sabinespoems

I know there are several posts about whether or not to give your buyer an honest review. But every case is different so I wanted to present mine and see what you guys think! For starters like many other stories, everything started out fine. I delivered and he wanted a revision. Not a problem! I delivered a new version which is now 'in revision' for 16 days. I posted something about the red clock irking the heck out of me, but other than that it's not really a problem. It's just very annoying that I cannot close an order. He said give me a week to really focus on it and give edits. Alright sure thing! After a week he didn't contact me yet. So I messaged him. Nothing. I messaged him 3 days later. Nothing. I messaged him today (4 days later) saying how I understand life can get busy, but just give me a sign of life (not phrased like this of course 🥴). He finally replied. He said sorry here are my edits. And then proceeds to send an entire new poem based on nothing I wrote. Mind you, he didn't send me a version at first to work on or edit. He just gave information for me to work with and I did my job and created a poem. This isn't within my services per se, but I've done it before. It's just a bit weird he did a 180 and now I'm editing a piece that's not mine and my original work isn't being used at all. Technically the revision is being used and fair enough, the same work could've gone into editing my own piece. So on the one hand I want to say 'this isn't what a revision entails', but on the other hand I just want to get it over with and isn't a lot more work I think. So now I wonder if I should mention anything about this in my review (if there will be one), how communication didn't went great to say the least. Taking the whole 'private reviewing' having quite an impact on your profile into consideration. Or just provide 4* and say it was an alright buyer. In the year I've been here this is the first pain in the butt client I have worked with and I understand I can consider myself very lucky for that! But it's also the reason why I'm posting this. Partially venting, partially to gain some insights of all of you 😇

Today I received an inquiry about writing a eulogy for the funeral of someone's brother who passed away after being hit by a train. Wow. It's not the first time someone asked me to write either a poem or a different kind of piece about someone who passed away. And it's something I love doing (sounds weird but I know you understand what I mean) and feels very special to me. However, it's been a while since I've written something of this nature and today reminded me of the difficulties of (as the title says) getting down to business in these cases. People often start talking about this person and their relationship with them, characteristics and what they love/miss most about them. But, as they're fully aware of as well, they're requesting a service that requires payment. In some cases they don't bring this up themselves. So that's where I have to come in which kind of feels like this; I'm so sorry about your loss, your -fill in who it was- sounded like an amazing person. Thanks for pouring your heart out. Anyway, I'll send you an offer for $. It somewhat feels like "I know your soul is hurting, but allow me to hurt your wallet as well!". Don't get me wrong though, I don't feel bad because they're fully aware I don't work for free. It's simply how the world works. Funeral homes don't feel bad either. It's just the transition from having someone share something so painful (as well as beautiful memories), to straight business that feels a bit...odd. And in a way makes me feel a bit uneasy (for a lack of a better word). There's no real question linked to this really, I just needed to get it off my chest! It's not something I expected to be faced with when starting my service on Fiverr. I just thought I'd write poems primarily for people in love and companies. Feel free to share any of your own experiences of something you didn't expect when you started your Gig here on Fiverr!

There's no need for it to be shown. If you look at the image you provided it shows on the bottom left under 'Gig's Gallery'. So if you want the example to show in your gallery (if the buyer accepts that), you're good. If you don't want an example, take a look at the text below from the Help Center; Live portfolio is activated by default but if you want to disable it: Note: In some categories, like Graphics & Design, Live Portfolio can't be disabled. Log in > Gigs Within the Gig list, click the drop-down and uncheck Live Portfolio

Hi there! Based on your screenshot it appears you haven't uploaded your work yet. Once you upload it, the sample will appear in the small window on the bottom left. There won't be an option within the section you circled to turn it on or off. If you want to turn your live portfolio off, you have to do this under the 'Gigs' tab.

