Would you order from yourself?

[katakatica]

It's been a while since I've written anything like this, so please bear with me for a second - but hopefully this one tip will actually get to people who need it. (and if not, we can still have a great discussion about the topic, so... win-win.)

We see 5-10, if not more, new sellers a week, complaining about not getting orders, which is pretty standard. It takes a while for a business to really get going and right now we ARE in the middle of the summer, so of course some niches might be less busy than normal.

But... here is the thing. Many people don't seem to get past the 'whyyy I have no orders' phase, so they never quite get to the solution. 

I think before complaining/crying about the site not working out, take a good look at your gig and think. 

Now, I know - you do SEO and you are online 45 hours AND you even promote on social media.

Great but... do you know why that isn't working?

Everyone else is doing the same thing (well, everyone as in, new sellers.) 

You might be following tips and tricks from obscure youtube channels that just seem SO trustworthy, but so are thousands of others. Sure, there might have once been some truth to these videos once, but when everyone starts applying them... what's going to happen? 

That's impossible, right? 

You might be making gigs that look 'perfect' on the outside and yet still fail to catch the eyes of your buyers. I've seen logo gigs with 'bleh' samples but great writing, writing gigs with super gig images but descriptions full of grammar mistakes... and the list goes on. 

You need money - and that's understandable... but take a good look at what you are offering and ask yourself 'would I buy this?  s this something that people would take a second look at and go 'ah, that's what I've been looking for!' If the answer is 'no', why? What could you improve to make it better? Are you selling something you enjoy making or are you just selling something people told you to sell? Is there something else that you'd prefer to do? 

Just... take a step back, breathe, and think for a second. 

 

[mariashtelle1]

1 hour ago, katakatica said:

look at what you are offering and ask yourself 'would I buy this? 

According to how many of them write “I made a perfect gig with perfect images, what’s wrong?” I would assume that they do believe that they would buy from themselves and there is nothing better in the universe than their gig 🙈 

 

[katakatica]

(Note: I just noticed that there's a line that got lost somehow (I was trying to make this look pretty 😂) so yeah.

Reminder as to WHY rereading what you write is important! 

On 7/19/2022 at 5:16 AM, mariashtelle1 said:

I made a perfect gig with perfect images, what’s wrong?”

To be fair I (want to) believe that even they know it's 'perfect according to the guidelines I was told' and not actually 'perfect'. I mean... I can remain a bit hopeful that's the case, right? I just hope that people will learn to think because I KNOW how it is to NEED a job... Still, the point might not get through to the people who need it the most.

[katakatica]

1 hour ago, renco007 said:

Good discussion. I have no idea about this before

I'd love to hear your insight on the topic of taking a second look at what you write/sell! Would love it if you could elaborate! How do you make sure you only offer something you would be happy to buy?

[ozan_erdi]

Now i will wear the evil crown of pestilence and open my mouth.

Most of those people are not actually qualified to adapt a multinational professional life. There are more basic things to cover before going in and start selling. Without those, one will never be succesfull within these platforms.

 1- Learning english to upper levels. You dont need to be perfect, i myself do a lot of mistakes while writting even in here. But i can say i am able to make a technical conversation within my field. This is the most important thing to invest in. Because rest of it will be avalible to you only if you have a good english. Also very important for the first impressions.

2- Getting familiar with business platforms and understanding why there are such platforms. Fiverr is here to make money. Just like we all are. Some people here acts like fiverr promised them something and didint deliver it. Or does not understand that Fiverr needs you to be succesful, in order to make money. If you are not doing anything, you are going down.

3- Being familiar with the worlds current situation and cultural difference. This is more imprtant than one thinks. Political correctness is more important than ever. Besides knowing english, getting good at how to adress to people, how to say hi, how to say goodbye. Those are important communication skills to have. Only by doing these things right, you will open your path to get into the business. Some people are being disrespectful without even noticing it. While writting a request offer, messaging, asking questions in forum or writting a gig explanation.

4- How to use internet with common sense. Sadly, yes. As far as i am seeing, this is an issue with some people here. Sometimes people ask for help and seek answers in the forums. But i cant see myself helping them by answering. Because the problem is situated in a way deeper place than i can reach. For the very basic example: why forum activity wouldnt increase your impressions? Why copy paste offers wouldnt work? Why being online wouldnt help? These things are not even related to Fiverr only. These are just common knowledge. Those questions shouldnt even exist.

5- Know what you can do and lean on it. Some people dont even know what to do before coming in here and start openning gigs. Which skills they posses? How good are they? Do they need to improve themselves? What can they learn with their current situation? I dont see people asking these questions in forums. I see people asking which category they "should" go for. This is absurd! Do what you can do. Or learn what you can in order to do it.

