[Update: Changes to the Value For Money question]

Just now, newsmike said:

I think they agreed to reword the 1 question of value for the money as a demonstration that they are listening, for the optics of it.  The rest will steamroll as planned.  The giveaway was the first line that touted. "we want you to know that we value your input and have been working to actively address your questions and concerns"

Also known as "it likes the new review system on its orders or it gets the hose again"

[Update: Changes to the Value For Money question]

Just now, donnovan86 said:

Clearly they won't, since they are doubling down on it.

Even if they won't, at least I can express the sentiment that many of us feel. And this is coming from a Top Rated and Pro seller with a 10 success score. The system is objectively flawed.

[Update: Changes to the Value For Money question]

Kesha,

This is not a solution to the problem. If anything it's making it worse. Throw the new system in the bin where it belongs. What problem is this even solving for Fiverr? You have so much data on customers already. Why include these vague questions that are proven to confuse buyers. I've had multiple reviews left where buyers have followed up with me stating they were confused by the review system and meant to leave something different than what appeared. How can you trust review data that comes from it if buyers themselves don't even understand the ratings they are giving? This is truly asinine and not indicative of nuanced and effective data analysis by any stretch of the imagination.

 

Edit: To add to this, I've even had repeat customers give me lower ratings on these questions multiple times. This is to the point where I have stopped working with them because I need to put food on the table, and repeatedly low reviews out of confusion is just going to tank my score. Surely having to refuse repeat customers that indicate satisfaction with their buying behavior, despite the review system, is not actually serving them well if I have to protect my own rating and success score instead of serving them.

[Feature Suggestion: Global Gig Setting Adjustments]

There are times when I make similar changes across all of my gigs. For example: pricing changes and delivery time changes. Currently, the only way to do this is to go to each individual gig and tweak the settings one by one. It would be extremely convenient if we could tweak global gig settings that are common between them. This doesn't work for every setting or variable, but there are at least two that I think would be very helpful:

1. Let's say I plan to be away from my workspace for a few days, and I want to extend the delivery time on all of my gigs. It would be nice if I could just select one standard delivery time for all of them, hit apply, and be done with it. That way, I can still talk to customers and receive orders while I'm away. The current implementation of "Set Availability" is effectively pointless for this reason, unless you don't want to receive organic orders. 

2. Pricing fluctuates across the Fiverr market. In order to remain competitive, sometimes us sellers have to review the competition in search and make adjustments to our pricing. For me, that mostly comes down to the initial sticker price. It would be very convenient to select the gigs I want to update (perhaps in a list, with checkboxes), set the base price, and hit apply in one fell swoop.

Just a suggestion! Let me know your thoughts.

 

Trevor - tro2789 on Fiverr 

 

[Voice Over Gig License Suggestion - Possible Alternative (Feedback Encouraged)]

I agree, 100%. This would eliminate many unnecessary conversations between buyers and sellers about rights, and would result in a better customer experience for everyone involved. Also, given the fact that Fiverr essentially created this method of pricing voiceover services a la carte, and by extension the "commercial rights" and "broadcast rights" we all know, the onus should be on them to clear up the confusion. In every other negotiation scenario (direct work, other platforms that aren't fiverr clones, etc.) we normally just quote one rate for everything without tacking on "extras". 

In addition to your suggestion, I think Fiverr should consider amending the checkout process to include a usage question. If the buyer selects that they are using the voiceover content for business purposes, a pop up could display and inform them that usage rights are required. Same thing for advertisements. They already ask the (optional) question in the gig requirements, but by then the buyer has already purchased and might feel deceived by the checkout process. They were unaware such rights were needed, and now they have a bad taste in their mouth. And guess who takes the blame? Sellers. I got a 4.3 review weeks ago for this very reason. 

Looking forward to others' thoughts on this.

 

Trevor O'Hare - tro2789 on Fiverr

[Welcome & Intros 🎤]

You don’t have to drastically change your voice to become a voice actor. A lot of newcomers think that being a voice actor means having an array of different voices - while in reality it’s more important to know how to act and enunciate properly and just play around with your vocal colors.

