Is Fiverr on a decline?

[pieterpym]

Hi,

I've been selling on Fiverr since 2018. I've had success during this time however I've noticed a strong downwards trend in the last 1-2 years. Is anyone else experiencing this?

Some info:

I Produce Music for clients. When I first signed up it took a few months to receive any orders. However once I started receiving the orders I was able to grow my profile and prices. I managed to achieve Top rated status after two years and retained it for two more years. I was able to turn this into my full time profession. 

Unfortunately about a year ago I lost my top rated status (too many cancellations and lack of orders to dilute the percentage), within a month I was eligible to regain it but still haven't been promoted back to top rated status. I understand it's not automatic and my profile has to be manually chosen again.

I have seen a steady decline in income in the last 1-2 years. I largely feel this is due to a huge increase of sellers joining my field on Fiverr. When I first started (2018) there were only 20 top rated sellers in music production. Currently there are about 374 Top Rated Sellers in my field. When I achieved top rated status there were about 100 top rated sellers 3 years ago.

My income last month was around 10% of what my highest income month has been in the 5 years being a seller on Fiverr. With not a single order so far this month. I run sponsored ads (promoted gigs) and used to get an order once every 20 clicks or so. Currently I've had 2,446 impressions and 75 clicks in the last 60 days but no orders from Promoted Gigs.

I recently created two more gigs directed at specific music genres. Where as my main gig covers a wide range of genres. I've tried adjusting prices lower and higher leaving my main gig untouched for a week, without any changes. I also check and optimize description and SEO tags/keywords around once a month.

***

Anyone else experienced a steady decline in the last 1-2 years, any tips or suggestions?

Here is a link to my profile - https://www.fiverr.com/pieterpym

It would be interesting to see if anyone else has experienced this and if they found a way to improve the situation.

Thank you

Pieter

 

[donnovan86]

I didn't really see a decline in orders until earlier this year, when most people experienced the same thing. Lots of AI tools appeared, ChatGPT, etc, and those did end up affecting a lot of niches, especially writing. That, combined with Fiverr's focus to boost the power of first time buyers really hit a lot of people's gigs and income. 

I don't think Fiverr is on decline, instead it's the entire world of freelancing. There was a HUGE boom in freelancer due to Covid, and now there are a LOT of freelancers and less work than it used to be.

[pieterpym]

Thank you for your reply. I definitely agree with there being too many freelancers out there.

Do you have any suggestions?

Edited June 24, 2023 by pieterpym

[proconsultn2035]

Due to the mass influx of new sellers from 2020, there's more competition now than before. I started freelancing when my niche, Accounting, had just 1,100 sellers. As at today, there are 13,400. There were no TRS but now there are 48. 

Sellers and numbers are growing. But I don't think clients are growing at the same rate. 

Edited June 24, 2023 by proconsultn2035

[pieterpym]

Thank you for your suggestions.

As mentioned in my original post, I have since created targeted/specific gigs focusing on a niche. I also believe my work is of a high quality with nearly 800 - 5 star reviews.

I do use promoted gigs, again as mentioned in my original post. I also share on social media etc.

Being patient - I am not a new seller, I have been on fiverr since 2018. I could try adjusting prices and leaving them lower for longer (instead of just one week). However my new gigs are not highly priced.

[lacroix88]

51 minutes ago, pieterpym said:

Thank you for your suggestions.

As mentioned in my original post, I have since created targeted/specific gigs focusing on a niche. I also believe my work is of a high quality with nearly 800 - 5 star reviews.

I do use promoted gigs, again as mentioned in my original post. I also share on social media etc.

Being patient - I am not a new seller, I have been on fiverr since 2018. I could try adjusting prices and leaving them lower for longer (instead of just one week). However my new gigs are not highly priced.

Since you have promoted GIG active,its only up to you at this stage.

Fiverr has other problems at the moment,in which you are not involved since you have the visibility,if you don't convert it can't be fiverr's fault.

I as well as other freelancers are not visible in the search,what should we say instead? We don't even have promoted gigs .

I see you mention 2018 very often,you forgot that the pandemic launched new players in the market,forget that year.
 

[pieterpym]

5 hours ago, lacroix88 said:

Since you have promoted GIG active,its only up to you at this stage.

Fiverr has other problems at the moment,in which you are not involved since you have the visibility,if you don't convert it can't be fiverr's fault.

I as well as other freelancers are not visible in the search,what should we say instead? We don't even have promoted gigs .

I see you mention 2018 very often,you forgot that the pandemic launched new players in the market,forget that year.
 

Thank you for your reply.

The text you quoted to was a reply to another comment. I referenced my start date on Fiverr to signify that I am not new to Fiverr.

I am fully aware of the influx of new freelances since Covid, but I was still maintaining good revenue throughout. I mentioned the increase in sellers in my original post. 

How are you able to check if you're visible in the search? By checking with incognito mode? That's how I check, I use to always be on the first page, although I believe this does vary.

I don't have the same visibility as I used to.

Even though I have the promoted gigs feature enabled it is getting me considerably less views than before. The algorithm issue I believe is affecting many people with and without the promoted gigs feature. I was getting over 1000 views a week, now it is less than half of that.

[lacroix88]

9 hours ago, pieterpym said:

Thank you for your reply.