I've thought about including such a service too, because what I noticed with my clients is how they often feel the need to vent and talk (I write poems so there's a lot of emotions in that!). I saw many people offering this kind of 'virtual friend' service, but I wondered how I could offer this to people. I inquired about providing such a service with CS, just to make sure I wouldn't violate any Terms of Service. I emphasized clearly that I'm not an expert, nor will I pose as one. I simply wanted to provide a listening ear to those who have the need for that. The response of them was as follows; "After checking on your inquiry, please be advised that no medical help, treatment, or advice is allowed on Fiverr, so I recommend you refrain from offering such services. Although I understand the good spirit of the service that you would like to offer on Fiverr, due to the risks that this can pose to your prospective buyers, creating such Gigs is not allowed." So although I personally believe it would help people as well (like your mindset is too), Fiverr doesn't quite allow it as you can read above. Sort of understandable I guess, since it might pose legal risks. Do with this information as you please, but I felt it's necessary for you to know!

No worries that's what the forum is for, to learn! I think it would be too much of a hassle for Fiverr to incorporate that, because some Sellers (like myself) don't mind working the weekends. Plus, pausing the delivery time during the weekend will give a 'fake' estimation of a delivery time. However there are some ways you could create a working environment that fits your schedule. As I suggested, you could adjust your availability (e.g. Out of Office option). How to do that you can read here: Setting Your Availability. This will avoid getting order placements on the weekends. You could include the Friday as well, to make sure you won't have to work on that order in the weekend. However, you do need to take into consideration that this might decrease your chances of getting orders. A second option is to increase your delivery days. If you put 5 days for example and someone orders on Thursday and you don't have time then or Friday, it will bridge the weekend and the latest you have to deliver is Monday. So you'll be able to work on it on the last day. However with this option you won't be able to include a Gig Extra of an extra fast delivery of 1 day like you have now. Because people might order on Friday with this extra, meaning you'll still have to work the weekends. How I circumvent this is putting a question in my FAQ that this extra fast delivery is an option, but people have to contact me first so I can see if it's feasible. That way people won't be able to include it as an Extra during a time I can't actually fulfill this promise. I hope this helped!

The answer is yes, because you've delivered an order too late as well as a cancellation which affects your completion rate. I don't understand why you'd charge your buyer extra for a mistake you made... Because as a freelancer, you need to calculate your own time incorporating when you can and cannot deliver. If you didn't adjust your delivery days or went Out Of Office, how could your buyer know you couldn't deliver? Of course you could attempt extending the delivery time (as you did), but the fact that the buyer didn't respond is inconvenient but not primarily their fault. So you even considering leaving them a low rating because of your own mismanagement of time just feels very wrong to me. You definitely could do it, but to me it just feels morally wrong. But that's your own decision and something you have to work out with your buyer.

What I'd like to add to everything said above, the fact you've been doing it for 4 years doesn't necessarily equal it being allowed. From what I read on this forum my understanding is that it most likely only means that Fiverr only now found out....

What was the service you provided and what did you change your title to? @lloydsolutions sent that part of Fiverr's ToS, because your gig might've been removed based on your service. I took a quick peek and see you provide a service related to Amazon, including data scraping. Now I know nothing about this, but there might be some terms and conditions of Amazon (i.e. the third party) you're violating. And in turn, Fiverr has removed your gig. But as you already did, it's best to check with CS. I've had some encounters with CS as well where their initial answer was unsatisfactory. I simply replied to their email and continued doing so (about 3 emails back and forth), until they finally answered my question. I don't suggest opening new tickets, but just try to get a better answer with your current ticket. I've had one person answer my initial ticket (who didn't provide a good answer), and another person answer my follow-up mail who did help me. So I suggest to just reply and ask for more detailed clarifications on the matter!

That's a misconception! You can definitely use those words and I've used them many times. For example to explain how Fiverr works to buyers who haven't used it before. They often ask about how they have to pay (before or after) for example. The system does give a warning in the text box, but I haven't gotten a single warning ever. That's because although the system might get flagged, once it's reviewed they can clearly see I use the words in a responsible (and allowed) manner

Great and helpful post, not only for those who are just starting! What I've noticed that also helps is knowing what you're talking about. Like you said @smashradio, it's important then to actually be good at something for this. But it sounds simple and straightforward, yet can be difficult to communicate sometimes! How I try to do it is ask relevant questions that a buyer might not have thought about yet. That way you can share your knowledge about your skills. Another important thing is saying no and providing a reason. I don't mean a 'no' regarding declining a job. How I mean it is saying no to what a buyer has in mind, and explain reasons why you think it won't work. It's important to include your views about what would work instead. Another thing is to recap everything a buyer has told you. Using phrases like 'if I understand correctly' & 'so to summarize you want....'. That way you can establish trust not only in the sense that you're the right one for the job, but the buyer can trust that you understand what they want. These things above makes buyers feel you communicate adequately and that you understand their needs. That in turn helps to build trust and credibility!

