smashradio

I travel a lot and I usually stay at rather fancy hotels, since I'm a sucker for that type of luxury. You sure do feel important when working from a large chair surrounded by chandeliers and expensive golden furniture. If you're tired of your apartment, that can certainly be great for your mental health. But I prefer to work from home or the hotel room, to be honest. I get easily distracted. When it comes to having a housekeeper, I don't view it as a luxury. I view it as a sensible thing to do. The pleasure of watching someone else clean my house is one thing, but I'm actually getting more time to work, meaning I earn money from having the housekeeper here. Next step: A butler!

Could be any number of reasons. Fiverr rotates gigs around in the search results based on a lot of factors. You're not guaranteed a position in search just because you have some good ratings. It's not static and it never stays the same. It also differs based on what each buyer searches for and buys. Cancellations, warnings, drops in response time/rate, late deliveries and so on will affect your visibility on Fiverr. Another important thing to remember: Buyers are asked to leave private feedback to Fiverr after an order is completed. That's a rating only Fiverr can see, and it will affect your gig way more than your regular star ratings. A buyer may leave a five-star review because he doesn't want to hurt your feelings or look bad, and then deliver negative private feedback. People are always more honest when they know it's anonymous.

I bet you're thinking, "good lord! The man is a slob!" right about now. Hold your horses. Let me explain. How much time do you spend cleaning and on chores around the house per week? Let's draw up some examples: Cleaning floors: 30 minutes Dusting: 10 minutes Dishes: 3 hours Changing bed sheets: 10 minutes Carrying our garbage: 15 minutes Doing laundry: 15 minutes Sweeping: 10 minutes Cleaning toilets: 10 minutes That adds up to 4,5 hours per week. (I rounded it down from 4,6 for simplicity). Your mileage may vary depending on the size of your home and family, how much of a slob you are and other things. My point is: we spend a considerable amount of time per week doing chores around the house. Let's add those 4,5 hours together to see how many hours we spend per year. 4,5 x 52 = 234 hours. That's almost ten full days. Or roughly 2.7% of a year. Now let's see what you can earn if you work 234 hours more per year. Let's say you earn, on average, 25 USD per work hour. By cleaning, you've lost out on 5850 USD in revenue per year. But hey – you schlump of a couch-potato sluggard Mr Smash – you might say. If you don't clean, someone else has to do it. That's what my housekeeper...*cough*... I mean cleaning and laundry attendant... is for. Let's say this service costs you 40 USD per week. That's 2080 USD per year. That means you've earned 3770 USD per year by not cleaning your own house. So I don't. And if you earn more per hour worked than the cost of a Cleaning and laundry attendant, you shouldn't, either. Even if you earn the same as their salary, at least you don't have to clean. I don't know why I felt like writing all of this. The idea just popped into my head today while sipping on my drink, eating a steak dinner and watching my housekeeper do her thing: I no longer have to excuse my laziness. I can simply say it makes perfect financial sense. And it would be the truth*. * For my secret method of never cleaning yourself to work, steak dinner may or may not ruin the math. Your mileage may vary depending on how many asterisks you need behind "truth" for this to work.

There you have it! Thanks for clearing that up. Seems my memory IS failing me. 😂

When you want to invest in your business.

This is why you should go for levelled sellers when ordering anything important on Fiverr. I usually start with the Top Rated Sellers, and if I can't find the right candidate, I'll move on to level 2 and level 1 sellers with at least 100 reviews. I'll make sure to actually read some of the reviews, so see what the feedback is. If there are any negative reviews, I'll check to see how that seller handled the feedback. I'll also make sure they have perfect grammar in their profile description and gig descriptions. Those are just some tips to help your buying experience on Fiverr be smoother in the future. Regarding your issue, I see that you already have been advised about it. Whatever you do, do not accept the delivery. Request a revision. Customer support can take a day or two to get back to you. If you can document that the seller has in fact stolen the code and delivered sub-par services, they should be able to cancel the order for you and refund the money to your Fiverr Credits. You can then reach out to a better seller to solve your problem. Hope this helps!

Of course you can ask. But I wouldn't ask in a way that makes them feel suspected of anything. If you're sure enough about your suspicions that you have to be so direct, you should run from the buyer anyway. The thing is: you might turn away a completely legit buyer by asking too many questions. Even so, you have the right to know what you're working on. I have a rule: if it feels unethical, it's just as bad as "illegal". I've been asked to do plenty of jobs that were totally legal, yet felt unethical to me. I quickly turn down that type of job. You also have to consider that the buyer can simply lie to you. If your gut feeling tells you that something is off, something is probably off.

