Why lying about your skills will never work

[aarongtv]

I think there should be another option than just ordering... Note, the morgan freeman idea is a nice one lol B)>+

[antonlavrenyuk]

On 6/5/2022 at 7:48 PM, smashradio said:

Here's the thing: Most of these liars and pretenders will market themselves as "experts" or "specialists". That's the first lie. They will also promise to do something they can't. 

I wonder: when you came back to Fiverr after a couple of years – with a plan this time around –did you know, at least to yourself, that you had the skills required to perform the services you would sell? 

You don't have to be an expert to sell on Fiverr. But you have to be an expert to market yourself as one. That's the difference.

I have no formal training as a voice over actor (I never went to school for it!). In fact, I'm self taught. I had work lots of prior work experience, so I knew I could do it well. 

I'm also a self taught translator, and I've worked as a journalist for years without ever going to school for it. 

So you don't really need any formal education or prior experience to be good at something. 

I think the core of the issue is self-deceit. The pretenders fool themselves, just as much as they try to fool the buyers. 

You went overboard with your efforts. You refuse to deliver subpar work. Maybe you shouldn't have accepted those orders until you've learned the trade, but then again, I've accepted voice over jobs as Santa Claus, even though I usually don't offer character voices, because I'm not very good at them, to be honest. All though I do a killer Goofy laugh!

I informed the buyer that character voices isn't something I excel at, pointed out that it's in my gig FAQ, and offered a cancellation. But I also said that I'd be happy to try, and if they liked it, they could keep it. If not, we could cancel the order. The client ended up loving it, and I'm now their yearly Santa Claus. I'm still no good at it, but they liked it, so I guess I'm in the clear. My point: I was honest about my limitations and didn't promise something I couldn't keep. 

I'll add to this, that as a translator, my clients are often from other countries. They don't know if the translation is any good. Far too often, they will come to me with a document they bought from some cheap translator on Fiverr, and ask me to just "confirm" if it's good. 

They usually end up ordering from me when I highlight all the mistakes/clearly Google translated content. 

When I do, they will go "Oh, but he said he was native!" or "She promised me a manual translation!". 

So yes - you might be able to get away with certain things/niches, but frankly, I don't care if you can "get away with it". It's just like those people with fake university degrees. Even if you can get away with it, it's unethical. 

The other day, I checked out a couple of web designer gigs on Fiverr (helping out forum members). One of them had the typical "I'm expart web developer with much long experience". He offered to "customize wix templates". That has nothing to do with "web development". Also, the guy was probably 16 years of age.

Now that's a pretender. A liar. 

The other one had something akin to "I'm a web design intern at a large agency here in *Country*. As a side project, I create websites for my clients using WordPress.".

He was honest. An intern. Cool! Still learning, but he wouldn't get that spot at his agency if he was completely useless. 

 

That`s a great comment, but now`s the question. What should newbies on fiverr do? Because I am the one and I see that it`s really hard to get your few first gigs, of course because of the reasons mentioned above, but anyways I`m trying not to lie and even ready to do first orders for free but nobody`s even messaging me to offer smth. I was hoping you may have some piece of advice for me. Thanks in advance!

[smashradio]

On 6/28/2022 at 12:33 PM, antonlavrenyuk said:

That`s a great comment, but now`s the question. What should newbies on fiverr do? Because I am the one and I see that it`s really hard to get your few first gigs, of course because of the reasons mentioned above, but anyways I`m trying not to lie and even ready to do first orders for free but nobody`s even messaging me to offer smth. I was hoping you may have some piece of advice for me. Thanks in advance!

Well, first of all, doing orders for free is stupid. No professional would do that. It's like putting up a big sign saying "I don't know what I'm doing". 

In regards to what you can do as a new seller, here are some tips: 

[newsmike]

Winner: 2022's Biggest Lie!

 

And a respectful tip of the hat to the runner up:  "Expert Digital Marketer"   

Game on for 2023. Gentlemen, "Engines your start." 

Edited December 31, 2022 by newsmike

[yannisenglish]

Thanks for the chuckle!

Here's to a better year 🙂

[breals]

And a special mention to...

'I will write 50,000 plagiarism free words for just $5'

[sunboatrecords]

Just send everybody to this thread. Let's have an Elsa-off!

10 years away from Canada and standing at 93%. Still sounding native.

I am sure that I will regain the 7%, if I eat some souvlaki at Danforth in TO.

[dylesto]

On 6/2/2022 at 2:28 AM, mariashtelle1 said:

Worst part that a lot of them are not even lying, they really believe that pressing three buttons to remove background makes them “photoshop exparts” and “digital marketers” after they took 5 min course on how to publish FB ad. 

Exactly, I'm a colorist and I hate it to see that there are sellers only applying a lut and calling it color grading, then they ask 80 dollars for that.