Let me clarify that I indeed know it's nothing you should direct your focus on in terms of achieving it, since it doesn't matter one bit regarding having success! And it's also completely and totally out of your control. But for some reason I do still find it harmlessly entertaining to collect 🤷‍♀️

Like most of you, one of my main reasons for being on Fiverr is making money. But I have a side quest I really wish to complete....world domination 👽 Clearly not in a delusional, dictator way. But I've noticed that I get really excited when I fulfill an order for a buyer from a country that I have not yet 'collected' 🕵️‍♀️. Am I alone in this? 😅 Currently my domination is at 17%. So I clearly have a lot of collecting left! What about you guys? How many percent have you put under your belt? Or do you have any other side quests you've set for yourself along the way?

I'm going to be (somewhat) short and to the point about this. The only demand you should be focusing on is one for which you can deliver. Look at your skills and offer something in the appropriate category. Then you have a chance of being successful, because you're doing something you can do. Not because you think it will make you money. Don't treat freelancing on Fiverr as 'making a quick buck'. That won't happen. It takes dedication, time and effort to create your business. Even for people who are amazing at what they do. So go figure if you try to do something you're not actually good at, because you think it is a high demand category.

With keeping in mind that courageous can be interpreted in different ways 😜 I did take a step I didn't think I would've taken! I'm a very private person and although I did tell my family about my Fiverr endeavors, my close friends don't know about it. To explain in short, simply because I like having this to myself. However, about a year ago a journalist of a well-known newspaper here in my country approached me. He asked if I wanted to take part in a piece about how the internet creates possibilities for freelancers that wouldn't have been possible without it. With my custom poems traveling around the globe, the internet is definitely crucial for my business having potential! I said yes, thinking I could take part anonymously. In the end, my name and last name were necessary for the piece to be published. Having done an interview and the journalist dedicating his time to it I didn't have the heart to say I didn't want to be included. So my courageous step was despite wanting to remain anonymous, I said yes to being published in a national newspaper! With keeping in mind that news is fleeting and not many people would read it (it's not like it's front page news) I took the plunge. Despite one friend of my dad asking if it's me, nobody noticed. Although it pops up if you google my name so it's there forever for people to find, I do feel a sense of pride (and 'bravery') I did it despite it being counterintuitive for me! P.s. In case you were wondering, no it didn't bring me any business haha 😅 Only one person contacted me based on the article. I didn't expect much of it since most of my clients are from other countries anyways, but it's interesting to know nonetheless!

I suck at math too haha, but breaking it down like this does help! I'm not a fulltime freelancer and I always find this estimation process the most difficult for larger projects. So thank you so much for giving your insights into your process 😄

Currently I'm having a conversation with someone who wants me to ghost write their poetry book. And basically, I have no idea what to charge so I figured I'd ask this lovely community with more experience to help me estimate this 😅 The buyer estimated the book will be about 45-50 pages with around 70 to 100 poems (both short and longer). Normally I charge per line, but with something like this time is also included to come to a price. And as a 'freelancer' I have a difficult time with estimating and including this 'time I'm working' into a price. I understand this might be a bit too specific of a case, but any insights on how to determine a price would be much appreciated!

