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Is WhatsApp required to communicate with potential customers?

aronpacino

By aronpacino
in Gig Advice

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aronpacino Apprentice

aronpacino

Posted
Posted

TL;DR in bold

 

Hello, 

 

I have been turned down twice already because the people that I send offers on buyer requests want me to talk to them via WhatsApp. Yes, that's a sign that I have to install and make an account in the said social media platform. But I'm curious, what's stopping them from chatting? One can attach files and type text. What does WhatsApp have that the messaging service of Fiverr doesn't have? I know that people judge gigs, and if the gig is low rated, people might not consider it? But how am I supposed to get rated if I don't get orders? 

miiila Grand Master

miiila

Posted
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Not only is it not required, it also isn't allowed.

Don't worry too much about orders lost that way, better to lose a few orders than your account, plus, some of thr people who want to take you off-platform might not have "easier" communication in mind (how much easier and safer could it be anyway than simply continuing the communication where you are already conversing, don't need to share your private number, etc.) but either want to avoid the platform fees, or even scam you.

Politely remind them of Fiverr's terms of service (read them yourself, maybe save the relevant bit as a quick response), and if they don't want to work with you but still want you to break Fiverr's terms and risk your account, you're better off without them.

 

theratypist Grand Master

theratypist

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Any buyer asking you to go on Whatsapp is a buyer not worth the time. Politely turn down anyone who reaches out and asks you to do so and avoid buyer requests that ask anything like that. It's against Fiverr's Terms of Service anyway, so both the buyer or seller who choose to go on WhatsApp to converse will end up getting banned somehow.

17 minutes ago, aronpacino said:

What does WhatsApp have that the messaging service of Fiverr doesn't have?

People will have their reasons -- it could be to avoid the fees involved on Fiverr, hire sellers directly, etc. Some actually are well meaning and think that WhatsApp is fine then end up getting shocked when their account is banned.

18 minutes ago, aronpacino said:

But how am I supposed to get rated if I don't get orders? 

Exactly why you should focus your energy on people who choose to do business properly on the Fiverr platform. Hopefully, good buyers will be reaching out!

aronpacino Apprentice

aronpacino

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  • Author
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13 minutes ago, theratypist said:

avoid buyer requests that ask anything like that

Hmm, I can't "avoid" those because I don't know. I just look at buyer request. Most of them just say "I need translators for this and that" nothing more nothing less. I send offer "Hello, I offer this translation". Then they would chat me on Fiverr only to tell me to chat to them via WhatsApp. There's nothing on the buyer requests that says "hit me up on whatsapp, here's my number..." So I can't really "avoid" them? I will only know if they send me a message.

 

But thank you! One thing I can avoid though, is accepting offers from them who wants me to converse with them via WhatsApp.

theratypist Grand Master

theratypist

Posted
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9 minutes ago, aronpacino said:

So I can't really "avoid" them? I will only know if they send me a message.

That is true! Yes you are correct, I was assuming it from a perspective that they explicitly mention in the request to do so. Hopefully you get good buyers real soon! 

jyothi36 Mentor

jyothi36

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, theratypist said:

Any buyer asking you to go on Whatsapp is a buyer not worth the time. Politely turn down anyone who reaches out and asks you to do so and avoid buyer requests that ask anything like that. It's against Fiverr's Terms of Service anyway, so both the buyer or seller who choose to go on WhatsApp to converse will end up getting banned somehow.

People will have their reasons -- it could be to avoid the fees involved on Fiverr, hire sellers directly, etc. Some actually are well meaning and think that WhatsApp is fine then end up getting shocked when their account is banned.

Exactly why you should focus your energy on people who choose to do business properly on the Fiverr platform. Hopefully, good buyers will be reaching out!

You are really Genius. Thanks a lot for your good suggestion.

jyothi36 Mentor

jyothi36

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, theratypist said:

Any buyer asking you to go on Whatsapp is a buyer not worth the time. Politely turn down anyone who reaches out and asks you to do so and avoid buyer requests that ask anything like that. It's against Fiverr's Terms of Service anyway, so both the buyer or seller who choose to go on WhatsApp to converse will end up getting banned somehow.

People will have their reasons -- it could be to avoid the fees involved on Fiverr, hire sellers directly, etc. Some actually are well meaning and think that WhatsApp is fine then end up getting shocked when their account is banned.

Exactly why you should focus your energy on people who choose to do business properly on the Fiverr platform. Hopefully, good buyers will be reaching out!