Very true! I’ll second that. As a voice over artist, I’m not terribly proficient in character voices at all. In fact, I don’t even offer them on Fiverr right now. But, I’m still able to work full time on the platform. There’s plenty of commercial work, audiobooks, eLearning gigs, etc. that can take up your time in the booth.

[Your preferred DAW?]

I use Reaper, and have been using it for about ten years. Some might say there’s a learning curve, but I think that’s true of any capable DAW these days. In my humble opinion, I think it’s value proposition is unmatched. $60 for a fully featured DAW that is lightweight and easy to use once you learn a few keyboard shortcuts. I’ll take that to the bank all day.

[Gear talk: what's your favorite microphone?]

Rode products in general are the best

Coughs. Genuinely.

Was going to wait till I’d completed my studio, done some training sessions and sorted a demo before jumping in here but I really did cough at that statement.

They were named after rats, “RODENT”.

With the exception the NT1, their products are verminous.

The NT-USB is a better headphone amp than it is microphone.

Rode’s PSA-1 is far surpassed by the Blue Compass in terms of style and cable management, that’s the only Blue product I would entertain, and even then I’d honestly resent paying them so I would more likely go for a Thronmax, or a Mika if I was feeling stupidly rich.

Sorry but I’m a mic-supremacist, and can’t stand things like the Podmic, RE20 or other mics people think pass as being broadcast worthy: too much coloration.

There are only three mics I take seriously for VO.

1. U87 AI
2. TLM 103
3. Rode NT1

Why? Clean frequency responses.

There’s a reason why so many have the U87 AI and TLM 103: they’re Neumann’s flagship mic products and their capsules are what many other mic manufacturers try to emulate in a lot of cases.

The NT1 is common, it’s a poor man’s Neumann. The average ears on the street wouldn’t know the difference between them, or something recorded on a potato. Some of the audio demos here have convinced me some audio buyers must be tone deaf, and have tinnitus.

Anything else doesn’t cut it in my opinion. I can’t stand the SM7B, and dislike the MKH 416: too much coloration.

The SM7B needs a lifter, that’s like buying a car and needing to add an extra engine to it before it’ll drive. Pointless mic, so over-rated. Michael Jackson and Joe Rogan are not valid reasons to buy one. I’m not sure there is a valid reason to purchase one, ever.

“It looks good” er yeah, but it sounds like mud. Buy artwork based on how it looks. Buy microphones based on how they sound. How can people confuse these things?

The 416’s shotgun nature is great to reduce environmental sounds, and that raises the more important point about noise floors and recording environments: if that’s not right, it doesn’t matter if you’ve got a homemade ribbon mic, a $10 wish dot com headset or a $12k Telefunken, it’s gonna sound baaaaad.

@torrelles “I’ve settled for a U87 in my studio” = nice. “settled for”, makes it sound like dropping a few grand on a mic is a casual purchase, and it makes it sound like a compromise. I’d settle for a hamburger without cheese, but I really wanted a cheeseburger. I’d settle for a 103 if I wanted an 87, I’d settle for a Synco over a 416, am joking about Synco, I wouldn’t but you know what I mean.

Was the U87 a compromise?

I might be a Neumann fanboy but know it’s not about the mic, it’s what you do with it.

Answer this: if you got your mic, weighed it and calculated it’s equivalent price in gold, would the value of the gold be higher, or lower than the money you’ve made with that mic?

I think the Zoom H4NPro is a noisy recorder, but know it’s worth more than its weight in gold in the right circumstances.

Ends my two cents… 😉

I thought the weight in gold exercise was a funny one, so i went ahead and did it for giggles.

MKH416

Price: $999

Weight: 165g

value of 165g of gold today: $9,634.18

The value of gold for that weight is less than what I’ve made with the mic. I’ve passed the test. lol

[Gear talk: what's your favorite microphone?]

Only have one mic right now, a Synco D2 shotgun mic. It doesn’t capture as much on the high end as an MKH 416 from what I see on the frequency graphs, but for 1/4 the price I can’t complain!

Honestly a great choice. I’ve seen many folks recommend that mic.

[Welcome & Intros 🎤]

Love it, great to meet you Trevor! Do you feel that your music production and engineering background has really helped you stand out/excel in things like voice over?

Long live Music & Audio indeed :muscle:t3:

[Gear talk: what's your favorite microphone?]