That's because of your 7 completed orders, 3 buyers left a review. So you still have completed 7 orders, but for the 'public' it shows as 3. This isn't a further reflection on your profile and Fiverr's metrics take all of your orders into consideration. So no worries and enjoy the fact you've completed 7 orders so far 😄

Hey there! I'm from Holland and I must admit I'm not very knowledgeable about different kinds of taxes (e.g. sole proprietorship). I don't know if your case is similar to mine, but in the case of Fiverr I simply requested my 'Statement of Earnings'. Under the tab "Income from Other Work" there's a specific description for "Income from the Internet" where I filled in the yearly amount. I'm not registered at the KvK, so I don't have a VAT number (in Holland that's the BTW number), that you might in fact have. Perhaps I wrongly filled in my tax returns 😅 but my tax return got approved so I believe in my case it's correct (and sadly caused me to pay extra since I didn't pay any taxes on my earnings, but that's how living in a country works haha).

Hi there! So it's important to know that using any kind of tool in order to stay online is not allowed by Fiverr (e.g. auto-refresher), and can result in getting a warning. What's furthermore important to know is staying online doesn't matter. It's not the #1 way for getting orders. Do buyers use this filter sometimes? Sure. But the majority who have projects that aren't time sensitive are simply looking for the best Seller. If they find a Seller they consider the best fit, often buyers don't mind waiting for a reply (e.g. when you're sleeping and you respond 8 hours later). I've had many cases where I was offline, responded couple of hours later, and I still received an order from the buyer. It's not about staying online. It's about creating the best gig out there. That will attract buyers. Not your online status. I hope this helped you understand a bit, so you can redirect your efforts at what truly will help you instead of focusing on the wrong thing!

I'm still a bit confused about what this exactly means. If I'm correct, is it when you include a lot of SEO words in your description? I never paid attention to it really. but I'd still like to understand why it is considered a big no-no 🤔 Maybe it's very simple and I'm just missing something, but could you elaborate a bit on this if you have the time?

This decision process of yours @vickieitofeels very similar to what I went through! Long story short; I increased mine too and it gives me some creative breathing space (or just some time to relax when I don't feel like writing) and it's really great. A benefit I noticed from having longer delivery times than I actually need is good ol' psychological one; people's expectations. If I put 4 days and I deliver in 2 days people often think 'wow she's so fast!', and leave that in their reviews as well. Let me be clear that I'm not saying that I do this on purpose to trick them 😇sometimes I actually do need the full time haha. Also interesting, I've now put 7 days so due to some personal things to give me some extra freedom. I think for a poem of 16 lines that's a bit long in comparison to my competitors, but I simply had to increase it since I didn't want to pause my gigs. I currently have 6 orders in queue, so it's safe to say that competitive speaking I don't have to work my buttocks off for fast deliveries to stay ahead! I'm thinking about increasing my gig prices as well, I'm curious how that will play out though. It's nice to know that as a freelancer you've made this decision for yourself to give some more peace, and it's actually working so yay for you 😄🎈

I definitely understand, that's definitely a hectic environment 😵 I also hope it will work out and again, the best of luck!

Despite what happened to you, it's nice to read that you're back on your feed and you overcame the virus! I know you were just ranting, but I still wanted to share the thoughts I had when reading your post. Of course, do what you have to do in order to keep up with the rising costs and not having to exhaust all the emergency funds you have. That's where @smashradio's advice really applies. However, I did want to say that retiring your account would be a waste. Your gig was functioning well before, who says it won't again? You have to start over which isn't nice. But contrasting with when you started and didn't know if Fiverr would be profitable; you now know it can be and that you can make it to be so. My hat goes off to you! Doing such shifts for a demanding job like nursing is really impressive. Indeed, it doesn't mix well. I was wondering though, could you perhaps increase your delivery times? I noticed you have 2 days delivery now, which alone would be fine but in combination with such a high effort job obviously isn't. This might scare off some buyers who want a quick turnaround, but it might still attract buyers who feel you're the best fit based on your profile and reviews, so they're happy to take the longer delivery for granted. This would allow you to slowly but steady build your account back up again. I'd completely understand if it's not feasible though! I just wanted to provide my 2 cents. All in all, I'd advise not to close your account altogether so that you can always fall back on it. With that being said, I wish you well and good luck in trying to navigate your way through it all ❣️

Nope you cannot use it at all. Fiverr will give you a warning, or suspend your account. Don't use auto-refresher! Online status isn't the most important to get orders. Instead, focus on making your gig the best it can be.