Where have all the buyers gone?

[siphiwemtshali]

Hi, does anyone have a clue how the new rating system works or where all the buyers have gone? I noticed a massive decline in new inquires. I have some theories of my own.

1. Fiverr has provided more people with access to the promotion feature. More people promoting their gigs may mean that all the work is going to the highest bidders.
2. Fiverr is switching to paid promotion and is phasing out or limiting organic reach. This may be a plan to increase revenue by pushing more sellers to use the promotion feature
3. There may be a disconnect on what your performance metrics are showing verses what is actually happening on your profile. In the old system I could see how the algorithm reacted to me completing an order. Regardless of the final outcome, whether it was good or bad you could see the impact your work had. Now nothing moves the needle. This may be a back end problem. I don't know its just a theory
4. This is temporary and the algo is trying to collect more data before everything is back to normal. I hope it's this, I really do.
5. There's a button that's not working so new buyers can't reach me. This one is a stretch but at this point I have no clue what's happening.😅

These are just theories and I hope things improve over time. My niche doesn't get the most traffic (Music and Audio). Before the new system I managed to get a handful of jobs every week but In the past 30days I've completed 1 job. No new inquires? I know as freelancers we go though periods of ups and downs but this time I'm concerned because it feels like a button was turned of over night. I've never been a forum guy but recently I've been spending more time here everyday hoping I can find a reason to why things are going down hill. Anyway, enough from me I would love to hear your theories on where all the buyers have gone? Or perhaps you've seen an uptick in traffic let me know?

[mandyzines]

For me, the recommended cost per click has more than doubled since March and I've only had one order through paid promotions this month, even with a Fiverr's Choice label on one of the gigs. Half of my earnings on that one order have been eaten up by the total CPC for all gigs so far. 

I don't know if Fiverr changed how 'they' determine who to show my gigs to.

I thought for a while that maybe I was being punished by the almighty AI, even though my scores all enable me to qualify for Top Rated, but over the past couple of weeks I've been monitoring other Voice Actors with a similar voice print and they aren't doing very well, either. Maybe the market shifted and demands bubbly, higher-pitched, youthful female voices. I don't know. But, my impressions are a little less than half of what they were at this time last year.

People reaching out to contact me has trickled down to almost nothing, but at the same time my conversion rate's been on the decline as well. I used to get contacted by people who were looking for what I have to offer pretty frequently but then around March it began being more for AI training, cloning my voice, obvious scams, and a flush of middlemen wanting custom auditions without being able to explain the sound they're looking for or their budget. I can see where turning all of these down might've affected me.

But, there are so many moving parts. I'm very much at a loss, honestly. 

The only order I have had over the past week is from a return client who lets things auto-complete and doesn't leave reviews, and I anticipate that will also result in some sort of punishment. 

Edited May 13 by mandyzines

[rabihumakhan]

I dunno the 'new math'. However, fortunately and surprisingly, I got some traction after this new system has been implemented. I accept that Fiverr has never been my primary focus and despite the fact that I have been a level two seller for around a year now, I didn't concentrate on my account. As a result, my business was off and on but recently, I have been getting orders frequently after December 2022. 

I'm not a tech savvy and don't know what's happened,  I can only wish y'all and myself good luck. 

On the other hand, on another platform, where I'm a top-rated plus freelancer with greater credentials, money earned, success score, etc, freelancers have been complaining lately that things are getting colder and due to their new (and vicious) business system, high paying clients have disappeared and now the marketplace has become a casino where you pay to win projects (or lose some time). 

[mandyzines]

5 minutes ago, rabihumakhan said:

I got some traction after this new system has been implemented.

5 minutes ago, rabihumakhan said:

I have been getting orders frequently after December 2022

So, you've been doing well since the end of 2022 and even better since March of this year?

Have you changed much?

5 minutes ago, rabihumakhan said:

high paying clients have disappeared and now the marketplace has become a casino

It feels like that on both platforms, to me.

Edited May 13 by mandyzines

[dponzio]

6 hours ago, siphiwemtshali said:

Or perhaps you've seen an uptick in traffic let me know?

As per last April I suddenly had more enquiries, including more serious ones than usual, which lead to actual orders. But my score has been dragged down twice, in spite of early deliveries, happy clients etc. I feel in good company here though 😉 

[rabihumakhan]

53 minutes ago, mandyzines said:

you've been doing well since the end of 2022 and even better since March of this year?

Have you changed much?

Sorry for being a bit ambiguous! 

I mean that the month of December 2022 was the best for me when it comes to doing business on Fiverr. In addition, since this new system has been implemented, I earned closer to what I earned in December 2022, in April and now in May. 

Surprisingly, it's obvious that the other platform I'm talking about is though a bit different, yet implemented similar ways to squeeze money from the freelancers. More surprisingly, despite all the freelancers complaining, I got a $25k gig recently. 

Edited May 13 by rabihumakhan
One typo.

[siphiwemtshali]

3 hours ago, mandyzines said:

For me, the recommended cost per click has more than doubled since March and I've only had one order through paid promotions this month, even with a Fiverr's Choice label on one of the gigs. Half of my earnings on that one order have been eaten up by the total CPC for all gigs so far. 

I don't know if Fiverr changed how 'they' determine who to show my gigs to.

