smashradio

Thanks! Glad to be of help! This is something I see a lot of questions about on the forum so I thought a new topic about it could be useful 🙂

Some buyers will want you to work for free. As a professional, you should politely decline this type of request. Here's some tips on how to avoid endless revision loops and buyers trying to manipulate you into working for free. 1) Be clear about what's included in the initial price from the start. 2) If they ask for addition work, require payment. Try "Thanks for the update! Here's my quote for the additional changes you requested" or something similar. 3) If the client goes "I'm not paying for that. It should be included!" you can respond with "I understand that you feel that way, and I'd love to help you out. However, this is outside the original scope of this order. I'd be very happy to set up a custom order extra for you, but I'm unable to take on pro bono work at this time." 5) If the client refuses to accept the offer and you're sure you have delivered what was promised, according to your gig specifications and agreement with the buyer, deliver the order again, thanking them. Remind them in a polite manner that this order included X amount of revisions. Make sure to include that you're happy to assist with their revision when/if their budget allows for it. There's no reason to work for free. Ever. If you get a bad review, you can respond to it, explaining that the buyer wanted you to work for free and asked for changes that weren't agreed upon for free. 99% of people reading that review/response at a later date, will be a) a person with a grasp of how to do business, i.e. they will understand and appreciate you as a freelancer, or, b) another buyer who wants you to work for free, i.e. someone you'd want to avoid at all costs anyway. And remember: if a buyer threatens you with a negative review to scare you into working for free, you can report them. That's not allowed. Finally: never offer unlimited revisions included in the price! No serious professional would ever do this. Every revision is an oppurtinity to earn more money.

I don't doubt it. During the pandemic, everyone with a computer signed up for Fiverr in some countries, it seems. It was a desperate time and people did anything to get food on the table. Unfortunately – and this might seem cynical – I don't think Fiverr as a business made the right decision when they kept the door open the way they did. They didn't raise the bar to ensure a safe, trustworthy marketplace.

I got the number from the F-1 filing mentioning march 2019 as a month with aprox. 255k "active sellers". How many seller profiles there are, doesn't really matter, since inactive profiles won't be visible to 99,9% of buyers anyway. Many sellers have also deleted their profiles over the years, so it's far more interesting to look at the active seller number. Most of those sellers probably aren't active at all and haven't been for a long time. But the fact that both me and Donnovan found SEC filings for 2019, is interesting. Where are the 2021 numbers? Those would be more interesting, since it would reflect the pandemic and how it affected the number of "exparts". I've had great experience with my SM. The only thing that bothers me is that I, too, had a change. That said, my current SM is great. She's responsive, detailed, always willing to help and she also included me in a lot of other stuff outside of the seller plus program. So I have a very different impression of Plus. I guess it all depends on which SM you get. With that said: as Plus grows, the real benefits will shrink and become more automated. I wish SMs worked exclusively with TRS and Pro sellers. That way, they would have more time to follow up, work with us and solve issues that arises. My SM is US based, so there's a time difference, but at least I don't have to wake up at 3AM to talk with her. The issue with this type of "young company" is that people are never satisfied in one place for any meaningful period of time. Employees are always "moving on to new challenges and oppurtunities". You don't get a chance to work with your SM for very long, most likely, before a new one replaces them. I know how you feel. I don't do character voices (I'm in voice over) - so you're not gonna get a good Mickey Mouse, and no, I can't imitate a 6-year-old girls voice or Morgan Freeman. (Or both, having a conversation - and yes, I got that request once - IN NORWEGIAN! I didn't know Freeman spoke Norwegian.) It's an ongoing problem here on Fiverr, which is why I could see a use case for deactivating the order-button, so buyers have to contact us first. But I guess it would take some of the simplicity out of Fiverr. So I get why it doesn't work like that. Somehow, I doubt it will happen, yet @frank_d has promised us something that will deal with a lot of the issues on Fiverr. He's keeping us on our toes about it. I bet he enjoys himself doing it, too, don't you, Frank? I can picture you with a smug smile, sipping red wine and doing an evil laugh every time someone asks about it on the forum. 😄 That's awesome! I'm happy for you! 😄 Oh yes. I get this all the time. I'm a Norwegian expat in Spain. Buyers will ask me for a "custom demo" proving that I can speak Norwegian. I just send them my demo and a quick note about being a Top Rated Seller with more than 800 positive reviews. You don't get that as a Norwegian voice over, if you don't speak Norwegian. That usually calms them down. 🤣