I'm not sure if God has anything to do with your seller level on Fiverr but to each his own. Anyway... Since getting selected is highly unlikely, you should start with the assumption that you will not become a Top Rated Seller. Put it to rest and forget the levels for a moment. It's not what makes a business successful. I used to be a level 2 seller for years before I became a TRS. At that point, I hadn't checked my level or gotten excited about the "You've been nominated" notification for a long time. Why? Because the essential things in business are making your buyers happy, growing on a professional and personal level, developing new ideas, increasing revenue over time and doing what I love. That matters. A badge? It's just a piece of code. Sure, it might elevate your sales and make you feel fabulous, but that's about it. If you measure your success based on some level badge you're probably never going to get, you're stuck in a loop. That's no fun. That's not why I'm on Fiverr. I'm here to do the work that I'm passionate about. And you should too. The fact that you've maintained your stats tells me that you're doing great. Don't let the TRS badge (or lack thereof) keep you from enjoying that. With all that said: here are some of the things Fiverr looks for in a TRS: That link goes directly to a summary made by @vickieito - based on her superb analytical skills and general awesomeness, in collaboration with some of us astounding, dazzling and stunning Top Rated Sellers. We're an exclusive club and we sometimes like to meet in dark cellars to perform rituals involving knives, butter, maple syrup and @newsmike narrating our actions throughout the night. So obviously, we can't share all of our secrets. But we give you a glimpse into our overworked TRS souls in her post.

Actually, I remember seeing something about Fiverr testing out different price points on gigs with the goal of increasing sales and revenue for the buyers (and Fiverr). I can't remember where I read it now. How annoying! But I swear I saw something about it. The fee for the buyers certainly isn't 35%, and that fee isn't showed on the gig, but during checkout. Either way, I'd contact support and ask if this is the case. I know Fiverr loves to do A/B-testing all the time on absolutely everything, so I wouldn't be surprised if they are increasing your rates for some buyers to see if it works well or not. But making changes to seller pricing without asking is...questionable? Now I'm not 100% sure on this. Maybe my memory is failing. But damn, I'm so sure I read that somewhere. Maybe @frank_d knows something? Oh well. I hope you find out what's going on! Keep us updated, yeah? 😄

I've checked it out. But like I said, not for the purpose of spamming previous clients. It does have some interesting insights, though, and I can see how that can be valuable. Nothing beats good data! Good point. But isn't the coupons limited to buyers you've dealth with in the past couple of months or so?

You just listed the benefits yourself.

I'm not sure if you have understood how Fiverr works. Editing your gig won't automatically make you "rank" anywhere. Fiverr presents your gig to buyers if the system thinks you're one of the most relevant gigs that the buyer is likely to order from. This is based on your buyer satisfaction rate, gig optimization, all of your stats and relevancy to each buyer. In other words, if two buyers search for the same thing, that doesn't mean they will see the same gigs. You should focus on delivering high-quality work and support to your buyers, and making improvements to your gig when/if they are needed. Just like a shark, a business will die if it stops swimming. If you make smart edits to improve your gig, then sure, do it. But if you're constantly making random edits to your gig, it will only hurt your business. The idea is to make edits for improvement – not for the sake of it. I edit my gigs whenever I see something that can be improved, or if I'd like to test out something new.

Review-swapping is a thing. And it's not ok. I've even seen some top youtubers do it to make "30 days on Fiverr" videos. I'm happy to see Fiverr taking action against this sort of cheating.

Thanks man! 🙂

Awesome to hear! I'm happy for you! I'm not afraid of mentioning Fiverr, but then again, I'm one of those mad people that don't really care much about what persnickety high-hats may feel about the way I do business. If they're afraid that we'll beat them on price and still enjoy a comfortable living, the problem isn't with us, but with them. I'm not going to hide, just because they are intimidated by the platform or its sellers. Keep at it! 😄

Today I decided to double the price on my voice over gig. I recently experimented with lowering it after my last price increase caused a drop in click-through rate. And yes, my click-through rate went up, but my bottom line did not. This just proves that increasing prices is (usually) a good idea if you have enough work. And if "less work, more money" isn't a good enough reason for ya, I recommend checking out this post from @newsmike:

I can see why they would think so. If you're in an up-scale market, you don't want to be assosciated with a "cheap marketplace". But the problem with the idea is that it's wrong. Yes, you can find cheap stuff on Fiverr. REALLY cheap stuff. But we all know that 5-dollar-gigs rarely provide anything worth having. You can also find high-end services on Fiverr. I've seen gigs starting from 5000 bucks and more for a single logo design. My point is: if 5000 dollar logo designers can thrive on Fiverr and off of Fiverr, that means they aren't underselling at all, and to charge those prices, they need up-scale clients. More and more high-end clients show up on Fiverr. I've worked with MyHeritage, NordVPN, Circle K, eToro, Pfizer and Betsson to mention a few large corporations shopping on Fiverr. So the idea is based on what Fiverr used to be. Not what it is. I think your example can be elitism. If someone just thinks that Fiverr sucks, they probably tried selling on here and didn't succeed. That doesn't mean the site sucks. It means they didn't have what it takes to make it work for them. Too bad for them. You don't have to be part of the race to the bottom, just because you're on Fiverr. You set your own rates. Your value is up to you.