The text you quoted to was a reply to another comment. I referenced my start date on Fiverr to signify that I am not new to Fiverr.

I am fully aware of the influx of new freelances since Covid, but I was still maintaining good revenue throughout. I mentioned the increase in sellers in my original post. 

How are you able to check if you're visible in the search? By checking with incognito mode? That's how I check, I use to always be on the first page, although I believe this does vary.

I don't have the same visibility as I used to.

Even though I have the promoted gigs feature enabled it is getting me considerably less views than before. The algorithm issue I believe is affecting many people with and without the promoted gigs feature. I was getting over 1000 views a week, now it is less than half of that.

it is very easy to check if you are in search,just search your gig in incognito mode and if you are not there,you have been removed,another sign that you are not in search is that you are not eligible for promoted gigs. When you don't have the ability to activate them it means you are shadowbanned at the same time.

In your case the fact that you don't feel you have enough impressions maybe you should increase the minimum spending budget. As I said ,since Fiverr is giving you all the visibility it can,it is not his fault.

 

[fastcopywriter]

I only get orders when Promoted Gigs allows me, and they don't promote me as much as I want. 

I get so few orders that I'm in danger of getting demoted, can't maintain a 4.7 rating if I'm not getting enough orders. 

At this point, Fiverr is just a hobby. I don't see it as a business or a significant source of income. 

 
 

[lacroix88]

10 minutes ago, fastcopywriter said:

I only get orders when Promoted Gigs allows me, and they don't promote me as much as I want. 

I get so few orders that I'm in danger of getting demoted, can't maintain a 4.7 rating if I'm not getting enough orders. 

At this point, Fiverr is just a hobby. I don't see it as a business or a significant source of income. 

 
 

Unfortunately thats the point,its just a part time income,you cant rely on them.

[fastcopywriter]

22 minutes ago, lacroix88 said:

Unfortunately thats the point,its just a part time income,you cant rely on them.

I joined Fiverr in 2013, it was wild back then. My first month on Fiverr I made $50, next month it was like $150, eventually I got all the way up to $1,850.  

Back then you could sell almost anything, refunds didn't get you demoted, and the money was great. 

I remember having 5 to 15 orders per day, and being jealous of the people with 25 to 50 orders per day. 

Now it's very different. 

[lacroix88]

37 minutes ago, fastcopywriter said:

I joined Fiverr in 2013, it was wild back then. My first month on Fiverr I made $50, next month it was like $150, eventually I got all the way up to $1,850.  

Back then you could sell almost anything, refunds didn't get you demoted, and the money was great. 

I remember having 5 to 15 orders per day, and being jealous of the people with 25 to 50 orders per day. 

Now it's very different. 

Algo its changed,2013 is an era ago,much less competition,now they try to make the platform more competitive but using wrong methods that make it too unstable to have a decent income here. Now its just like Instagram but with transactions.

[pieterpym]

3 hours ago, lacroix88 said:

it is very easy to check if you are in search,just search your gig in incognito mode and if you are not there,you have been removed,another sign that you are not in search is that you are not eligible for promoted gigs. When you don't have the ability to activate them it means you are shadowbanned at the same time.

In your case the fact that you don't feel you have enough impressions maybe you should increase the minimum spending budget. As I said ,since Fiverr is giving you all the visibility it can,it is not his fault.

 

I have the minimum spending budget set to $1.99 - Fiverr recommends $0.43 to "stay competitive" which is a crazy amount per click.

[lacroix88]

1 minute ago, pieterpym said:

I have the minimum spending budget set to $1.99 - Fiverr recommends $0.43 to "stay competitive" which is a crazy amount per click.

I don't know how it is possible,we are competitors and my minimum is $8. (when they are active) 

[pieterpym]

On 6/25/2023 at 8:33 AM, lacroix88 said:

I don't know how it is possible,we are competitors and my minimum is $8. (when they are active) 

See the attached screenshot. The no-cap limit, which I have selected is a maximum of $3 so I don't understand how yours is $8 per click...

If you got 10 clicks and no orders you'd be charged $80...

Maybe you're referring to Daily budget?

[lacroix88]

My bad,yes daily budget .

[glow_writer]

It is not only you that is experiencing the decline. The past 1 - 2 years have been on a decline in terms of revenue. A lot of people are complaining. Fiverr should change their strategy to cater for everyone. 

[glow_writer]

On 6/24/2023 at 1:59 AM, lacroix88 said:

Since you have promoted GIG active,its only up to you at this stage.

Fiverr has other problems at the moment,in which you are not involved since you have the visibility,if you don't convert it can't be fiverr's fault.

I as well as other freelancers are not visible in the search,what should we say instead? We don't even have promoted gigs .

I see you mention 2018 very often, you forgot that the pandemic launched new players in the market, forget that year.
 

You are very right. He has a lot going good for him, like the promoted feature, which a lot of people don't have. in addition, my gigs no longer appear in search results. What are people like us going to do? Well, we are gonna keep doing our best.

[lacroix88]

22 minutes ago, glow_writer said:

You are very right. He has a lot going good for him, like the promoted feature, which a lot of people don't have. in addition, my gigs no longer appear in search results. What are people like us going to do? Well, we are gonna keep doing our best.

Actually i found that when promoted gigs are not "allowed" you are removed from search in the same time. So nothing can be done,just wait.