smashradio

I was hoping this was a joke when I saw the title. You quit your steady job before you had any viable alternative to make up for the lost income? I don't mean to put you down or anything, and I love reading stories about people who finally get out of their 9-5 and start following their dream of becoming a freelancer. There's so much to that word: freelancer. But in these day and age, quitting a steady job without any groundwork for what you're going to do might very well be the dumbest move in your career. I won't say it is, because you never know: you might find great success, and I hope you do! But you're probably going to find out that getting started on Fiverr is much harder than most people think. It takes a long time of hard work, dedication, a bit of luck, and of course, skills that will make you stand out in the overcrowded marketplace. It can be done, but I really hope you have a big rainy-day fund to fall back on, because you're in for a tough ride. I really hope you make it! I love working on Fiverr. It's a great marketplace, it has (mostly) great buyers, and it has given me the freedom to work from home, or the beach, or the hotel. Looking at your gig, here's what I would get cracking at first: Don't offer unlimited revisions. You'll be taken advantage of, and you'll regret it! Offering one or two revisions is fine, but going unlimited sets you to be the victim of bad buyers who will get you to work for free in endless revision loops. I would also look into your gig description. It has bad grammar. You're claiming that you were a top rated seller once. If that's correct, you probably should know all these things by now. Anyway, I'm not sure if you're allowed to use that type of wording, since ranks/levels on Fiverr is meant to be handed out/taken away by Fiverr. At least this is true for profile pics and gig images, where you're not allowed to use levels.

You should get in touch with Fiverr support for assistance, since this sounds like a technical issue. You can contact them here: https://www.fiverr.com/support_tickets/new Best of luck.

Yes, the attention you give to each buyer when responding is crucial indeed. But I know for a fact (after actually measuring this in a spreadsheet, because I like data) that responding to messages after the 1-hour mark drops your chances of landing a sale (at least in my case) by about 30%. If the response time is +3 hours, the chances drop by about 50% on average. Messages sent at night have an on average lower drop rate than messages sent during normal business hours. Since you'll have clients from all over the world on Fiverr, "normal business hours" will depend on where your main income comes from. So there is something to this. But that doesn't mean you should just send "Hello. I will get back to you." just to keep your response time low. The response should always be useful and well thought out, otherwise you're just wasting the buyers time.

Wait, what?! Are you trying to advise people to work for free? That's wrong on so many levels. First of all: you should never work for free, nor should you send your potential buyers "60-70%" of their project without getting paid for your time. If you have to do that, you're way off track when it comes to how you're presenting yourself, in my opinion. If you want a job at a company, you don't just walk into their office, sit down, do some work, then apply for the job. As a voice-over talent, I'm used to doing auditions for jobs. And that's fine. But I would never do "60-70% of the work" for an audition! I may read a line or two, perhaps even three, depending on the length of the script. But working without knowing you'll get paid? Maybe you'll land a couple of gigs, sure, but will they be lasting respectful relationships? I doubt it. Exposure doesn't pay the bills, and frankly, if I ever got "60-70%" of the work done for free, I would think this person is desperate. If they are desperate, they most likely aren't very good at what they do because if they were, the clients would be waiting in line to pay them for their work. So if you ever are going to do this, you better be sure that you're good at what you do (that means knowing a lot more than "the basics"), because I would look at your work with highly sceptical eyes. And you better be sure that the person won't just take your word, say bye-bye, and go on their way with an almost finished, free project. The chance of wasting your time is high. At least that's my take on this. If you want to work for free, then, by all means, go right ahead. Oh, and one last piece of advice: if you want to succeed doing freelance work online, keep religion out of it. You risk alienating people by doing so. Remember: most of your buyers probably won't be a part of your religion, and most religious people (and even non-religious people) can be very touchy about the subject. 🙂

I prefer to cancel, rather than to get a bad review. This is because, if you get a single cancelled order, and you keep delivering other orders as normal, the cancellation rate is something that will get back to normal at some point. A single cancellation isn't the end of the world. A bad review, on the other hand, stays there. It doesn't go away. You can't change it. It's ever-lasting, not to mention, it is public. Your cancellation rate isn't. Success depends on perception: if people view you as a serious and successful seller, they are more likely to buy from you. If you have several bad reviews under you belt, that's less likely to happen. With that being said: I believe there are ways to solve these things before it gets to a bad review or cancellation. By using customer service skills, being helpful, polite, friendly and professional, you should be able to avoid most cancellations. I got an order the other day that I wasn't able to complete due to personal ethical reasons. That meant I had to cancel it. That's life. But honestly, most cases can be solved without cancelling or getting a bad review. If you're a successful seller on Fiverr, you're likely to experience them both at some point, and none of them means the end of your carreer.