6- How to do business as a freelancer. Now i am not a master of this topic. But it is important to know how much to charge, how much time an order would take to complete. What problems can i face while doing this job? How can i solve this problem my client is having? Are there any downsides of using this technic? Does my client need a consultation beforehand or am i going to do what they ask without question? Im not even getting into technical terms at the very basic level. 

There might be some other things that needed to be adressed. But without those, one cant even begin to understand fiverr, forums, orders, ranks, gigs and whatnot.

And i am almost sure, most of the people who really needs to go trough these matters are not gonna understand it from what i wrote. Which is sad and ironic.

[katakatica]

2 hours ago, ozan_erdi said:

And i am almost sure, most of the people who really needs to go trough these matters are not gonna understand it from what i wrote. Which is sad and ironic.

In the end, I think both of our posts are sort of hinting at the fact that working online just isn't something everyone should do. It's great in many ways (I mean I'm able to just type away from an air-conned café whenever I want to or even work by the pool!) but it also comes with hurdles other jobs don't. Something I noticed is that many people think 'freelancing' is a job in itself - which seems to be one of the main issues. 

They really seem to think that setting up their gigs, being online, etc. etc. is part of their work - and then comes the reward. But that's not how it works, not for everyone at least. I do think that most people have the potential in themselves to do better but... it does feel like they tend to miss the point. 

I do think that a lot of this IS caused by people constantly saying how easy it is to freelance/work online. It's not. Work is work and sure, there's way harder things to do (I could NOT do construction work, waitressing, etc., especially not NOW with the weather) but it's just not for everyone and that's perfectly fine.

However, admittedly I feel peeved when I see people in videos saying 'oh, all you have to do is write 'ok'/use canva for logos/etc.) to be great. I've been writing since I was a teen and it took me years to get here. Sure, some people are probably MAD talented in art/music/etc. and could pick up on stuff within weeks but as you've also said they need the skills NOW. Not learn them as they go. 

Just like how not everyone makes a good cook or babysitter, not everyone makes a great logo/graphic designer. 

(the cool thing is though, I have to say as I finish up my rant, is that talented people SHINE the most when they are surrounded by total newbies. Sad, perhaps, but also karma in a way?)

[ozan_erdi]

14 hours ago, katakatica said:

They really seem to think that setting up their gigs, being online, etc. etc. is part of their work - and then comes the reward. But that's not how it works,

EXACTLY. Even if being online would be the right way to do it, they would still not be able to do much.

14 hours ago, katakatica said:

I've been writing since I was a teen and it took me years to get here.

Same here. I am drawing since the beginning of my life. I'll give any beginner 1 year to practise to draw what i draw in 25 seconds like I did. Lets see how it goes. Did you know same thing happened to Pablo Picasso too? A client of him asks why he should pay that much to something that took 30 minutes to do. And Picasso answers: It took me 42 years and 30 minutes to do it.

And it took him 42 years, 30 minutes and 5 seconds to roast the client like that. 

14 hours ago, katakatica said:

I do think that a lot of this IS caused by people constantly saying how easy it is to freelance/work online. It's not. Work is work and sure, there's way harder things to do (I could NOT do construction work, waitressing, etc., especially not NOW with the weather) but it's just not for everyone and that's perfectly fine.

I am not actually a painter, I am an architect and i have been doing that job actively for over 10 years. But i wouldnt touch architecture gigs with 10meters stick here. People should focus on what they could do and start from there. 

14 hours ago, katakatica said:

In the end, I think both of our posts are sort of hinting at the fact that working online just isn't something everyone should do.

True. At least not without proper preparations and a strong foundation. 

I think the problem starts by not thinking this is a platform of professionals who aim to build a good career here. I think people look at this platform like a "quick money in the pocket" In fact, it never is like that in any part of the world. And that perspective leads to a failure %99 of the time. 

[katakatica]

On 7/21/2022 at 2:34 AM, ozan_erdi said:

EXACTLY. Even if being online would be the right way to do it, they would still not be able to do much.

I do think that before Fiverr got THIS big, little things like that probably did matter. But now with all the competition, it's just... not the same, I guess? (which, to be fair is probably for the best. Of course everyone wishes they could make money just by being online but that's now how life works. I have some relatives who are a bit older and CONSTANTLY believe scammy pages that offer 'positions' like that, so I totally get it, to be fair. Just... not a great look for the site in a way. 

On 7/21/2022 at 2:34 AM, ozan_erdi said:

leads to a failure %99 of the time. 