You speak the truth! Don LaFontaine ❤️ I never got to meet the man or see him speak in person, but he was one of my inspirations for going into the voice-over business. I've been putting my head on the block several times in these groups, mostly because I think it's a bit funny to rile up the bumptious elitists of this world. What I don't find funny is that new talent is welcomed by a gang of people with nothing but self-interest at heart when giving advice. And because the newbies don't know any better, they get fooled into spending all their hard-earned cash on coaching from the same people that don't want them to succeed. Don't get me wrong: coaching can be great, and there are many good coaches. Bill DeWees is one example. There you have it. This isn't just a voiceover industry thing. The problem is self-important snobs who don't want the "new guy" to succeed, because they are shaking in their pants. Like @newsmike said: "It is precisely what travel agencies said when Expedia launched, what record labels thought of Spotify, and what theaters chains thought of Netflix."

Lowering the price won't help. If your rates are too low, you end up coming across as unprofessional. You should work on your gig thumbnails. Make them stand out more. Maybe hire a professional designer, send them some of your best drawings, and let them use it to make a thumbnail that stands out. Your current main gig has a thumbnail with very washed out colors. I'm afraid it will disappear in the crowd. Take a look in your category here on Fiverr for inspiration. See what the top sellers are doing, be inspired (but don't copy them!). You could also make a cool gig video. Maybe one where you talk about what you do, how you do it and the advantages of ordering from you. Show yourself. Buyers will trust you more if you show your real face and have a professional gig video. I'm not buying my drawing from a cat. I'm buying it from a human being who is good at drawing cats! 🙂 Your gig description is short and not very impressing. Hire a writer to help you with it, and make sure your gig description is perfect. This is your place to shine and tell your buyers why they should order from you. Work to build your credibility and trust on Fiverr. It's super important to get sales and succeed. I made a guide about how to build credibility as a new seller here:

I have thought about it, yes! I believe becoming an expert in this field requires decades of experience. The competition is fierce in the intelligence business, but I see Fiverr has not yet entered into this untapped resource. I will surely make market research optimize gig ranking day by day up up up so you can congratulate me. 😄 As a journalist and editor-in-chief of my very own newspaper, I know all to well how opinions can color coverage. I've made it a point to always provide fact based information. But even when you provide pure facts without opinionated wording, the stories themselves can also affect bias. The stories we choose to write about matters just as much as the words we put down. That's one of the reasons why I started reading the newspapers on the other side: to find story ideas that weren't affected by my own bias. I'm a personal conservative liberalist. I apply conservative values to my own life, yet I'm not religious at all, and I'm a firm believer in personal responsibility and freedom to live your way as you see fit, as long as you don't stand in the way of other people's liberty to do the same. Whenever I see something that would make me angry or have some sort of emotional reaction, I'll always check all sides of the story I can get my hands on. I wish more people did that. Herd conformity and lack of perspective are not only counterproductive; it's dangerous. Echo-chambers will do that to you.

This is indeed a spicy topic. I love a good debate, as long as people are civil about it. I agree that minimums do make sense. Whenever I see five-dollar-VAs, I must admit I think the same as you. I have fairly low rates here on Fiverr, to say the least. I also have below market rates other places (but not as cheap as on Fiverr). That's a business model I've used for a long time, but somehow, I manage to earn more than enough while working less than before, and I still earn more per hour worked on average here on Fiverr. It's interesting. Absolutely right. I've recorded in full fledged studios. I've spent a rather large sum on my own studio as well. That "extra" is certainly something clients want and will pay for. I think it's awesome when a VA can charge 1500 for a national ad. I've charged similar sums for ads myself and still do at times. What I don't think is awesome, is the elitist attitude that anyone working differently and/or for less are bottom-feeding, are destroying the industry or is untalented. I think you encapsulate the matter perfectly here: I disagree with the sentiment that someone are less talented or aren't in a position that allows them to charge higher rates. I've actively chosen to keep my rates down, because I genuinly want to make voice overs more accessible. Just this evening, I got an e-mail from a rather massive religious organization, who specifically wanted to hire me for a project. Their budget is more than triple my usual rate. I'm not gonna say no to that, obviously, but it just goes to show that I can charge more than I do. I choose not to. Even so, I can see your point. I often tell new sellers to increase their prices because that can give the impression that you're more professional. But I'm not arrogant enough to think that there aren't people way better than me. Like with you, that encourages me to improve. On a personal note: you're the first spanish VA I've heard who doesn't sound like he's trying to lick my ear while speaking. Great gigs! (I live in the lovely Islas Canarias).

Good lord. Nothing is more annoying than spending 30 minutes chatting about a project, just to get the "Could you do it for..."-message. That's why I always get started with the price-talk as soon as possible. I hate to waste time.

Exactly. This is why I love Fiverr. In and out. There's far less time spent on fluff, like meetings, phone calls and e-mail-threads as long as the Eiffel Tower.

It would be a good idea, if it wasn't for the fact that they might consider this spam and report you, given that this is a violation of the TOS on Fiverr. The following is from the TOS: Please respect our members privacy by not contacting them with offers, questions, suggestions or anything which is not directly related to their Gigs or orders. https://www.fiverr.com/terms_of_service?source=footer Soliciting sales by contacting past buyers is "contacting them with offers" that is "not directly related to their gigs or orders".

Thanks man! Haven't seen Frank for a couple of days, and a couple of posts of mine have been in the abyss for two days - haha. If you see him, feel free to mention it 😄