paul said that but if he did then he is wrong. How much time would you invest in order to gain an off-Fiverr client? Are you calculating that time into your working week? What is your total cost of sales if you allow your hourly rate of $80 for all the time you invest that is not billable? The 20% paid to Fiverr is the only cost of sales here. There might be a little of over and back with a client pre-sale but in general this is minimal. I would say 80-90% of my time is spent on billable work rather than the 50-50 split that I get from off Fiverr sales. That is a large difference and as I grow my regular client base, that % is getting larger.

To summarize, if you charge $80 an hour but have a 50-50 split in billable/non-billable work you do then in actual fact you are earning $40 an hour.

Anyway, my services which are paused atm due to being overbooked are digital and offline marketing and SEO consultations so I won’t lose any sleep if everyone offering similar thinks the way you do, leaves more for me 😃

I know people who use Google ads for local service type business consider 2-2.5 times ROI a good campaign.

That is actually a very interesting point. One that is kind of hard to answer, because it depends on a lot of factors. Google Ads for example mainly aim for new customers that have probably no knowledge of your business, so you have no Rep to build on. it’s basically the online version of an automated cold call. And cold calling is the most difficult with the lowest rates of return. That’s why i am not that much into SEO and google ads. Also, and that is the more important element: are we talking about one time customers or are we talking about trying to convert them into regular customers. Because for one time that rate might be true, but for return customers the rate is rather 1/10 or 1/20.

Her is an example: i would guess that my customer acquisition cost is around 150-250€ per customer. An the first sale is in most cases a small one. So the rate would be 1/1 and i make nothing at all. BUT 80% of the time i convert them into regular customers for years, so the rate is easy 1/15 or 1/20 or even 1/endless since they stay my customers for many years. Keep in mind that a) that customer acquisition cost is a virtual number, because i do my own marketing and that’s free anyways and b) i only have to pay that once and then not only have that customer, but also all his/her metrics - which are very very important for any business. For example, if i do a CD cover it make a hell of a price difference if it is a local band with 5 fans or a international artist with 500.000 fans. The licensing is totally different and the cost is way way higher for the 500.000 fans artist, because he/she is using it differently. (they wouldn’t charge the same for 5 playbacks over 500.000 playbacks of their song either)

To summarize, if you charge $80 an hour but have a 50-50 split in billable/non-billable work you do then in actual fact you are earning $40 an hour.

Another very good point. Which is true! But also keep in mind that even on Fiverr you need to communicate with your customers. So that 50/50 probably doesn’t change that much. Also, since consulting is part of my job also, i charge my customers for that time too. So it goes down to maybe 70/30 or 80/20. Plus, and that is the cool thing, there are a lot of services that take me no time, but would take the customer a lot of time, where i can charge for the service instead of the time. Like setting up a newsletter account is around 99€. Takes me maybe 10 minutes, because i know what i am doing and saves them hours.

I can then fairly balance Fiverr work vs. private client work.

I would be very interested to see how you rate the importance of a customer network for your business. It’s probably different for each business and i don’t know if you work on a per-contract basis or rather cater to regular customers. But building up the rep and connections for a successful business takes years. So don’t you mind not owning that yourself? And a second question if i may: what about the licensing fees for your work? I assume that writing for the Times would cost more than writing for a small local paper - i might be wrong about that.

[paulmaplesden]

I know people who use Google ads for local service type business consider 2-2.5 times ROI a good campaign.

That is actually a very interesting point. One that is kind of hard to answer, because it depends on a lot of factors. Google Ads for example mainly aim for new customers that have probably no knowledge of your business, so you have no Rep to build on. it’s basically the online version of an automated cold call. And cold calling is the most difficult with the lowest rates of return. That’s why i am not that much into SEO and google ads. Also, and that is the more important element: are we talking about one time customers or are we talking about trying to convert them into regular customers. Because for one time that rate might be true, but for return customers the rate is rather 1/10 or 1/20.

Her is an example: i would guess that my customer acquisition cost is around 150-250€ per customer. An the first sale is in most cases a small one. So the rate would be 1/1 and i make nothing at all. BUT 80% of the time i convert them into regular customers for years, so the rate is easy 1/15 or 1/20 or even 1/endless since they stay my customers for many years. Keep in mind that a) that customer acquisition cost is a virtual number, because i do my own marketing and that’s free anyways and b) i only have to pay that once and then not only have that customer, but also all his/her metrics - which are very very important for any business. For example, if i do a CD cover it make a hell of a price difference if it is a local band with 5 fans or a international artist with 500.000 fans. The licensing is totally different and the cost is way way higher for the 500.000 fans artist, because he/she is using it differently. (they wouldn’t charge the same for 5 playbacks over 500.000 playbacks of their song either)

To summarize, if you charge $80 an hour but have a 50-50 split in billable/non-billable work you do then in actual fact you are earning $40 an hour.