You are really Genius. Thanks a lot for your good suggestion.

aronpacino Apprentice

aronpacino

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  • Author
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Okay, update. I haven't really received any orders on Fiverr since I joined. I'm afraid that I won't be earning anything any time soon because people are always asking for WhatsApp. Are you all sure about that? This makes me worried. 

aronpacino Apprentice

aronpacino

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Hello,

 

Okay, I haven't been successful with either translation or providing educational content. I will exhaust my skills now. So, I'll go subtitling now. Sorry for asking too much in the forums recently.

 

The thing is, I know how to make subtitles, but I don't know which videos I should use. I'm sure I cannot just download a video from the internet (or from YT) and make a subtitle out of it and show it in the gig page. Does the video have to be original? The original videos I own are those taken by my camera, and they are very personal. They are no different from those videos in your phone gallery, something you won't want to disclose. I don't have a YT channel either.

 

What should I do here? More specifically, what should I show in the gallery (stage 5) when creating the gig?

irshan_cool Proficient

irshan_cool

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If you are going to offer subtitle service then you no need to offer the video. You can offer only the subtitle file. Customer can add the subtitle to the video file from the video player.

aronpacino Apprentice

aronpacino

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2 minutes ago, irshan_cool said:

If you are going to offer subtitle service then you no need to offer the video. You can offer only the subtitle file. Customer can add the subtitle to the video file from the video player.

Oh, okie then. What should I put to the "Gallery" section when creating the gig, then? (perhaps, that's the better way of phrasing the question)

irshan_cool Proficient

irshan_cool

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What should I put to the "Gallery" section when creating the gig, then? 

A video clip/thumbnail image with subtitle. Make sure the video/image is your own or free video/image to avoid copy write issues.

rachelbostwick Veteran

rachelbostwick

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17 minutes ago, aronpacino said:

What should I do here? More specifically, what should I show in the gallery (stage 5) when creating the gig?

You could go make some new videos with your phone that are not so personal. You are right that you can not just grab a video off the Internet and I wouldn't want to use my own personal videos, either.

Another suggestion would be to look around for someone you know who has videos in need of captioning, offer to do the service for the most basic gig price, and in return ask if you can use clips of their videos for your gallery. That would be a pretty cool way to do it. And who knows, maybe they'd hire you again in the future for a proper price 🙂

aronpacino Apprentice

aronpacino

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7 minutes ago, irshan_cool said:

 Make sure the video/image is your own or free video/image to avoid copy write issues.

Ah, yes, the problem is still there, but has taken the form of a photo. I really need to make my own video first. Thank you anyway.

sumonlight Proficient

sumonlight

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Posted
4 minutes ago, rachelbostwick said:

You could go make some new videos with your phone that are not so personal. You are right that you can not just grab a video off the Internet and I wouldn't want to use my own personal videos, either.

Another suggestion would be to look around for someone you know who has videos in need of captioning, offer to do the service for the most basic gig price, and in return ask if you can use clips of their videos for your gallery. That would be a pretty cool way to do it. And who knows, maybe they'd hire you again in the future for a proper price 🙂

nice tips

irshan_cool Proficient

irshan_cool

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Ah, yes, the problem is still there, but has taken the form of a photo. I really need to make my own video first. 

If making a own video is difficult for you, then you can download a suitable free stock video from net, there are millions of free stock videos around net you can find and use. 

rachelbostwick Veteran

rachelbostwick

Posted
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9 minutes ago, irshan_cool said:

If making a own video is difficult for you, then you can download a suitable free stock video from net, there are millions of free stock videos around net you can find and use. 

Lots of good stock videos, but most of them don't need to be captioned, so they wouldn't help that much, I don't think. They tend to be things like nature scenes or videos of outdoors or cool renderings. @aronpacino really needs videos with people talking in them, unless I am misunderstanding.

rachelbostwick Veteran

rachelbostwick

Posted
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Just now, irshan_cool said:

@rachelbostwick
Yes you are correct. Thats what i have mentioned as to find the suitable video. There are videos with people talking in them to match with his requirement.

Where would you find videos that like which are free to use? I don't know any place. I am sincerely curious.

rachelbostwick Veteran

rachelbostwick

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1 hour ago, irshan_cool said:

I'll show you 1 example. Pls see the below link:
https://www.pexels.com/videos/

I use Pexels pretty regularly in my work. You don't see videos with conversations there. If you start scrolling down that list, the videos are silent. This is exactly what I mean. There are many, lovely, beautiful, useful videos there, but those are not the kind of videos that one can use as a sample for a caption gig. You are right that the internet is full of great free videos, but not for use by this seller.

montaaz Enthusiast

montaaz

Posted
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I can make a motion graphics animation to introduce yourself and your work, with a voice over. Not necessarily a sample video with subtitles.

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