Is the Fiverr forum good for Fiverr's image?

[newsmike]

I am a fan of the forum as much as anyone else, but I gotta ask. Since we know that Fiverr has some image problems to overcome with regard to large ad agencies, and very serious buyers. Many of us have been asked to provide a demo of our work with no Fiverr branding because the agency did not want the client to know that they were buying services on Fiverr. 

The question: You run a marketing department at a fortune 500, and someone on staff suggests hiring a Fiverr freelancer. You decide to take a spin through the Fiverr forum to get a feel for the place. What kind of impression would you leave with?  

[vickiespencer]

45 minutes ago, newsmike said:

What kind of impression would you leave with?  

If I were a buyer for a big company, and I took a spin through the Fiverr Forum I would more than likely make sure NOT to book the services of the sellers who copy and paste their replies from the previous posters because that means the person who copies someone else may give me plagiarized work. 

Neither would I order from the sellers who do not have the common courtesy to use the emoji reply for short answers such as, thanks, congratulations, like, sad, confused and the like. Because if they can not use those simple emojis then they are not competent enough to work for my company. 

 

[leannelrivers]

I think at a quick glance, the forum would quickly confirm my suspicions that Fiverr isn't a very serious platform with reputable sellers. Maybe if I had time as a buyer to really get into it, I might feel differently. I hope the overall rep improves with time. I've been asked maaaaany times to provide a demo that doesn't mention Fiverr. It's also why I never share my Fiverr profile anywhere, I think people would take me less seriously. 

[katakatica]

Hm... I'm not sure I'd even find the forum (we genuinely don't have a lot of buyers, it IS somewhat hidden!) I feel like I'd probably end up choosing something else if a lot of $ was at stake - I haven't really purchased anything that was over $15 myself (even though I have sold for more, of course.) The thing is, what scares me is all the duplicate content - not just on the site, but even when you look at profiles. 

A friend of mine always asks me why I don't outsource my writing from others who cost less than I do (it's a personal thing, I have nothing wrong with people that outsource themselves) but I wanted to explain both the personal side (and the sketchiness of some sellers on here.) We found 5-6 WRITERS with the exact same description (both for their gigs and everything in general! WRITERS!

As for the forum, it's a mess. It's amusing in this somewhat infantile way - people thinking that they can get rich by posting nonsense on here remind me of my uncle who nearly got scammed (again...) by someone promising him thousands of $. If I actually worked for a reputable company and saw this I would... probably find it very hard to laugh but I'd be very confused. Fiverr has a long way to go to be viewed as a professional platform (and sometimes I wonder if that IS the image they really should be going for... 

[leannelrivers]

3 hours ago, katakatica said:

sometimes I wonder if that IS the image they really should be going for... 

I sometimes wonder if they (whoever they are) regret calling it Fiverr. Because the initial assumption is that everything is a fiver. I remember telling an artist friend of mine that he could probably bring in some decent money on this platform with his creative video work and he literally scoffed in my face. He didn't realise that $5 was just the starting price, his assumption was that it was a joke and he'd look a fool for selling on here. Ouch! 

[lenasemenkova]

Big agencies like to snoop around the social media accounts. And fiverr’s social media comments are of your usual “you ruined my life/why was I banned” variety last time I checked. So completely in line with other big companies’ social media accounts.  

Forum snooping sounds a bit archaic to me. It’s full of seller-centric jargon and people complaining about not getting sales. When clicking on most of said people’s profiles one can only become relieved that they don’t. 

I don’t think it does any harm. It’s just your regular freelance forum, I’d even say, it’s cleaner than most.

[miiila]

On 7/23/2021 at 5:35 AM, newsmike said:

The question: You run a marketing department at a fortune 500

Glancing over the forum would probably not leave a good impression, but I doubt that many heads of a Fortune 500 company's market department would check the forum if someone suggested them to try Fiverr, and think it much more probable that they'd read an article or two about Fiverr from some mostly reputable source, and/or go and hire a PRO or/and TRS and see how it works out, or ask the person who suggested it to send them links to sellers they've worked with themselves and would recommend. 

Actually reading on the forum is something that I can mostly see some solopreneurs doing, and those will probably get a mixed impression, same as when you google Fiverr and read around a bit.

As I see it, the forum confirms the general "Fiverr is great, but you need to find the right people" advice that you should be able to distil from reading.

[zeus777]

10 hours ago, miiila said:

"Fiverr is great, but you need to find the right people"

Quote of the day!!!

I am grateful for the forum because I learned so much and found great sellers here, I just had to do a lot of digging and messaging, that's all.

The forum could be a mess at times with repetitive posts of the same darn questions and useless "advice" etc, but it does help me weed out the sellers I would label as "unprofessional." The skilled sellers really stand out because of the way they present themselves here. ( well, the same thing could be said for the unprofessional ones...)

 

[surajkartha]

Am sure Fiverr would have brought down the forum by now if it had any negative impact on their business or credibility. 

[eoinfinnegan]

I had an agency ask for some references of writing regarding marketing topics which show my knowledge that I had done which had an impact. 

I sent them my UPYOUR series of posts which are all exclusively on the forum here. I get 20-25 hours per week with this agency now (They have never used Fiverr and are my direct client). 

I think it depends on what they happen to stumble on when they get here but agree with others that it's unlikely they would come here. If they did, I think they would see it just wasn't a source of buyer related info.  

[jonbaas]

On 7/22/2021 at 10:35 PM, newsmike said:

The question: You run a marketing department at a fortune 500, and someone on staff suggests hiring a Fiverr freelancer. You decide to take a spin through the Fiverr forum to get a feel for the place. What kind of impression would you leave with?

I would be thrilled to have found a freelancer by the name of @jonbaas, and I would be excited to hire him to help solve our corporate needs. 😎

In all seriousness, though, I would probably be a bit concerned at all of the freelancers desperately trying to sell their services for just $5. I would wonder why there are so many sellers who don't value their work, time and services. I would then, most likely, be motivated to find other sellers who have a better understanding of their services, prices, and a higher rate that reflects more professional-level skills and abilities. 

Desperation does not look good on any freelancer.