Another very good point. Which is true! But also keep in mind that even on Fiverr you need to communicate with your customers. So that 50/50 probably doesn’t change that much. Also, since consulting is part of my job also, i charge my customers for that time too. So it goes down to maybe 70/30 or 80/20. Plus, and that is the cool thing, there are a lot of services that take me no time, but would take the customer a lot of time, where i can charge for the service instead of the time. Like setting up a newsletter account is around 99€. Takes me maybe 10 minutes, because i know what i am doing and saves them hours.

I can then fairly balance Fiverr work vs. private client work.

I would be very interested to see how you rate the importance of a customer network for your business. It’s probably different for each business and i don’t know if you work on a per-contract basis or rather cater to regular customers. But building up the rep and connections for a successful business takes years. So don’t you mind not owning that yourself? And a second question if i may: what about the licensing fees for your work? I assume that writing for the Times would cost more than writing for a small local paper - i might be wrong about that.

I would be very interested to see how you rate the importance of a customer network for your business. It’s probably different for each business and i don’t know if you work on a per-contract basis or rather cater to regular customers. But building up the rep and connections for a successful business takes years. So don’t you mind not owning that yourself? And a second question if i may: what about the licensing fees for your work? I assume that writing for the Times would cost more than writing for a small local paper - i might be wrong about that.

For me, I have ongoing clients outside Fiverr, mainly marketing agencies. I do not use social media at all for my business, and building a customer network is not high on my list of priorities. Clients tend to find me either through my personal website (I have pretty good SEO) or on Fiverr. They then tend to stick with me.

To me personally, there is not much advantage in owning my own customer network - I realize it is different for different businesses, but my pipeline is full without it. (I estimate I have been on vacation mode for roughly half the time I have been on Fiverr because I cannot accept more work). So, I have other methods of marketing (SEO, Fiverr) that don’t require a customer network or social media.

I don’t charge licensing fees at all - it’s simply a fixed amount based on the complexity and length of the work the client needs. I don’t charge big clients more or small clients less - I know how much I value my time at, and know how much I need to work to earn my desired income.

I realize I could move to value-based pricing, but that is a lot of work - and I already earn more than enough money to live comfortably, save money, and have a good quality of life. (Even with some big spends on my home, car, and healthcare premiums in 2017, myself and my wife finished the year around $45K better off than when we started it - most of that went into retirement funding or was given to charities…)

I am happy enough that I am not planning on changing much about the platforms I work on, how I charge, or my client mix. My clients are happy, I am happy, I have emergency funds and a good cash flow, I do not fear the future. I think that’s all I can ask for as a freelancer, and that’s fine with me.

[viennadesign]

I would be very interested to see how you rate the importance of a customer network for your business. It’s probably different for each business and i don’t know if you work on a per-contract basis or rather cater to regular customers. But building up the rep and connections for a successful business takes years. So don’t you mind not owning that yourself? And a second question if i may: what about the licensing fees for your work? I assume that writing for the Times would cost more than writing for a small local paper - i might be wrong about that.

For me, I have ongoing clients outside Fiverr, mainly marketing agencies. I do not use social media at all for my business, and building a customer network is not high on my list of priorities. Clients tend to find me either through my personal website (I have pretty good SEO) or on Fiverr. They then tend to stick with me.

To me personally, there is not much advantage in owning my own customer network - I realize it is different for different businesses, but my pipeline is full without it. (I estimate I have been on vacation mode for roughly half the time I have been on Fiverr because I cannot accept more work). So, I have other methods of marketing (SEO, Fiverr) that don’t require a customer network or social media.

I don’t charge licensing fees at all - it’s simply a fixed amount based on the complexity and length of the work the client needs. I don’t charge big clients more or small clients less - I know how much I value my time at, and know how much I need to work to earn my desired income.

I realize I could move to value-based pricing, but that is a lot of work - and I already earn more than enough money to live comfortably, save money, and have a good quality of life. (Even with some big spends on my home, car, and healthcare premiums in 2017, myself and my wife finished the year around $45K better off than when we started it - most of that went into retirement funding or was given to charities…)

I am happy enough that I am not planning on changing much about the platforms I work on, how I charge, or my client mix. My clients are happy, I am happy, I have emergency funds and a good cash flow, I do not fear the future. I think that’s all I can ask for as a freelancer, and that’s fine with me.

@paulmaplesden

Thank you for that answer. That is very interesting to me. I would have thought that value-based pricing is very important for publishing. equally i would have assumed that the network in your case i really key, since it’s hard to get into the big agencies and publishing houses. But if you are blessed with both that is wonderful. 🙂

[misscrystal]

I know people who use Google ads for local service type business consider 2-2.5 times ROI a good campaign.

