katakatica

Exactly. By all means, I agree that some of us have it easy now, but I think we all fought quite hard for it. Some days I wish I could have one of those cushy jobs (again, no offence to them from me either, sometimes, I envy it.) But... I love what I do too much, I guess? I think that's sort of the difference between being forced to be a freelancer (which seems like an unfortunate pattern from many countries) or at least feeling like that's your only option vs. choosing to pursue your passion. It's hard, but it pays off. However, many who want easy cash don't make it until that point, I guess.

Oh, but it's all luck and nothing else. Breaking into a male-dominated industry (mostly games in this case, I guess the rest of writing is mostly even) was a piece of cake and NEVER made me a target of gross people. Wait. (no sass to you @newsmike I agree with you completely.) Honestly, it's not. Sure, there is this fun pink fog when you get going and get your first orders, but after that, it's all hard work. I might be 'luckier' than some others from my home country, but most of it is honestly me being stubborn and pushing myself until I can't anymore. A bed of roses would be me NOT having a mental breakdown yesterday due to work. Do I love what I do? Absolutely. But I don't love it being dismissed as only luck and happiness because it's not. (if any TRS/Pro has a different experience, I'd adore hearing it because I want that, too.)

Honestly, with the amount of messages they get in a day I doubt that have the time to actually check every single profile unless it's necessary. Many times I've sent screenshots and links and received completely irrelevant answers. Of course if someone reports a thing but gets a warning because of it (whatever that might be, I'm sure it's happened) that's different but otherwise I really doubt they have the time. (If say, there were 1000 sellers per category, it'd totally be possible though.)

What sort of issue do you think would so that? I'm genuinely curious. But no, I genuinely don't think that affects anything. However, bothering them with questions you can find answers to online still isn't right. (Not that I think you'd do that.)

(also, like, don't post the confidential files of your would-be clients on the internet so openly. Even if this is just an example and not the one you were sent, still...)

Hm, approach it thinking like this (so that next time you have something like this, you can figure it out alone) Ask yourself: - Is changing dates on legal documents illegal? If the answer is yes (which it is), well.. it's very much against the TOS. (Long answer: I'm assuming this could be used for anything from insurance fraud to collecting the deceased's pension/etc.) Even if it's something completely innocent (for some weird reason), I would NOT risk it.

Hey! I'm just dropping in as a non-artist - I noticed that you don't have a lot of coloured examples (at least no here) but you're advertising coloured portraits. The last image is honestly almost too perfect - do you use some special techniques to make something like that? (again, not an artist but very curious!)

Hey! Awesome question, I can totally see where you're coming from. The way I do things personally (mostly to avoid this actually) is by making sure that all of my packages are priced based on my basic package. So for example, if 2000 words would be $5, (basic package) and my next package would be at 4000 words, it would be at $10. The package after would be 6000 words at $15 (not my real prices or packages, just an example.) I understand that in some niches, bigger packages mean extra stuff ( more research, commercial rights for only certain packages, etc) but this seems to be the simplest way for me to make sure people don't game the system. What you CAN try if you want different prices is make sure buyers know that the lowest tiers don't come with x perks, and they might need to purchase extras for them. However, I always found that a bit risky because people can be quiet cheap. I hope you find a way to price things that makes sense for you! Good luck! (Important: when it comes to writing, people CAN purchase your basic package (or any package) multiple times without the deadline changing at all. Keep an eye on it and make sure to communicate early if you need more help. It's an issue many of us have reported since technically the days needed should just multiply (e.g. if you buy package one three times it should be three days not one) but they don't. Hopefully this will be fixed though! This is irrelevant to your post but it's good to know. I think most other niches are OK, it's mostly writing that has this issue but I'm not sure.)

That's the same post, what you're seeing are the replies to it.

Yup, that definitely suggests that she did. There's a chance that others did as well and just didn't block you (or even one flag is enough to restrict you.) Honestly, you're not the victim here. While I try to handle every interaction with grace, I've been somewhat upset with spam as well, and told people off for it. Imagine having 10 people message you with the same spiel every day. Even if someone is a tad different, you likely won't care, and rightfully so. You might get your account back if you didn't spam much, but I want to make sure you understand that YOU were in the wrong, not the people you spammed. That way, if you get it back, you won't do it again.