I agree. A bit late to edit now, but you make a good point. I think I touched on it by pointing out that it might piss buyers off, because they expect a quick response when they aren't getting one. Yeah, unfortunately, so. But every now and then you'll get someone with actual talent and willingness to learn who takes the advice we give to heart. And if I can help even 1 or 2 sellers to become better, it was worth it for me. But it's sad to see the state of the forums at times. This is why I suggested to the Fiverr team in a Community Leader chat I had with them, that we need a forum only for level 2s and TRS. A place for real discussions and work. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. We just got a new technical platform for spammers to use.

This tip is repeated over and over again in the forums: "stay online 24/7, and you'll get orders". It's bad advice, for several reasons. Let me explain: If you want to stay online 24/7, you have two options: never sleep, or use an auto-refreshing plugin. If you never sleep, you'll go crazy. If you use an auto refresher, you'll more than likely get banned from Fiverr because this is against the terms of service. In other words: not a good option. So what to do then? Every day, I see sellers advising me to stay online as much as possible, so it must be important, right?! Well. Yes. And no. Staying online can have an effect because some buyers might sort sellers by who's online at the moment to get a response faster. I find myself doing this if I have a very short deadline. That means staying online if you're "not really online" (in front of your computer at this moment) will likely annoy the buyer because they expect a quick response from you. If you don't reply immediately, the effect might be negative rather than positive. On the other hand: actually being online – in front of your computer – will help you respond to messages sooner, answer any questions, and help buyers solve their problems. But if you want to stay sane, healthy and productive, sitting in front of your computer 24/7 isn't an option. We're only humans, after all. Do this instead Instead of constantly refreshing the same page to "stay online", you should spend your time being productive: improving your skills, gigs and service. Learn new things that can be beneficial in the future. The other day I delivered all my orders early and thought to myself: "I'm gonna learn something new." I jumped on an online course about color theory because I can use it to improve my marketing skills. To stay healthy, you could go for a walk. Bring your kids out to play. Make a healthy meal. Or just watch a bad action movie while eating popcorn (we all need to have some fun, too!). Improve your Fiverr business Suppose you want to improve your business here on Fiverr. In that case, you could spend that time making a professional gig video, design new and better gig images, work on your profile description, work on your language skills, take Fiverr tests to build authority and trust, take a course from Fiverr Learn, improve your profile description, read guides on the forum on how to optimize your gig and services.. The options are there, waiting for you to take advantage of them. Conclusion: Do you need to stay online 24/7 to get orders? No. Does it help? No. Only "stay online" when you're really online, ready to respond to requests at a moments notice. Responding quickly to messages is important and can truly make a difference! But staying online just to get that green dot is nonsensical. Having a great value offer that solves the buyer's problem while responding quickly to messages is the key to getting orders. Delivering high-quality work every time is the key to keep those buyers coming back for more. Repeat business has become more critical than ever, so much so that Fiverr now gives you a score based on the amount of repeat business you get! That probably means it also affects your ranking and stuff like the Fiverr's Choice badge.

Dear sir – forum edition. Just got this PM here on the forum. Just had to share.

It can be any size you want as long as the quality is good, since you can reposition and move your picture to fit. 🙂 I would suggest 1280x270 as a minimum.

You can see the forum ranks by going to your profile on the forum, and then clicking the "recent badges" box. You'll then see the ranks on the left hand side (and where you are on the rank list). Here they are: Newbie Rookie Apprentice Explorer Contributor Enthusiast Collaborator Community Regular Rising Star Proficient Experienced Mentor Veteran Grand Master

Already got Seller Plus. yet I see no mention of Coupons in the main navigation menu or anywhere else. What am I missing? I have the advanced analytics, and I've paid the subscription. I can't find anything about Seller Plus in the menu, either. @mjensen415

You can request that the buyer cancel the order. If they refuse, you can escalate to customer support, @pradeep1107 If the buyer accepts, you get your money back in the form of Fiverr credits right away. If not, you escalate it to support, and they will cancel the order for you.

I like it! I'm one point away from getting the badge. Something to strive for. I'm doing everything that's recommended to keep buyers coming back, so I guess I need more coffee to figure this one out. To the coffee-machine! I'm curious. How do I set up coupons for my gigs? Is that something I've overlooked, or does it have to be a manual thing, @mjensen415?