That is actually a very interesting point. One that is kind of hard to answer, because it depends on a lot of factors. Google Ads for example mainly aim for new customers that have probably no knowledge of your business, so you have no Rep to build on. it’s basically the online version of an automated cold call. And cold calling is the most difficult with the lowest rates of return. That’s why i am not that much into SEO and google ads. Also, and that is the more important element: are we talking about one time customers or are we talking about trying to convert them into regular customers. Because for one time that rate might be true, but for return customers the rate is rather 1/10 or 1/20.

Her is an example: i would guess that my customer acquisition cost is around 150-250€ per customer. An the first sale is in most cases a small one. So the rate would be 1/1 and i make nothing at all. BUT 80% of the time i convert them into regular customers for years, so the rate is easy 1/15 or 1/20 or even 1/endless since they stay my customers for many years. Keep in mind that a) that customer acquisition cost is a virtual number, because i do my own marketing and that’s free anyways and b) i only have to pay that once and then not only have that customer, but also all his/her metrics - which are very very important for any business. For example, if i do a CD cover it make a hell of a price difference if it is a local band with 5 fans or a international artist with 500.000 fans. The licensing is totally different and the cost is way way higher for the 500.000 fans artist, because he/she is using it differently. (they wouldn’t charge the same for 5 playbacks over 500.000 playbacks of their song either)

To summarize, if you charge $80 an hour but have a 50-50 split in billable/non-billable work you do then in actual fact you are earning $40 an hour.

Another very good point. Which is true! But also keep in mind that even on Fiverr you need to communicate with your customers. So that 50/50 probably doesn’t change that much. Also, since consulting is part of my job also, i charge my customers for that time too. So it goes down to maybe 70/30 or 80/20. Plus, and that is the cool thing, there are a lot of services that take me no time, but would take the customer a lot of time, where i can charge for the service instead of the time. Like setting up a newsletter account is around 99€. Takes me maybe 10 minutes, because i know what i am doing and saves them hours.

I can then fairly balance Fiverr work vs. private client work.

I would be very interested to see how you rate the importance of a customer network for your business. It’s probably different for each business and i don’t know if you work on a per-contract basis or rather cater to regular customers. But building up the rep and connections for a successful business takes years. So don’t you mind not owning that yourself? And a second question if i may: what about the licensing fees for your work? I assume that writing for the Times would cost more than writing for a small local paper - i might be wrong about that.

Google Ads for example mainly aim for new customers that have probably no knowledge of your business

When I go to a certain shopping site, for instance Nordstrom’s, and look at handbags, google ads presents me with an ad from Nordstrom’s with pictures of the handbags I was looking at. Google ads is highly targeted.

I’ve seen them show me ads for fiverr, Amazon, Home Depot, and basically any site I have been on and spent time on.

[newsmike]

so what is your incentive for being here, instead of finding your own customers, if they pay triple?

so what is your incentive for being here

If you were charging street prices, you would likely also be paying rent, web hosting and design, advertising/marketing and 3-5% to Mastercard/Visa/AmEx as well.

[eoinfinnegan]

I know people who use Google ads for local service type business consider 2-2.5 times ROI a good campaign.

That is actually a very interesting point. One that is kind of hard to answer, because it depends on a lot of factors. Google Ads for example mainly aim for new customers that have probably no knowledge of your business, so you have no Rep to build on. it’s basically the online version of an automated cold call. And cold calling is the most difficult with the lowest rates of return. That’s why i am not that much into SEO and google ads. Also, and that is the more important element: are we talking about one time customers or are we talking about trying to convert them into regular customers. Because for one time that rate might be true, but for return customers the rate is rather 1/10 or 1/20.

Her is an example: i would guess that my customer acquisition cost is around 150-250€ per customer. An the first sale is in most cases a small one. So the rate would be 1/1 and i make nothing at all. BUT 80% of the time i convert them into regular customers for years, so the rate is easy 1/15 or 1/20 or even 1/endless since they stay my customers for many years. Keep in mind that a) that customer acquisition cost is a virtual number, because i do my own marketing and that’s free anyways and b) i only have to pay that once and then not only have that customer, but also all his/her metrics - which are very very important for any business. For example, if i do a CD cover it make a hell of a price difference if it is a local band with 5 fans or a international artist with 500.000 fans. The licensing is totally different and the cost is way way higher for the 500.000 fans artist, because he/she is using it differently. (they wouldn’t charge the same for 5 playbacks over 500.000 playbacks of their song either)

To summarize, if you charge $80 an hour but have a 50-50 split in billable/non-billable work you do then in actual fact you are earning $40 an hour.