How do you know for sure that only they reported you? I'm honestly not sure though, maybe you'll get it back, maybe not.

So you're saying it's not spam but imagine being on the other side. Do you think you are the only one with the brilliant idea of reaching out to TRS to try and market yourself? (No. You're not.) Not sure what you can do other than wait if you'll get your account back but honestly, depending on how many people reported you, you might not get it back. If you do, learn from this situation and stop sending messages to others.

By no means am I an artist, but just by looking at your gig images, I can tell that you need a lot of work. They don't stand out, which is one thing, but... they also just... don't look good at all. Your gig texts could also use some help. I'm just not convinced when I see your profile as a whole. Because of the competition, new sellers need to not only stand out but to look like they could do a good job (and not just mess around, since there are a lot of scammers here.) Maybe there's a way for you to find a way to do that?

I had a slump for about 2-3 weeks (April and the first few days of May if that matters). No messages, no nothing but a LOT of spammers (think 2-3 times the amount of what is 'normal' in one day. I was away for a bit and then very sick, so my assumption is that extending some orders and not delivering them might have had an effect on things. (of course, it could have also had lower private ratings, but... I'm not sure how many people actually bother with those at this point, and save for one person, all of the clients whom I needed to ask for more time from have either re-ordered or asked to schedule a new order later! Things picked up all of a sudden, I think mid-last week/the weekend of so, and they are going quite well now. I'm mostly just putting my musings here in case that might help figure some things out since this seems to happen for me (no long slumps, just a few weeks of radio silence at a time, but never going down to 0 orders.) April revenue-wise was OK due to having a good amount of return clients, but some of those orders count for May (at least on the earning page), so I'm very curious to see how May will be. For the record, I haven't had a cancellation since October or so last year, but I still had ups and downs, but not as drastic as some people seem to have...

It was technically still Japanese I think (?) but one of the few izakayas here so I call it Stockholm-style 😛 I will make a post with the prettier pictures in a bit, the lighting was awful. (But honestly, it's some of the best food i've had in this city so far. There's maybe another place that is similar but it doesn't sound AS good.)

ACTUALLY my latest 'I need this now' craving was takoyaki as well, though it was a month or so ago. I went to a fancy omakase (well, Stockholm-style) with a friend and got to have them after years of not finding them anywhere. A bit after I had it at another spot but it was nowhere near that good! I tend to mostly crave seafood or salty/sweet treats though, sort of a mix. (PS.: I did an AWESOME food tasting experience at a French/Japanese fusion place and now I'm craving some of their dishes, two of the egg dishes were to die for! It's kind ironic how I'm too lazy to make steamed eggs though, so I had to go to such a fancy place to have them!)

So... This is likely not what you want to hear, but I will say it anyway because you might find it useful. If something doesn't work for five whole years... perhaps it's not meant to work? I'm NOT saying that you should give up on writing/etc. But... take a close look at your profile. Would you look at your gig images and purchase from yourself? Be honest! Read your gig descriptions: do you get the amount of info that you need to be able to trust someone from them? Do your offerings make sense next to each other? If I'm being honest, if I saw your account as is - made years ago with no sales and gigs somewhat ragtag, I likely wouldn't dare to order from you. The full picture just isn't convincing enough, to be honest. So what would I do? I would focus on figuring out your niche - and making gig images that sell your gigs (I know some of mine aren't perfect, but in my niche, they still stand out.) yours blend in and not really in the right way. Your pricing is also a little confusing, to be honest: if I were to ask you to translate 1500 words for me, you'd charge me $65. If I asked you to translate 1501 words, te price would be $30. I understand why you want your prices to be flexible like that, and I know some people do that, but if I'm being honest, it feels a bit redundant. Clear up your gigs, make some new ones, niche down, and see if that works. If not... Maybe Fiverr isn't the right space for you, and that's perfectly fine. It's a tough market with loads of cheap competition.

