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Crazy days, hard work, bugs, learning, stress: Fiverr life


daviddoer

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I decided I’ve been here long enough I should “let it all out” and share my experience here with you all.

First, a little bit about me:
I love doing research. I was earning money by creating content before I got here. My detailed approach to content creation led some people to value my skills in research, and I began to get hired on the side for research gigs. When I found Fiverr, that was the first thing that came to mind. I’ve also helped a lot of people edit their blogs, not for money, but I’m good at it. Incidentally, I like editing and research more than I enjoy writing. Or… maybe they are just less work than coming up with original words for the information I just spent umpteen hours researching. Then again, I learn a lot more when I have to write about it. Aaaanyways.

I brought my skills to Fiverr. I started here in March, and over time got a steady trickle of buyers placing orders with me. Steady enough that I have 11 completed gigs. All with reviews (yay). I’m slowly coming out of desperation mode.

You know the feeling when: a buyer places an order, you’ve promised X amount of time for X amount of $, and you’ve completed the advertised amount of time, but you know that their review is going to reflect how satisfied they are with the results, not how long it took you to produce them?

So you work for an extra hour or two to make sure they get the best results possible, and 🤞 hopefully… you get a good review. It must be nice to have 100+ reviews and confidence that one bad review, or canceling an order won’t jack up your stats.


I almost canceled a gig the other day. This guy just placed an order (before we were finished talking about his needs) and ghosted. Buuut, I decided to stick it out (in fear of jacking up my stats) and ended up learning tons of valuable information! Doing research I should have already done for myself regardless of the gig, but hadn’t found the time to do it until just then. I was scared that I was going to get a bad review. The client was unavailable for comment while I was working (something that can significantly improve the final result). Finally, it was time for delivery, no feedback yet, but I had to deliver. Surely I was going to get a bad review. What’s this? I get a message 1 am last night. “order update” and the seller said: “under promised over delivered would order again and again” !!! OMG, what? I seriously sweated and racked my nerves over that order for a couple of days!

I finally took the plunge. I had a gig that didn’t match the URL, and a created a new gig, same as the old one but with the right URL. The old one wasn’t showing up in search anyways, and it would have driven me nuts forever to have the service not match the URL. It hurts not having those six great reviews under the gig where they “should” be. However, it hurts a lot less than fixing it down the line. The new gig must have gone through review and its now getting impressions \ views 😃

Now, I have a new gig, same as the old one, but with the right URL, and its getting clicks\views YAY! While my newly created \ updated gigs still weren’t in search yet, I even got two orders for a gig that hadn’t gained any traction until today!

I’m still not level one yet. I’m still sweating over every gig. But I’m learning, earning, making progress, and it feels good.

Thanks to all of you here in the forum for answering questions, and being helpful, awesome people! Also, Thank You if you actually read this whole rant ❤️

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Thank you for sharing your experience with us david! 🙂

Thank you, @chrimation!

I think what has really helped me to get those initial orders is that I advertise services directed towards a niche.

Rather than simply offering a writing gig, I offer writing about blockchain

Rather than simply offering a research gig, I offer research about cryptocurrency.

I think you do a good job of that with your gigs. It’s good to have a generic gig that anyone could use. But its easier to get found if you stand out in the crowd. Super hero illustration is a smaller niche than illustration in general which means less sellers to compete with. Same thing with a few of your gigs.

The next part of it is communication. I spend as much time as possible trying to make sure I understand the clients needs as possible. I also like to share my progress with them before I’m finished. That way, if they don’t like something, or I haven’t included something that is important to them, I know before I’ve already put 8 hours into it.

Then the last part, which is still communication, but it’s the final part before delivery. When I have it all ready, and I’ve done my job, I send them the file in a message and seek for feedback before I hit “deliver”. This way I can make last minute changes and gain more confidence that I’m going to get a good review.

Those communication steps aren’t always perfect, depending on the availability of the seller. However, I always make sure that I reach out at various stages in the process so that they have the opportunity to comment.