First of all, I'd like to say that I'm sorry you had this experience. It shouldn't be like this. If the content isn't what you expected you can initiate a dispute in the resolution center, and explain what the problem is. You're the first person (ever) that I've seen who thinks Fiverr favors its sellers. Usually, the buyer will win in most conflicts, especially if you can prove to customer support that he delivered copy-pasted content that he didn't make himself. In regards to fake reviews, this is unlikely, since a review can only be placed after an order has been paid for and completed. The buyer would therefore have to spend real money (minimum 7USD per order) in order to get reviews, and get a bunch of accounts to do so, without getting noticed by the system or Fiverr. I doubt that would happen. Most likely, other buyers simply haven't noticed the low quality. Use the resolution center in the order, is my advice. Best of luck!

@newsmikeThanks for your feedback. I agree, for the most part. It depends entirely on the project. Buyers who are not concerned with lowering the rate for a project are easier to work with, usually. But there are situations when negotiating makes sense. In one case, I politely asked if it was possible to match my budget if I was willing to accept the delivery with a slightly extended deadline. I had 500 dollar budget, and the usual rate of the provider was 550. It ended up becoming a respectful and enjoyable negotiation that resulted in a long and good professional relationship, and I got the project done within my budget. Sometimes, you have to be concerned about the price because you're working within constraints that cannot change. It also makes sense that companies want to get the best possible price and the best possible quality: what I'd call "a good deal". For me, as a seller, it makes sense to offer "a good deal" to attract business, but this doesn't mean I'll work for pennies. I'd rather say no thank you to a job than do that. It's not about being cheap: it's about working together and being able to negotiate. Sometimes, it might not be just the price: perhaps the buyer is 25 words over the limit but asks nicely if it's possible to take the extra 10 dollars off because it would cause him to go over budget? On a 500 dollar gig, that would make sense. On a 20 dollar gig, it would not. In the end, it's up to the seller. I've said no thanks to plenty of projects because their budget wasn't aligned with my rates. Sometimes, if a buyer becomes too pushy about the price, I'll say thanks, but no thanks, because at this point, their attitude is a red flag.

Hey, buyers! I'm a fellow buyer and a top-rated seller here on Fiverr. I want to tell you something about negotiating with your seller to avoid coming across as rude. First of all, let me tell you that there's nothing wrong with negotiating prices on bigger projects. It's normal and acceptable. The way you do it – and when – is what makes all the difference. Also, keep in mind that rules and etiquette can vary across cultures. For example, haggling over price is more common in certain Asian and Middle-Eastern countries. Don't get me wrong: westerners still haggle, but we do it differently and less up-front. Here's some stuff that might make you look rude when negotiating with your sellers (and knowing it might help you get some excellent deals!). #1 - Don't be Scrooge McDuck (Everybody likes him unless they have to do business with him) Unless you're bringing a big project, remember that you might come across as cheap and rude if you're asking for a lower price. Asking the seller to do a 20 dollar project for 5 isn't good etiquette, and unless the seller is desperate, you won't end up with a good working relationship. Have respect for other people's time and work, and they will respect you. There's a big difference between asking for five bucks off a 50 dollar order because of budget constraints and asking for 15 dollars off a 20 dollar project. #2 - Know the market you're working with If you're shopping for low-cost services on Fiverr, you're in luck. There's thousands of gigs and some great deals to be had. But before you do, make sure you know the market. Shopping for a Scandinavian high-end and human translation? It's probably going to cost you a bit more because that market is more niche and has higher living costs for the people selling their services. Asking a Norwegian translator to translate 1000 words of marketing content for ten bucks manually is an insult: you'll barely get a cup of coffee in Norway for that, while it might be food for the whole family that day in a low-cost country. If you know your market, you'll have more success finding the right seller at the right price. #3 - Don't haggle if the seller says the rate is fixed If you contact a buyer with a project description while asking for a reduced rate, and the buyer explains that their rate is fixed, that means it's fixed. If it's not within your budget range, you should acknowledge that, thank the seller for their time, and move on. #4 - Don't insult the seller or service offered I've experienced this. Buyers who think they can get a better deal by explaining that translation is easy or that just speaking into a microphone isn't worth that much. Insulting a professional like that will not get you a better deal: it might get you blocked, though. #5 - "I can get it cheaper elsewhere". Ok. Then buy it elsewhere. #6 - Don't make demands Ask – don't demand. Some sellers will get angered by demands. This could even be "I'll pay you x for this". It might be meant as just a simple statement but can be considered a demand at the other end. Try asking politely instead. Remember, this is for your benefit since a friendly tone can get you a better deal. #7 - When you find a seller you like, keep working with them As a seller, I might be more willing to offer better rates for regular buyers. If I know a buyer has spent 2000 dollars on gigs with me before, and they suddenly have a project that's a bit under budget, I'd be inclined to offer them a lowered rate to help them out. But starting the relationship with a mindset of "I'm gonna pay this seller a maximum 20% of his rates"? No deal. Wrapping up Don't be cheap, but don't be afraid of looking for a good deal. If your budget is far off the set rates in the gig, look elsewhere. Know the market you're shopping in. Don't push for a lower rate if the buyer tells you the price is fixed. Don't insult the service or seller. Ask – don't demand. Maintain a good relationship with your sellers. In the long run, they might be more willing to help you out. (Fun story: This post was inspired by experiencing a single buyer who did all of these things: demanding a ridiculous offer on a small project as a first-time buyer (with me, not on the platform), telling me it's cheaper elsewhere, who kept on haggling after I said my rates are fixed, clearly didn't know the market they were shopping in by asking for at least two hours work for an absurd amount, and then ended up insulting me by explaining how easy my job was when I didn't budge. Let's say I said thanks, but no thanks.)