Just from one writer to another, try to be more mindful of typos - you seem like you actually know what you're doing (mostly), but your post's title made me worry at first. Now, as for the topic - can you just increase your word count as well as the price? Not sure if the page would let you do that, but I think that might work if you REALLY don't want to have higher prices. From what I can understand, Fiverr is moving away from being able to sell gigs for $5, which is honestly a good thing (I think). What I'd do is just make sure that the quality I offer is worth $40 (so no typos if possible, though of course that happens, correct grammar, great worldbuilding, just..you know, good writing in general.) If I'm not sure about industry standards, but as a narrative dev/writer, I think $40 as a starting price is pretty normal/humble even. Don't focus on what you see completely new profiles charge because, honestly, $5 for 1000 words (or 2000-2500 words, I've seen both even recently) just isn't fair.

What do you mean exactly? Are the buyers you reach out to via their (own) briefs rejecting you?

I want to say - I feel sorry for you. I really do. I can't even imagine what you're going through (or have gone through.) But... This is not the way to ask for help. The world should help just isn't the way to phrase it. Honestly? No one here owes you an order. Relying on Fiverr (or even just hoping you can use extra income off here but not actually earning anything) is a surefire way to get into an even worse situation. To me, it seems like you've made your profile out of desperation, and that is heartbreaking, but I don't think that's enough. If you're genuinely in need of money, I'm sure there are other ways (gofundme/etc.) Offering work in random fields (your gigs honestly feel a bit mismatched) really isn't the way. You don't sell on here because people pity you; you sell your talent. (of course, you could be awesome, but.. I've seen many gigs like yours. If you're a genuine talent, I really hope you'll find a way to stand out!

Honestly, I wish staying online would help me COMPLETE (not get in this case) orders. I'm sick as hell after travelling for a single weekend (yes, this happens every.single.time). If just keeping the tab open would write the stories... I'd be the happiest girl alive. (that being said, no, not really. I'm sure that at some point it might have helped when the competition wasn't so bad, but if you and other 10 thousand people (in your category) are doing the same thing... chances of being picked is very very small.

In a way, I understand you. I've lost my job from one day to another before and was even stuck in a foreign country at the moment, so imagine. However... If Fiverr says they don't want your business there's a reason for that. Does that make you a bad artist? Not necessarily. You might just be trying to join at the wrong time (and yeah, having two accounts doesn't help. Not sure where the misconception it was OK came from but it's not. I'm sure you can think of a few reasons why. I'm sorry but is selling NFT art REALLY what you need to survive? It's a bit hard for me to grasp that. relying on freelance sites in a crisis honestly won't due you any good. (It didn't help me either, trust me). Take a deep breath, think about the comments you've gotten and see if maybe you were (at least a bit) in the wrong. PS .: Oftentimes when you see your own gigs as a newbie, they seem flawless to you but they truly aren't. Maybe (if you can get your account through) there's ways for you to improve?

It's just not how it works. Fiverr doesn't make the difference between you working for youtube vs editing a video on it (and etc.) which means that if you were to say 'I worked on x's channels' videos', you would be falsely showing that you worked for YOUTUBE itself instead (same goes for other big companies.) Even if someone can verify that you worked for them on x website, you still haven't worked with the official company, so you can't show that you did. In some cases this can be annoying (for games/small companies without websites and blogs) but generally, this is... basically common sense. Why would you want to add companies you've never worked for anyway? Do you really think that would benefit you?

Hey! I'm not sure if it's Fiverr itself that's having issues - while I'm sure that Facebook ads might not be as popular as before, they are still quite big. If I were you, I would do two things: - Check my offerings from a buyer's standpoint. Am I relevant? Do I offer real value? Are my gigs good? Am I better than my competitors? Did I have any negative interactions lately that could be causing people to be wary of ordering from me? Is there anything I can do to redeem myself from that? - Check if there's anything else I can do. If FB ads aren't doing so well, why not try another type of ad (after, of course, taking the time to study them.) TikTok is huge right now, from what I know. Once I'd done with those questions, I'd start looking into Fiverr (and all the changes, etc.) Even then, expanding the services you offer should be step one. I had a REALLY popular gig last year that made me a lot of money. By this year, the craze is over, and I've barely gotten orders for it. However, I've earned a lot more than I did in the first four months of last year. How? By studying the market and knowing what people are seeking right now!

Yeah I... I do absolutely disagree with that. (but there's so much more to this whole topic, to be honest.) I don't want to sound ignorant, though (I'm very well aware of it, and my culture, while not so bad also supports (some) weird stuff that I wish could be just... erased (not gonna go into detail but yeah.)