What I'm noticing is that the 1% gets... way too loud, I guess? Especially nowadays with social media being everywhere and all. It's much easier to spread nonsense. (and they often get paid for it.) Sure, in a way people on here who 'make it' are also part of, say, a 5% or something, but at least we aren't lying about how we got here and all. 

On 7/21/2022 at 2:34 AM, ozan_erdi said:

A client of him asks why he should pay that much to something that took 30 minutes to do.

I feel like people don't always know how much work goes into it before. With all the 'expert sellers' (who aren't really experts' selling, say, 30k words done in a week or something I also often get the 'why so slow?/expensive?'
I like to just say it's worth the wait/money 😛

 

[ozan_erdi]

6 minutes ago, katakatica said:

What I'm noticing is that the 1% gets... way too loud, I guess? Especially nowadays with social media being everywhere and all. It's much easier to spread nonsense.

30 minutes ago, katakatica said:

Of course everyone wishes they could make money just by being online but that's now how life works.

Agreed. Nonsense is always more interesting. Why do people know more about the Kardashians instead of Greta Thunberg? Why are the Flat Earthers taken seriously? Same about the business. If someone comes up to me in my economicly exhausting times and offers some miracles instead of the boring "work hard facts" i would be interested too. Like many people who fails with crypto trading, many people will fail at freelancing too. But if you look at them, you would think they are doing a lot.

31 minutes ago, katakatica said:

I like to just say it's worth the wait/money 😛 

You can also say they are buying a guarantee instead of a risk. Risk is cheap, guarantee isnt. 😄 

[finndev478]

On 7/19/2022 at 10:09 AM, katakatica said:

It's been a while since I've written anything like this, so please bear with me for a second - but hopefully this one tip will actually get to people who need it. (and if not, we can still have a great discussion about the topic, so... win-win.)

We see 5-10, if not more, new sellers a week, complaining about not getting orders, which is pretty standard. It takes a while for a business to really get going and right now we ARE in the middle of the summer, so of course some niches might be less busy than normal.

But... here is the thing. Many people don't seem to get past the 'whyyy I have no orders' phase, so they never quite get to the solution. 

I think before complaining/crying about the site not working out, take a good look at your gig and think. 

Now, I know - you do SEO and you are online 45 hours AND you even promote on social media.

Great but... do you know why that isn't working?

Everyone else is doing the same thing (well, everyone as in, new sellers.) 

You might be following tips and tricks from obscure youtube channels that just seem SO trustworthy, but so are thousands of others. Sure, there might have once been some truth to these videos once, but when everyone starts applying them... what's going to happen? 

That's impossible, right? 

You might be making gigs that look 'perfect' on the outside and yet still fail to catch the eyes of your buyers. I've seen logo gigs with 'bleh' samples but great writing, writing gigs with super gig images but descriptions full of grammar mistakes... and the list goes on. 

You need money - and that's understandable... but take a good look at what you are offering and ask yourself 'would I buy this?  s this something that people would take a second look at and go 'ah, that's what I've been looking for!' If the answer is 'no', why? What could you improve to make it better? Are you selling something you enjoy making or are you just selling something people told you to sell? Is there something else that you'd prefer to do? 

Just... take a step back, breathe, and think for a second. 

 

I think its a really effective idea to change perspective. I always tried to make everything as appealing as possible. But I never really asked myself this particular question. "Would I order from myself?" It really shines some light on things that could be improved. 

I will think about that for a while. Thanks! ^^

[omnilegentangel]

This is a great question and to be honest, if you don't ask yourself if you would buy from yourself, then you shouldn't expect anyone else to buy from you!

I'm new to Fiverr and even I have had to sit down and say "Hey ma'am, are you actually doing the things you need to achieve what you want?" If you're not sure, what do you do? Well, I reached out to more experienced folks on this platform AND outside this platform who have actually been doing what I've started doing for a WHILE. Not days or months, but YEARS. I'm sorry but I was a "professional" in my "former" career and guess what? It took YEARS to get to that "professional" level. I learned it from the ground up and I'm glad I did because the people who took short cuts didn't last very long.  

I'm an "apprentice" now and that's fine; I won't be there for long if I continue to monitor myself and understand that this is a learning process AND a work process that takes TIME. Do I hope to learn quickly? Of course. Would I rather learn it the right way? Absolutely. Because when it comes down to it, I want to eventually become the master teacher for myself.  Yup... that's the goal. 

Much success to everyone (especially, anyone new to the platform). My advice? Learn from the RIGHT people, work smarter (not harder), and be PATIENT. We'll get there. 

Happy Writing!

Angela 

Edited August 6, 2022 by omnilegentangel