I've been asked about this before, especially from new sellers on Fiverr, who might not be aware of certain red flags when selling on Fiverr. The fact is, you're likely to come across a scammer or two when selling your services on Fiverr. Most articles I could find online is geared towards buyers rather than sellers. So here is my list. It's by no means complete and is based on the scams I've encountered myself, so if you have been the victim of a scam or have different "red flags" than me, I'd love to hear about them! Let's help each other avoid bad experiences :D #1 Trying to connect outside of the platform This is a big red flag for me. It's not just against the terms of service – it's also potentially dangerous. You never know who's on the other end. In addition to getting you banned, this could lead to all sorts of scams, including having you do work, then not pay you for it. Buyers will sometimes ask for contact information like e-mail or phone numbers. The best response to this is to explain that it's against the terms of service, that you'll only work directly here on Fiverr, and that the platform offers all the tools you need to communicate and collaborate effectively. If they don't respect this, you should report them, block them, and move on. It's not worth it, even if the gig sounds sweet. #2 Asking for unreasonable discounts or services This goes without saying. If someone suggests that you provide them with a discount, especially if they do so in a rude way, it is a big red flag. "Give me your best price" or "I will only pay... for this" and so on, tells me something about the buyer: they are not valuing or respecting my work or time. I don't want to work with buyers like that because it often leads to revision loops (sellers abusing the revision button) or other bad experiences, and it's disrespectful towards the professional. #3 Dear sir I've mentioned this in another post, where I go more into why "dear sir", "dear madam" is a red flag. It doesn't necessarily mean it's a scam, but it puts me on my toes, for sure. Primarily due to experience, so your mileage may vary. #4 Anyone who pretends to work for Fiverr Fiverr has recently implemented a green Fiverr-badge next to the username in chat for users who are part of the Fiverr team. Be very sceptical if someone claims to work for Fiverr and don't have that badge, no matter how professional they might seem. #5 If it looks too good to be true... ...It probably is. Be aware of any gigs or offers that don't feel right. This could be the promise of regular work, massive projects etc., especially from new buyers. If a buyer just created their profile, they're not likely to spend thousands of bucks on the platform. Sure, it might be true, but be very sceptical, ask questions, and make sure you get good answers. #6 Short/unclear/bad instructions This also goes for anyone contacting you for a custom offer, promising to give you all the instructions after you've sent them the offer. If they want a custom offer, they should provide you with instructions beforehand. This is because they might mislead you to set up a custom offer, promising that you'll do something, only to give you different instructions after the order has been made. It's also likely to cause revisions loops, as I mentioned before, because a buyer with bad instructions probably won't be happy with the end result. Ask questions, make sure you understand the project before sending the offer and require proper instructions from all your buyers. #7 Bad beheavior, rudeness Some people are just rude. They might be a good buyer nonetheless, but my neck hairs tend to rise immediately if this happens. Rude buyers who don't respect you, your services, or who behaves in any way that you're not comfortable with should immediately raise red flags. Be wary about messages using words like "demand," "you shall", or just plain old rudeness. #8 Threats If anyone threatens you with a negative review if you don't do this and that, report them. It's against the terms of service, and it's a big red flag. This buyer will likely force you to work for free, go outside the scope of the original order or refuse to pay you. If someone threatens with a negative review, I'll instantly report them to customer service. I'll then wait - I will not accept to cancel the order, and I will not answer the buyer: I'll report it. Then wait for customer support. They will handle it for you, as this is unacceptable. Related to this: never ask a buyer for reviews, or talk to them about reviews. The mere mention of it can get you banned or put under review because Fiverr doesn't want you to influence the buyers' feedback. I hope this list helps you avoid some common issues with scammers on Fiverr. I probably missed many, though, so if you have red flags to share, please do so! I'd love to read & learn from my fellow doers!