[donnovan86]

Fiverr should definitely consider English language knowledge testing for new sellers.. Some of the posts here really make me scratch my brain.....

Edited March 14, 2023 by donnovan86

[rahulkajla1]

Just now, donnovan86 said:

Fiverr should definitely consider English language knowledge testing for new sellers.. Some of the posts here really make me scratch my brain.....

They'd cheat. I remember having a discussion with someone on the forum who had a 9/10 in English but couldn't write a single sentence properly. Maybe a video call, but that might be a bit expensive considering the number of sellers joining Fiverr on a daily basis.

[tawsif_al_nur]

After opening new gig, you can edit the gig after 24 hours, and if you get an order, it's better not to edit the gig, then it may lose rank.

[donnovan86]

3 hours ago, rahulkajla1 said:

They'd cheat. I remember having a discussion with someone on the forum who had a 9/10 in English but couldn't write a single sentence properly. Maybe a video call, but that might be a bit expensive considering the number of sellers joining Fiverr on a daily basis.

Then we are doomed 🙂 On the other hand, buyers can initiate a conversation and they automatically see who is at least fluent in English.. 

I am still baffled by the number of "writers" that contact me every day for work, but they have basic grammar mistakes..

[vickiespencer]

4 hours ago, rahulkajla1 said:

They'd cheat.

I noticed a place on IG last night where sellers can pay to have someone take the test for them. Cheating indeed! 

[smashradio]

As a seller and buyer on Fiverr, it's not uncommon for me to cross paths with some... let's say, overly optimistic individuals.

First, we've got our "fluent English speakers." You know the ones - their profiles confidently declare it, so it must be true. Right?

Yet, when it comes to crafting a coherent sentence or explaining even a basic concept, the words seem to play hide and seek.

Then, we have the "experts." They’re everywhere — each one a master of everything, from SEO to graphic design and digital marketing.

Scratch beneath the surface, and you'll find SEO experts who can’t tell a keyword from a keychain and designers who think RGB is a boy band from the 90s. That is if they can even spell "graffick desugn" (real example!).

Look. We're all here to make a living. I get it. But credibility isn’t just a nice-to-have; it's our lifeblood. Every hard-working, honest, and talented seller have to share space with these... overly optimistic individuals.

So here's my advice after nine years on the platform, several of them as a Top Rated Seller and Pro seller: keep it real.

You don't have to be a virtuoso in English or a genius in your field. Do you need talent and communication skills? Sure! But skills begin with an authentic wish to better yourself, not by lying. 

Be authentic, reliable, and honest. Faking it isn't making it.

Let's make Fiverr a place where skills aren't over-promised but over-delivered.

[vickiespencer]

1 hour ago, smashradio said:

Then, we have the "experts." They’re everywhere —

Yes, along with the professionals and the seller with a doctorate in SEO. 🤣

[katakatica]

So..

Sometimes when I see some...eh, strange new profiles I remember little 8-10 year-old me and my parents who know not a single lick of English learning how the internet works. I took to Neopets (and other sites in English) like water but was thus, unsupervised (well. Can't really blame my parents, they tried to filter what they could but this was like twenty years ago. Also eek.) I can very clearly remember barely knowing to read in English past the basics and lying about my age / etc. Now luckily, a few years later I was fluent (and less dumb) but I got scammed enough times to sort of learn my lesson. 

Fiverr isn't a virtual-pet-raising website though so people lying so much really baffles me. We aren't just the customers, we supply the products.

Common sense would dictate that you can't just earn money copying famous logos but when it's a charismatic youtuber talking about it and all the 'possibilities' one will have with no skills well...I can get desperation driving people into thinking it's fine. It's only five / ten bucks anyway, right?

I personally believe that the people putting lots of (empty) hours into 'working' are victims as well. Perhaps they should know better but... Clearly they don't. 

I guess we'll see if things will ever change. The internet (to me) has always been a wild place so who knows.

[michmikaia]

3 hours ago, smashradio said:

Be authentic, reliable, and honest. Faking it isn't making it.

I am not very good at expressing with a very long text. I want to write something about "honesty" also, but I don't know where to start. 

Speaking for myself, if there is something I am not sure I can do due to many reasons (mainly deadline and experiences), I told gently that "I am unable to help you with this project because of ...". Eventhough I didn't get the project with that customer, it's reviving to see their message which is "thank you for your honesty". On the other hand, there are some who block immediately🤷.

All in all, stay professional by doing something we are good at.

[akhiakter70]

excatly its true and i am success to skills because i am so hard working in this skills ,i try to my best and i could it

3 days ago i could skill exam ,i finish it and i success to the skills ,its so hard so i read and read and study 

than i gave exam . so i am happy to exam success