For me, at this early stage the review is more important than how much I earn per hour. Those good reviews are going to create more business for me, and eventually I hope to be able to strike a balance between customer service and my hourly wage.

Haha, this makes me feel like writing a blog post about my process.

I look forward to hearing feedback on this process from more experienced sellers.

Good luck.

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Thank you, @chrimation!

I think what has really helped me to get those initial orders is that I advertise services directed towards a niche.

Rather than simply offering a writing gig, I offer writing about blockchain

Rather than simply offering a research gig, I offer research about cryptocurrency.

I think you do a good job of that with your gigs. It’s good to have a generic gig that anyone could use. But its easier to get found if you stand out in the crowd. Super hero illustration is a smaller niche than illustration in general which means less sellers to compete with. Same thing with a few of your gigs.

The next part of it is communication. I spend as much time as possible trying to make sure I understand the clients needs as possible. I also like to share my progress with them before I’m finished. That way, if they don’t like something, or I haven’t included something that is important to them, I know before I’ve already put 8 hours into it.

Then the last part, which is still communication, but it’s the final part before delivery. When I have it all ready, and I’ve done my job, I send them the file in a message and seek for feedback before I hit “deliver”. This way I can make last minute changes and gain more confidence that I’m going to get a good review.

Those communication steps aren’t always perfect, depending on the availability of the seller. However, I always make sure that I reach out at various stages in the process so that they have the opportunity to comment.

For me, at this early stage the review is more important than how much I earn per hour. Those good reviews are going to create more business for me, and eventually I hope to be able to strike a balance between customer service and my hourly wage.

Haha, this makes me feel like writing a blog post about my process.

I look forward to hearing feedback on this process from more experienced sellers.

Good luck.

I think what has really helped me to get those initial orders is that I advertise services directed towards a niche.

Rather than simply offering a writing gig, I offer writing about blockchain

Rather than simply offering a research gig, I offer research about cryptocurrency.

This is something you should shout from the rooftops. Going niche is the surest and most reliable path to success for a freelancer anywhere. It helps you build a focused portfolio, lets you dominate in a particular field, helps you demand higher prices, and has a networking effect.

For example, I write a lot about currency exchange, business loans, company formation, and logistics. Are they niche? Yes. Do I get a lot of demand? Definitely. Do they pay well? You bet.

It’s often the more mundane topics that others don’t want to create content for where you can make a real impact.

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I think what has really helped me to get those initial orders is that I advertise services directed towards a niche.

Rather than simply offering a writing gig, I offer writing about blockchain

Rather than simply offering a research gig, I offer research about cryptocurrency.

This is something you should shout from the rooftops. Going niche is the surest and most reliable path to success for a freelancer anywhere. It helps you build a focused portfolio, lets you dominate in a particular field, helps you demand higher prices, and has a networking effect.

For example, I write a lot about currency exchange, business loans, company formation, and logistics. Are they niche? Yes. Do I get a lot of demand? Definitely. Do they pay well? You bet.

It’s often the more mundane topics that others don’t want to create content for where you can make a real impact.

of course, and people looking for content on those subjects aren’t going to want a generic copywriter to do the job, since you need industry knowledge to adequately address the subject.

same thing with illustration or any field. They all have particular sub-fields of interest. When people search for sellers, they are going to use specific search terms, not generic ones.

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I decided I’ve been here long enough I should “let it all out” and share my experience here with you all.

First, a little bit about me:

I love doing research. I was earning money by creating content before I got here. My detailed approach to content creation led some people to value my skills in research, and I began to get hired on the side for research gigs. When I found Fiverr, that was the first thing that came to mind. I’ve also helped a lot of people edit their blogs, not for money, but I’m good at it. Incidentally, I like editing and research more than I enjoy writing. Or… maybe they are just less work than coming up with original words for the information I just spent umpteen hours researching. Then again, I learn a lot more when I have to write about it. Aaaanyways.