There are more than 255,000 sellers on Fiverr. Out of those, only a few will ever make it past the 1 order mark and have any chance of success. Is it because the "system is rigged"? Perhaps because buyers are "unfair" in choosing sellers with a track record for success? Obviously, the system is rigged. It's rigged to match the best seller with the right buyer. That's why the Fiverr algorithm and metrics used for deciding who makes it is ever-evolving. The system is rigged so that Fiverr succeeds. And that's a good thing because a strong Fiverr is a better Fiverr. If you're misrepresenting yourself and your skills, the system is rigged to keep you as far away from buyers as possible. In my view, the number one reason why a new buyer isn't making it, is because they lie about their skills. Far too many are lying about their skills and misrepresenting themselves to the point that it becomes ridiculous. The screenshot below is not fake. It's from an actual seller profile on Fiverr: Unfortunately, this is no laughing matter. If you're not an expert, lying about it won't make you one. If a buyer ever decides to make an order, they will walk away disappointed. Angry, even. Pissed off because they expected an expert and received an amateur. For the seller, the result is a negative review, no more orders and a trip to the forum, asking why the orders have stopped rolling in. Thankfully, Fiverr has ways to separate the wheat from the chaff by using its algorithm. But the algorithm can never be perfect. It all begins with every person out there who thinks lying about their skills can land them success. It won't. It's not just unethical. It's useless. If you wish to go into freelancing and have any kind of success, you better be honest about your skills. And your limitations. You need to invest time in your skills. You need a proper business strategy. Now go out there, learn new things, and if you're feeling sad right now: don't. If you don't know how: learn it. Then come back to Fiverr, with a plan, a skill and something to contribute to the platform. That's the way to success.

Hey Nick! I took a look at your thumbnails. I'm by no means a designer, and I actually hired a designer here on Fiverr to do mine (we're both VOs). With that said, my first impression is that your thumbnails are not professionally designed. They are not ugly. But they aren't great. I'm not 100% happy with my own and they are made by a professional designer. I can't design myself, but I know what I like when I see it. Here are the specific issues I have with yours: They are very green. Perhaps a bit..too green? The font and background is very 90s. The clip art microphone is also very 90s. The photo of you could be of better quality. It's way better than having no photo at all, but I would perhaps hire a pro photographer or a friend who's great with a camera, find some nice location in the later afternoon/early evening light outside, and get some better photos taken. I think it's the lighting that ruins them for me. Very "office" lighting reflecting off of you. On a different point: I'd increase my rates right away. 5-dollar-gigs attracts the worst buyers. The first word I saw was "CHEAP". That's a big no-no in my book. Cheap means low quality. Cheap comes across as being flimsy. Without value. If your value proposition is that you have great rates, how about trying the word "affordable" instead? It's gentle, positive, and doesn't give the same bad connotations as "cheap". But please, don't sell anything for five dollars – your time and skills are worth more. Your current thumbnails get the message across. So you have a starting point with your layout, though. Hope this helps! And I don't mean to be negative or anything. But you asked, so this is only meant as constructive criticism. Again, I'm no designer. These are just my two cents on them.

It is not. You can contact Fiverr Support. Make sure to document everything. I once bought a video intro, and found out years later that it was stolen when my wife, who used the intro, got a copyright strike. Fiverr appreciated my report. I'm not sure if the seller lost his/her account or not, as I didn't bother following up on it, but this is clearly unacceptable and needs to be reported. The order was refunded to me by Fiverr. In your case, the order was cancelled. Cancellations do hurt us sellers, so there's some "comfort" in knowing that their completion rate will have gone down, and that can hurt future business oppurtunities, at least for a while. In regards to reviewing the orders: you've got your money back. The buyer got a cancellation on their stats. Fiverr works by promoting the best buyers, so when something like this happens, they do get penalized, like others have pointed out before me. You might think a bad review would be useful for other buyers in the future, but the fact is that if a seller keeps doing what they did here, they will just disappear from the search results one day, not to be heard from again (except on the forum, where they will complain about orders going down). You got your money back. The sellers got a slap on the wrist anyway. They do. At the cost of their freelancers, too. Did you know buyers can make an order, complete it, and then contact customer support and get it cancelled, even if they accepted the delivery in the first place? Or that buyers can just disappear with no consequense, in the middle of an order, leaving us hanging with the threat of late orders? Did you know that, if my house burnt down today, and I ended up delivering an order 20 minutes too late due to that fire, it would hurt my account and nobody would care? Fiverr does protect its buyers by the very nature of how it works: if your stats drop too much, you're off the map. There are tons of mechanisms in place to keep buyers on their toes about quality, speed and communication (as it should be!). In this case, Fiverr protected you. They gave you your money back when you weren't happy.

Also, I read "3 years later" with a fake french accent in my head. I've been on Youtube too much.

What the hell. Me too! Just after I wrote an awesome response! Whoot.

Welcome, Will! Nice to have you with us! I'm Leo, but most people call me Mr. Dear Sir Smash. After spending some time here, you'll understand why. I also go by the name of monsieur, but I don't let just anyone use that title of honor. I've dabbled in web development myself, also mostly word-of-mouth. I've never marketed those skills, and probably never will. I prefer to have a small project here and there. My passion lies in voice overs, content writing and translation. That's what I do here on Fiverr. I've been here since 2014, so it has been a while! Success on Fiverr is all about making your buyers happy and knowing how the system works. But mostly just about making your buyers happy. Just like in the real world, word-of-mouth will work in your favor (business = business) so I like the way you phrased it: "Having FIverr as a virtual word-of-mouth". Again, welcome! And if you ever have questions, we're a bunch of Fiverr nerds on here, always happy to help!