I thought for a while that maybe I was being punished by the almighty AI, even though my scores all enable me to qualify for Top Rated, but over the past couple of weeks I've been monitoring other Voice Actors with a similar voice print and they aren't doing very well, either. Maybe the market shifted and demands bubbly, higher-pitched, youthful female voices. I don't know. But, my impressions are a little less than half of what they were at this time last year.

People reaching out to contact me has trickled down to almost nothing, but at the same time my conversion rate's been on the decline as well. I used to get contacted by people who were looking for what I have to offer pretty frequently but then around March it began being more for AI training, cloning my voice, obvious scams, and a flush of middlemen wanting custom auditions without being able to explain the sound they're looking for or their budget. I can see where turning all of these down might've affected me.

But, there are so many moving parts. I'm very much at a loss, honestly. 

The only order I have had over the past week is from a return client who lets things auto-complete and doesn't leave reviews, and I anticipate that will also result in some sort of punishment. 

Hmm, I wonder if it's a niche thing. I've noticed a few people in the Music and Audio category sharing the same issue regarding not recieving new Clients and relying on repeat work. I also started to see a decline in inquiries somewhere in March. The spam thing is also an issue. The messages I did receive were from people that would initiate a conversation then go silent or it was someone from another platform looking for work. This never happened before the new system was introduced. Thank you for sharing. It makes me feel a little better knowing that I am not the only person struggling at the moment.

[siphiwemtshali]

3 hours ago, rabihumakhan said:

I dunno the 'new math'. However, fortunately and surprisingly, I got some traction after this new system has been implemented. I accept that Fiverr has never been my primary focus and despite the fact that I have been a level two seller for around a year now, I didn't concentrate on my account. As a result, my business was off and on but recently, I have been getting orders frequently after December 2022. 

I'm not a tech savvy and don't know what's happened,  I can only wish y'all and myself good luck. 

On the other hand, on another platform, where I'm a top-rated plus freelancer with greater credentials, money earned, success score, etc, freelancers have been complaining lately that things are getting colder and due to their new (and vicious) business system, high paying clients have disappeared and now the marketplace has become a casino where you pay to win projects (or lose some time). 

Interesting, it seems that the new level system has left the Fiverr platform divided. Some people are seeing progress and others are taking a couple steps back. I think the main issue is that in trying to make things more transparent they completely made things worse. Nobody can point to one thing that they can say is the reason for their recent success or failure. The "new math" is a mystery for sure. We are all in the dark tweaking everything and anything in hopes that it will fix our problems.

[siphiwemtshali]

3 hours ago, dponzio said:

As per last April I suddenly had more enquiries, including more serious ones than usual, which lead to actual orders. But my score has been dragged down twice, in spite of early deliveries, happy clients etc. I feel in good company here though 😉 

Yeah, there seems to be a disconnect between what we are actually doing and what the scores are reflecting. It doesn't make sense to have happy clients and decreasing level metrics. Thank you for sharing.

[siphiwemtshali]

2 hours ago, rabihumakhan said:

Sorry for being a bit ambiguous! 

I mean that the month of December 2022 was the best for me when it comes to doing business on Fiverr. In addition, since this new system has been implemented, I earned closer to what I earned in December 2022, in April and now in May. 

Surprisingly, it's obvious that the other platform I'm talking about is though a bit different, yet implemented similar ways to squeeze money from the freelancers. More surprisingly, despite all the freelancers complaining, I got a $25k gig recently. 

$25k! that's impressive. Especially on fiver. The 20% cut must have hurt though?

[sirajbugti1]

16 hours ago, siphiwemtshali said:

Hi, does anyone have a clue how the new rating system works or where all the buyers have gone? I noticed a massive decline in new inquires. I have some theories of my own.

1. Fiverr has provided more people with access to the promotion feature. More people promoting their gigs may mean that all the work is going to the highest bidders.
2. Fiverr is switching to paid promotion and is phasing out or limiting organic reach. This may be a plan to increase revenue by pushing more sellers to use the promotion feature
3. There may be a disconnect on what your performance metrics are showing verses what is actually happening on your profile. In the old system I could see how the algorithm reacted to me completing an order. Regardless of the final outcome, whether it was good or bad you could see the impact your work had. Now nothing moves the needle. This may be a back end problem. I don't know its just a theory
4. This is temporary and the algo is trying to collect more data before everything is back to normal. I hope it's this, I really do.
5. There's a button that's not working so new buyers can't reach me. This one is a stretch but at this point I have no clue what's happening.😅

These are just theories and I hope things improve over time. My niche doesn't get the most traffic (Music and Audio). Before the new system I managed to get a handful of jobs every week but In the past 30days I've completed 1 job. No new inquires? I know as freelancers we go though periods of ups and downs but this time I'm concerned because it feels like a button was turned of over night. I've never been a forum guy but recently I've been spending more time here everyday hoping I can find a reason to why things are going down hill. Anyway, enough from me I would love to hear your theories on where all the buyers have gone? Or perhaps you've seen an uptick in traffic let me know?

I got some traction after this new Update has been implemented.

 

[rabihumakhan]

6 hours ago, siphiwemtshali said:

! that's impressive. Especially on fiver. The 20% cut must have hurt though

Not on Fiverr, lol. The highest order that I got on Fiverr was of $550 or something. 

I got the $25k somewhere else where I had to pay only 10 percent fee. Also, it wasn't in a single go, it was a contract for 2.5 months.