I brought my skills to Fiverr. I started here in March, and over time got a steady trickle of buyers placing orders with me. Steady enough that I have 11 completed gigs. All with reviews (yay). I’m slowly coming out of desperation mode.

You know the feeling when: a buyer places an order, you’ve promised X amount of time for X amount of $, and you’ve completed the advertised amount of time, but you know that their review is going to reflect how satisfied they are with the results, not how long it took you to produce them?

So you work for an extra hour or two to make sure they get the best results possible, and 🤞 hopefully… you get a good review. It must be nice to have 100+ reviews and confidence that one bad review, or canceling an order won’t jack up your stats.


I almost canceled a gig the other day. This guy just placed an order (before we were finished talking about his needs) and ghosted. Buuut, I decided to stick it out (in fear of jacking up my stats) and ended up learning tons of valuable information! Doing research I should have already done for myself regardless of the gig, but hadn’t found the time to do it until just then. I was scared that I was going to get a bad review. The client was unavailable for comment while I was working (something that can significantly improve the final result). Finally, it was time for delivery, no feedback yet, but I had to deliver. Surely I was going to get a bad review. What’s this? I get a message 1 am last night. “order update” and the seller said: “under promised over delivered would order again and again” !!! OMG, what? I seriously sweated and racked my nerves over that order for a couple of days!

I finally took the plunge. I had a gig that didn’t match the URL, and a created a new gig, same as the old one but with the right URL. The old one wasn’t showing up in search anyways, and it would have driven me nuts forever to have the service not match the URL. It hurts not having those six great reviews under the gig where they “should” be. However, it hurts a lot less than fixing it down the line. The new gig must have gone through review and its now getting impressions \ views 😃

Now, I have a new gig, same as the old one, but with the right URL, and its getting clicks\views YAY! While my newly created \ updated gigs still weren’t in search yet, I even got two orders for a gig that hadn’t gained any traction until today!

I’m still not level one yet. I’m still sweating over every gig. But I’m learning, earning, making progress, and it feels good.

Thanks to all of you here in the forum for answering questions, and being helpful, awesome people! Also, Thank You if you actually read this whole rant ❤️

if you actually read this whole rant ❤️

I read it all and it is definitely not a rant. Thanks for sharing your Fiverr experience.

Your post will inspire others. Best wishes for your success! 🙂

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Thank you, @chrimation!

I think what has really helped me to get those initial orders is that I advertise services directed towards a niche.

Rather than simply offering a writing gig, I offer writing about blockchain

Rather than simply offering a research gig, I offer research about cryptocurrency.

I think you do a good job of that with your gigs. It’s good to have a generic gig that anyone could use. But its easier to get found if you stand out in the crowd. Super hero illustration is a smaller niche than illustration in general which means less sellers to compete with. Same thing with a few of your gigs.

The next part of it is communication. I spend as much time as possible trying to make sure I understand the clients needs as possible. I also like to share my progress with them before I’m finished. That way, if they don’t like something, or I haven’t included something that is important to them, I know before I’ve already put 8 hours into it.

Then the last part, which is still communication, but it’s the final part before delivery. When I have it all ready, and I’ve done my job, I send them the file in a message and seek for feedback before I hit “deliver”. This way I can make last minute changes and gain more confidence that I’m going to get a good review.

Those communication steps aren’t always perfect, depending on the availability of the seller. However, I always make sure that I reach out at various stages in the process so that they have the opportunity to comment.

For me, at this early stage the review is more important than how much I earn per hour. Those good reviews are going to create more business for me, and eventually I hope to be able to strike a balance between customer service and my hourly wage.

Haha, this makes me feel like writing a blog post about my process.

I look forward to hearing feedback on this process from more experienced sellers.

Good luck.

Hello David 🙂

Thank you sooo much for passing your knowledge! I’ll change some of my gigs to be more niche.

And I’ll surely communicate with my clients during my progress. I agree that right now it is more important to have good reviews.

Thank you again for being a helpful person! 🎉

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