I found the opt-out! It's "conveniently" placed at the bottom of your public profile page! Who would have guessed. I'm sure that's not random, at all.

I hope Fiverr begins to charge for being a seller. A monthly cost.

My bedroom curtains are better looking than this. It was 20 bucks at Ikea.

You just have to interpret it right. If you don't understand it, you don't understand art. Don't you see the blue representing the patriarchy and how it influences post modern post modernism?

Thanks for the award @frank_d😄

The worst part is, some sucker would probably pay for it. Did you know that a Norwegian guy who puts paint up his ass and squirts it out over a canvas in Norway, received nearly 4 million US dollars in "art support"? Yes, that's a thing in Norway. He does it infront of an audience, too! I'm not gonna share the link here, in an effort to not get banned. But... (I google translated the page and had to struggle to find a moment during the video that didn't show his "art" in action.) So maybe selling my farts as NFTs could be a good idea. I might get millions!

I would charge 1000 per minute. I absolutely hate them. I'm the same with meetings with clients. I prefer to work alone. That way, the client won't hear me burping and farting in the studio.

I include two revisions, but I also inform the buyer about what's included, and what's not. Script changes = No. Instruction changes = No. Additional services = No. I make a mistake = Yes Style change if I didn't follow instructions properly = Yes (This is basically my answer to anyone who wants remote sessions - and my replacement for doing them. I hate directed sessions more than anything. They can bite me.)

There it was! 😄

What makes your gigs unique? What makes them stand out from the crowd? Why should buyers order from you, and not the other sellers? If you answer these questions, you could begin improving your efforts to land more sales. You need to know who your clients are, what they are looking for, and have a plan on how you're going to solve their problem better than your competition. It's called a business plan. So grab yourself a beverage, lean back, and think long and hard about these things. You might come up with some cool answers that will help you gain more business!

If you feel there are things that can be improved to get more sales, sure, edit your gig. But why are you here without a plan? If you want to succeed in business, you need to have a business plan. You need to know what you want to sell, who you're going to sell it to, what makes your offer unique and different from all the other sellers out there, and how you're going to do it. It appears to me that you have no plan at all. You're asking us if you should edit your gig. What I'm saying is: if you don't know what to do, you need to figure that out first.

Even if your gig shows up in search, that's no guarantee that you'll get orders. It doesn't work like that. Your gig has to not only show up, but also be attractive enough to encourage orders, not to mention the fact that your service has to perfectly match each buyer.

My two cents in return is that it's nice to have all the instructions up-front before starting the work. But as a freelancer, you need to expect clients to change their minds about stuff. Often, clients will have a particular idea of what they want, but new ideas come to life when they see it in front of them. My job a freelancer is to facilitate, create and bring those ideas to life. But it isn't free. I don't view revisions as anything but a new round of ideas being brought to life. With that said, they always have to pay for my work. When I agree to include, let's say, two revisions in an order, that should be baked into the price. If the client would rather pay for those revisions if needed, the rate would be lower, but they would expect to pay a certain amount for each revision. I make it clear to all buyers that revisions aren't free. They are included. If the client needs changes, I'll happily work on them because I know I get paid. This is good advice! Even though revisions might be included or needed during the order, there's always the time aspect to consider. If I need some content and specify precisely what I need, maybe I won't need that revision. It saves me/the buyer time when it gets done right the first time. The same applies to selling. I always advise fellow sellers to read everything twice, then reread it once more, just to make sure. It can be frustrating to receive work that isn't done according to your specifications. As a seller, I wholeheartedly disagree with this statement. You're paying for a service. You should expect the freelancer you hire to keep up the good work because of that alone – not because there might be a tip down the line. Sure, it's nice to get a tip (I always appreciate it!), but when a buyer is paying me to do a great job, I'm going to make damn sure I deliver the goods. If a seller expects a tip for doing a good job, I'll never work with them again. I would never expect it as a seller. We're not a restaurant, and Fiverr is the only platform I know of that encourages you to pay a tip for a service performed by a freelancer. That's not something I would ever include or mention in a contract with a client, yet Fiverr forces the buyer to look through an "It's customary to tip" screen after the order. No, it's not "customary". Maybe in a restaurant or certain countries, but not while working with freelancers.

Glad to hear you're enjoying the content! I'm not sure if I wrote a topic on saying "no", but I did respond to a topic the other day about it. I just can't find it 😄 But I've posted a lot, so who knows...

Woohoo, a couple of my topics in your list as well 😄 Now I'm really on cloud nine! Haha! 😄