The first 5 things you should do when starting your Fiverr career

[miiila]

The first 5 things you should do, once you've decided to make it on Fiverr, according to a TRS (yes, that's me, at least as of now, March 2022, and since December 2018; not to brag, but just so you know that I must have done at least a few things right and might know what I'm talking about)

 

1. Read Fiverr's Terms of Service (I’m a link to the ToS, click me and read, now!, then come back and read on.)
 
You don't want to lose your account, because "I didn't know this wasn't allowed, because I didn't read the ToS".
That doesn’t count as an excuse. Just like not knowing the laws of your country will not help you when you break them and get caught.
You were supposed to read the ToS, when you registered your account. Yes, nobody reads terms on the internet, okay, if you say so. Still, save your breath, just go and read them if you haven't.
You want to earn money here, you want to invest time here, you want to grow your account and earn more money here, right? Then you don’t want to lose your account, be it right at the start, or, even more annoying, after your first orders and reviews, just because you didn’t know of this or that rule.

 

2. Read all the articles in Fiverr's Help Center – the Seller and the Buyer section.

Yes, you heard me right, read the Buyer section, too. You want to know how all the “technical things”, the ratings, etc., work on seller side, but also “on the other side of the fence”.
You want to be prepared for issues you or your buyers (especially those who do not read the Help Center’s Buyer Section) may, and eventually will face. You want to know the system. You want to be able to help you customers.
Armed with all that knowledge, you’ll easily avoid many issues in the first place, and will at least know the best and quickest way of action when they happen, as soon as they start to happen. And issues will happen, it’s not a question of if but of when.

 

3. Look at lots of Gigs in the category you want to sell in. Lots means lots. Not just those in the top row.

Analyse them. Ask yourself what they are doing wrong, what they are doing right, and what they (and you!) could do better. 
Ask yourself if you could, and want to, offer what they offer, or if you better try something else. Consider different styles of Gig images, videos, descriptions, look at Gig titles, tags, everything.
Single out what out of all those things would work best for you, would fit to you, personally, and work for your Gig, and would probably speak to the kind of customers you want.

Don’t copy!
It’s not just bad style, but you have good chances of getting into trouble for it, maybe a warning, maybe a ban, it’s not worth the risk. And you don’t want to be anyone’s copy in any case, you want to be the original you.
Also, believe it or not, many buyers are smarter than you may think. And you don’t even have to be Sherlock to be able to deduce a lot from a little. Many other sellers and Fiverr staff people are smarter than you may think, too, by the way, just as an aside that’s worth considering. It’s always dangerous to think oneself is the smartest person in a room. Unless you’re Sherlock.

But do get inspiration. See if people sell things you didn’t even consider selling but could actually sell, because you do have the needed skills. Ponder how to adapt this or that thing to work for you.
What works for seller A, doesn’t automatically mean it will work for you. Things like different education, background, skills, temperament, life situation, etc., play a big role.

Study, analyse, and discard or apply (again, don’t copy, but, after careful consideration and comparison, apply different elements wisely, with discern and real purpose, and bring in your personal touch).

Study what sells and what doesn’t sell.
Try to figure out why that is so.
Use all the info you have at your disposal. Is it the seller’s level of credibility? The unbeatable price? The “Unlimited Revisions, Money Back Guarantee”? (hint: the last one is a very double-edged sword, and both an often-given tip, as well as often being advised against. Again: what works for A, might not work at all for B)
Read the reviews. What do customers seem to especially like?
And so on.

Also, keep in mind that if something “sells”, because you can see that there are many Gigs with many reviews for that thing, your competition is also higher, and that it could even be easier for you to sell something that “doesn’t sell”.
Compared to a Gig that has 100 sales a month, a Gig with 5 sales a month might make you think you better compete with the former, but you might be wrong.
See the whole picture, keep an open mind, and experiment.
As a beginner, yes, you can “only” publish 7 Gigs, but that already gives you a lot to play with.
You can pause and unpause Gigs to test things like does it work for you to have Gigs in several categories, or do you get more messages or orders when you stick to one category.
You can also delete a Gig that just sits on the shelf like a cheese past its prime and try a fresh idea.
If it’s something that several Gigs try to sell but have 0 sales, it’s possible that there’s no demand, but it's also possible that those sellers were thinking ahead and might get a kick-start out of it, once the people who demand it, will notice that it’s available on Fiverr. Whether or not to “sacrifice” one of your seven Gigs for such a thing, depends on how urgently you need that Gig slot for something with more chances to sell right now.

Again, what works for A, doesn’t necessarily work for B. Find your own way.
That also means, that you may find out that neither Fiverr nor freelancing in general is your way.
No shame in that. Don’t give up too quickly (“I published my Gig 4 hours/days/weeks ago, still no message/click/sale/1^st rank!!” … Really?! …), but if you end up realizing that Fiverr simply doesn’t work for you, part the clouds, seek another way. May the force be with you.

 

4. Think of your Fiverr business as a business. Because it is, or at least could be.

This means, don’t zero in on “just” Fiverr. Read, and deduce 😉, and use all the info Fiverr itself contains (ToS, Blog, Help Center, Forum, Gigs, Webinars, Learn Courses (at least do the free! basic one) or inspires (off-platform info on blogs, reddit, Quora, YT, etc.), sure.
But you will find many answers and solutions to problems you have or don’t even know you have, in general business/freelancer/self-employed people literature, be it books, websites, blogs, YT, and wherever else your search may lead you. Search engines are your friend! (Maybe also your foe, but let's stay positive.)
Read forum posts, but don’t rely on people on the forum to "give me all the tips and tricks”, search yourself, in likely and in unlikely places.
Own your business. It’s yours, after all.

This will also help you in one of the "don't put all your eggs in one basket" scenarios that life might throw at you. Your Fiverr experience can help you in other areas, and broader knowledge in many areas can help you with your Fiverr business. Everything is entwined, interlaced, coalescent, fused, ... yes, okay, I'll stop. Synergy, baby! 

 

5. Keep reading, analysing, learning, thinking, experimenting.

Keep yourself in the loop and up-to date, regarding Fiverr and regarding your industry or niche. What worked last month or year, won’t necessarily work next month or year. Stay relevant, or become relevant again – read new things, upgrade things, try new things, hone your skills, maybe even work on new skills. You need to know what’s going on, to be able to react or even anticipate it.

Or perhaps you’re very lucky and don’t need to – in which case, congrats, and don’t forget to practice gratefulness, try not to look down too much on the less fortunate ones, and always wash your hands, with soap, thoroughly. 😉  

 

 

Thank you for reading, and I hope that you can take a little something with you, or at least had a bit of fun, laughing with or at me, both is fine. 🙂

 

PS: It shouldn't need saying, but, anyway, here goes: You need to bring a SKILL to the table. If you don't have one, then THAT is your goal #1-5. Get a skill. And if you want to make money from it, get a skill that sells, and make it a skill that YOU have at least a hint of a chance to sell here. Be a dreamer, if you can afford it, else, be realistic. 🍀

Edited April 4, 2022 by miiila