Another very good point. Which is true! But also keep in mind that even on Fiverr you need to communicate with your customers. So that 50/50 probably doesn’t change that much. Also, since consulting is part of my job also, i charge my customers for that time too. So it goes down to maybe 70/30 or 80/20. Plus, and that is the cool thing, there are a lot of services that take me no time, but would take the customer a lot of time, where i can charge for the service instead of the time. Like setting up a newsletter account is around 99€. Takes me maybe 10 minutes, because i know what i am doing and saves them hours.

I can then fairly balance Fiverr work vs. private client work.

I would be very interested to see how you rate the importance of a customer network for your business. It’s probably different for each business and i don’t know if you work on a per-contract basis or rather cater to regular customers. But building up the rep and connections for a successful business takes years. So don’t you mind not owning that yourself? And a second question if i may: what about the licensing fees for your work? I assume that writing for the Times would cost more than writing for a small local paper - i might be wrong about that.

it’s basically the online version of an automated cold call

That’s completely untrue. While Facebook Ads would be relatively like cold calling, Google ads is showing an ad to someone who has searched for or shown interest in that service/product which is completely different to cold calling. The same is true of SEO, showing up high in organic search results is extremely effective and moving from page 2 to page 1 or from position 5 to position 1 is likely to transform a business exponentially. Respectfully, for a marketing expert to dismiss SEO and Google Ads (responsible for $80bn in advertising in 2016) is extremely surprising!

keep in mind that even on Fiverr you need to communicate with your customers. So that 50/50 probably doesn’t change that much

As I said in my previous comment, it completely changes and in saying that, you contradict what you said previously about acquisition cost only being paid once.

Anyway, I’m not going to attempt to increase competition on Fiverr by showing you any more reasons to stay here. It has been an interesting discussion though so thanks for that.

[viennadesign]

Google Ads for example mainly aim for new customers that have probably no knowledge of your business

When I go to a certain shopping site, for instance Nordstrom’s, and look at handbags, google ads presents me with an ad from Nordstrom’s with pictures of the handbags I was looking at. Google ads is highly targeted.

I’ve seen them show me ads for fiverr, Amazon, Home Depot, and basically any site I have been on and spent time on.

When I go to a certain shopping site, for instance Nordstrom’s, and look at handbags, google ads presents me with an ad from Nordstrom’s with pictures of the handbags I was looking at. Google ads is highly targeted.

Yes, if you are Nordstrom - but most people don’t own internationally recognizable brands. So if Google shows the ad of a small company, most people will not know who they are. So, while it is target (in the case of your example by a tracking pixel), in most cases it still addresses a new customer. However if you would set the tracking pixel on a page deeper within your website, like the page where you ask for payment, the customer would be deeper inside the sales funnel and not really a cold call anymore.

[misscrystal]

When I go to a certain shopping site, for instance Nordstrom’s, and look at handbags, google ads presents me with an ad from Nordstrom’s with pictures of the handbags I was looking at. Google ads is highly targeted.

Yes, if you are Nordstrom - but most people don’t own internationally recognizable brands. So if Google shows the ad of a small company, most people will not know who they are. So, while it is target (in the case of your example by a tracking pixel), in most cases it still addresses a new customer. However if you would set the tracking pixel on a page deeper within your website, like the page where you ask for payment, the customer would be deeper inside the sales funnel and not really a cold call anymore.

I’ve been shown ads for sites that most people don’t know about. They track what sites you go on, no matter how big or small, and show ads for it.

I’m sure you know Google tracks what sites you go on. Why do you think they do that? For Google ads.

[paulmaplesden]

@paulmaplesden

Thank you for that answer. That is very interesting to me. I would have thought that value-based pricing is very important for publishing. equally i would have assumed that the network in your case i really key, since it’s hard to get into the big agencies and publishing houses. But if you are blessed with both that is wonderful. 🙂

I would have thought that value-based pricing is very important for publishing. equally i would have assumed that the network in your case i really key, since it’s hard to get into the big agencies and publishing houses.

The issue is that value-based pricing is very difficult without understanding analytics / audiences etc - which is a whole world I do not want to get into! In terms of getting in with the agencies, it was through building up a good portfolio and going super-niche which really helped there,

[newsmike]

There is a lady who writes resumes who earned over $400,000 last year.

really? get out a here! so she paid fiver $80.000? You can have a site admin and a ads agency at your service for that price of 80k all year round.

ou can have a site admin and a ads agency at your service for that price of 80k all year round.

80K is nothing in the advertising business. And I’m not sure $80k gets you a top admin either.You sure won’t get a years worth of either with any quality at all for 80K.