I’m particularly fond of “sugar-bun”. It’s so american to use food as a term of endearment. @michaelscottmk6 I disagree, actually. I guess it comes from the fact that I live in a tourist area where street sellers will use the line “special price for you my friend”. It has become sort of a stereotype when you want to explain what they do for a living. :rofl:

My personal favorite: “my good man”. I’ve used it in a leadership position once, because I got truly pissed off at an employee. “My good man. This just won’t do.” :rofl: The employee quit. (If he didn’t, I would have fired him for pure incompetence).

Haha yeah. I can’t help but laugh a bit. The day I wrote this I got two “Hey honey”-messages in a row. It’s the worst. :rofl:

I think, as a general observation, people from non-western nations tend to be overly polite in their communications, and that might look weird to us from the west. Sir, madam and dear are used in countries where a high degree of politeness is required just to not come across as rude, while other nations and cultures might have a more relaxed way of doing things. To avoid issues both ways, I find it best to be polite but not personal. So I’ll start a conversation like this: “Hi there, John! Thanks for reaching out.” And I’ll end it with: “All the best, Leo” Yes, I know muslims adress even strangers as brother, at least in a lot of arabic countries, but that is mostly done between muslims, not to a non-believer, at least not in my experience, @mdminhaz05

I would avoid “sir” as well. Certain western countries use it a lot, like the US, but in most countries that could give off the same vibes as dear, madam, brother etc. It’s simply not needed, so why would you use it? It’s better to avoid pronouns like that anyway, to avoid misgendering people. You can actually stick to “Hi, name” or even “Hi there, name” (last one if you want to sound a bit more happy). “Hello, name” is also perfectly acceptable.

I think it has more to do with their faith - as it appears certain forum members who are of a certain faith think of others on the forum their brothers and sisters. I guess it is common (not professionally though!) for some Christian faiths to call people this too, but, it seems to be during church services, not outside of that environment. Still, just weird and not kosher being called brother or sister if I am not blood related to you. GG I have a lot of muslim friends and business asscociates, that I work with on a regular basis. I’ve studied religious history and archeology with imams, and I even produced a “crash course on politeness in Islam, and how it pertains to multicultural communication” for a muslim foundation. I think I’ve been called “brother” once, and that was from an intern. Professional muslim business people don’t go around calling random people brother or sister in business matters. In religious matters, it’s a totally different thing. Muslims consider themselves to be part of a brotherhood (ummah), and can call eachother “Akhy” (my brother) or “Ukhti” (my sister), but this is not used for non-muslims, or at least, rarely, especially not in business matters where you don’t even know the person. With all that said - there is also the cultural element - where people from certain arabic speaking countries use brother a lot, but my point is that, online, you should avoid anything that might be percieved as rude or make the other party uncomfortable.

Companies often use “Dear, name” to start off their communication, but this is both old-fashioned and comes across as fake. I KNOW Ebay doesn’t care about me, yet they call me “dear”. I’m sure you used dear all your life, and I’m also sure that you made a lot of people uncomfortable doing so. I’m not your dear. I’m a potential client. Now, “dear” has a place in old-fashioned letter communications and formal notices etc. in a few countries, but when communicating online you’re talking to people from all over the world. Avoiding words and pronouns that can be offensive or put people off is just good business practice. If you chose not to follow it, that’s of course up to you. 🙂

Is the individuals you wish to call “sister” or “brother” your actual sister or brother - meaning - do you share parents? If not - then why would you call them “sister” or “brother”? If I’m buying social media services from you, I’m not your friend, and I’m not your brother - I’m your client. You should adress me by my name, or if you don’t know my name, the username will do fine. I realise that in some cultures it might be respectful or friendly, but it does not belong in professional business communication.