I’ve settled for a U87 in my studio, although I use an MKH416 for streaming at home. The MKH does have that punchy sound that some people tag as “pre-EQ’d”, and it does give you a nice tight presence boost. Works wonders for that “radio/podcasty” voice when processed.

I just don’t fancy it that much with my voice acting style, sice I usually approach my recordings with a more laid back/natural tone and I’ve found the u87 deliver a very well-rounded, smooth capture.

Also had a TLM103 way back, but it now sounds a tad harsher than the u87 to my ears, so wouldn’t go back to it (even though it’s a great mic!)

Have an Avalon VT737sp waiting to be hooked up to that u87, really looking forward to hearing how it sounds compared to my current Avalon M5! Need to move to a bigger booth first, though. It’s a thicc boi. In due time!

Nice! Sounds like you’ve acquired a lot of great kit over time.

[Gear talk: what's your favorite microphone?]

Hey everyone! Since this category is new, I figured I’d kick off a fun discussion about gear. I personally love geeking out about audio gear; microphones, interfaces, channel strips, DAWs and plugins, I’m all about it. Today I want to focus on mics, since there are a ton of them out there.

What’s your favorite microphone for voice work, and why? What do you use in your studio?

Mine is my Sennheiser MKH416. I recently purchased it after a good month on Fiverr, and it’s been an incredible tool for my business. Voice overs sound clear and crisp, and clients have seemed to notice the change in the quality of my sound. Before that I used an SM7b.

Thanks for chatting with me :metal:

[Welcome & Intros 🎤]

Hello, @fvrrmusic,

I am a proofreader. My husband, Rob, who is also a retired English teacher, helps me out when I get more work than I can handle on Fiverr. Rob is a classic rock drummer from way back–he started as a teen in the late 60’s. He reads music, which most local drummers can not do, and he plays music from all genres. That is him with me in my profile image.

Until recently Rob owned a drum store. Currently, he gives drum lessons and sells drums from his lifetime of collecting drums, trap sets and related equipment on eBay.

While he owned the drum store, Rob sponsored drum clinics featuring well known drummers who have become friends.

I have nudged Rob to create gigs on Fiverr, but we are not sure of what he could do without having production equipment or even which equipment he would need and how costly it would be. Maybe giving lessons on Fiverr would work but we are not sure of what equipment he would need for that either.

Hi Vickie! From what I’ve seen other musicians do, your husband Rob might do well using the following equipment:

• A computer capable of recording audio. Doesn’t have to be anything super fancy. I use a laptop that’s five years old to record all my voiceovers.
• Microphones. Your husband will need microphones to capture the sound of the drum kit at home. My advice would be to read reviews and see what other drummers use for home recordings.
• An audio interface. This is the device that connects microphones to the computer. It will need enough inputs to connect to all the microphones.
• Software to capture the sound on the computer. I use Reaper, but there are a lot of programs out there. They are called “Digital Audio Workstations”
• Practice or lessons regarding audio production. I’m self taught, but it took a while before I considered myself a professional audio engineer capable of delivering audio to clients that meets their needs. Once he gets all the stuff he needs, my advice is to just record all the time and get comfortable with the hardware and software.

This is probably a topic that other sellers could write a book about, but I hope these words of advice help Rob get started. There’s certainly a ton more that could be done to perfect the recording environment and equipment, so Rob can do a little bit of research to expand upon what has been shared here. Working on Fiverr is the coolest thing ever, and I hope he gets started soon!

[Welcome & Intros 🎤]

Hi Adam and everyone else here. Very cool that there is now a Music and Audio section of the forum! I love it.

My name is Trevor O’Hare, and I’m a seller in this category. Fiverr has really created an awesome opportunity for audio production folks like myself to make a living, and this past year as a seller on that platform has been a wild ride.

While I specialize in voice over on the platform, I originally started out with music production. I’m a musician of about 18 years, mainly focusing on guitar. However, I do full on productions for customers that need songs for their projects. All of my audio engineering experience is basically self taught from years and years of recording at home, as well as playing live music and touring with bands across the US. These days, I keep to my home studio and crank out tunes and voiceovers for customers every day.

I’m excited to hear about everyone’s journey on here! Long live the Music and Audio category. :metal: