vickieito

I don't know why, but I've been mulling over both of your comments for the last few days. I've certainly been guilty of taking the "fake it 'till you make it" or a "try it and see if you can do it" approach. Or "take a course and post a gig" approach. For almost every one of my gigs, I never really had paid experiences outside of Fiverr to do the services that I offer. So every order was a test on whether I could really do the service that I was offering or not. I've been very lucky because so far I've been successful, and I can now say that I'm proficient at what I do. However in the beginning, I couldn't say that. I'll be honest that I've accepted many orders that I did not know if I could deliver and luckily I could...after MANY, MANY hours of going overboard on the efforts (because I refuse to deliver subpar work or anything less than excellent). So this makes me wonder, am I in the same category of "liars" that are saturating the Fiverr marketplace, but have just been a lucky liar that can actually perform well and keep my buyers happy?

After running into two different threads about the becoming TRS, I thought I should reach out to the popular TRS that I know! For those of you who don't I exist, I'm Vickie and I'm following you (no, I'm not paparazzi, I just like your content). 😊 @newsmike, @vickiespencer, @misscrystal, @shayaan499, @visualstudios, @damooch916, @frank_d, @raselkhondokar, @zeus777, @miiila, @williambryan392, @yannisenglish, @callyofficial, & @vovkaslovesnyy I've seen several ideas floating around the forum about the hidden factors of becoming TRS, since it is a manual process, and wanted to see what your thoughts are on some of the ones I found: From @chrispydesigns's new user introduction post today, he stated that: From @asifhassanantue's post last month (based on conversations with his Success Manager): So based on your experiences, do you think any of the following had any bearing in your TRS promotion? Forum activity Gig price Type of gig(s) offered Seller/gig professionalism The performance/number of other sellers in your category If not, what do you think did?

Ohhh, this drawing makes me feel so much better about my own doodles! 🤣 This drawing is actually pretty versatile ... it could be cat, a squirrel, or even a small fox! Sorry @smashradio! That animal picture has taken this thread way off topic! Hmmm....I haven't used Fiverr sellers to improve my gig yet. My thumbnails looks kind of like that animal picture you have there. Well, it's a little better, but it could definitely be more professional. I'm hoping to have time this week to update my thumbnails and gig videos. I've been trying to do this for weeks and have been too busy. Maybe if I can't do it this week, I'll consider outsourcing.

Fun topic! English is my native language, but I mostly grew up in bush Alaska, so I can speak a little Central Yupik Eskimo. They did opening exercises in Yupik. I also took Yupik because that was the only foreign language you could take in school. Eskimo language is very airy and guttural, so my Eskimo teachers would often laugh at me because my voice is so high. They warned me that if I continued to speak from the nose (instead of the throat) my lungs would freeze. Luckily I never spoke long enough for that to happen! I also know just enough Spanish, Hawaiian, and Japanese to get myself in trouble. 😂 I'm terrible at languages, but I do like to learn little phrases from different languages for fun! I have Fiverr customers from 18 different countries so far, so I'd love to learn just a few simple words and phrases so I can show them that I care.

Thanks @smashradio! This is what I ended up doing. I opened an account in 2019 (I didn't even create a gig) and then came back after 2 years of learning new skills and creating a business plan. Once I knew what skills the buyers wanted, it was much easier to post my first gig and run a business. Yes, this is a big problem for me as a writer! Buyers see that my location is Japan and even though I tell them I'm just an American expat in Japan they don't believe me. I have to "prove" that I'm a native English speaker, usually by showing some of my portfolio. Even then, they are skeptical. At that point, I just have them refer to my reviews and tell them that they don't have to use my services if they are uncomfortable. I have no chance in the buyer's requests for my writing gigs because buyers immediately dismiss me as a non-native speaker once they see my location as Japan. However, this doesn't seem to be limited to just the Fiverr platform. When I lived in Utah, I would always get compliments on how good my English was. Once, a guy even ran up to me to ask, "Where are you from?" After I told him I was American, he responded, "No....where are you R-E-A-L-L-Y from?" So I responded, "Where are you R-E-A-L-L-Y from?" He was startled and said, "Uh...I'm...I'm American, of course." Well so am I! It's really hard having to prove my identity wherever I go...

@dannykojima1, You can submit a buyer's request by clicking on the "Post a Request" button on your main buyer's page. Or by clicking on your profile picture (this is also where you "Manage a Request.") The forum seems to be full of sellers asking about how to get buyer's requests, so it may be easier just to refer to the Help Center for tips: https://www.fiverr.com/support/articles/360050062693-Buyer-Request-Tips

I also noticed you have no PDFs attached to your gallery. You can have unlimited pages of your portfolio attached via a PDF. Consider attaching a portfolio of your best work to all your gigs. Just make sure you have permission to use any images that are in your portfolio. If you don't have a portfolio, create one! I used my downtime as a newbie seller to create a portfolio for my gigs (I just made up projects to display my skills).

Hi @rudra_dey! You had two orders in the last 3 weeks, which isn't bad for a new seller. Your two reviews mentioned your attention to detail and that you do great work. So keep delivering quality work to keep your buyers happy. Also, since you are a graphic designer, it would be great if potential buyers could see the projects that you do for your buyers. Projects can be displayed next to buyers' review by turning on the Live Portfolio option for each gig. Make sure "Live Portfolio" is checked. Buyers would need to approve the image when they write their review. The Live Portfolio is a great way to get more orders. I've had many buyers message me saying, "I know you do great work, I saw your work in the reviews." Then they would place an order with me.

@alex68berlin you might want to consider increasing the price of your base package ... $5 will attract the type of buyers that you are describing. You are a Level 2 seller with 140 great reviews so it may be time for your to increase the prices so that you can start attracting buyers of a higher caliber. @excel_expert the same goes for you too. You are a Level 2 seller with 863 5-star reviews. There's no reason why you need to list your services for $5. When you increase your prices (especially from $5!), you will find that buyers will respect you more.

Thanks @catwriter! Right now: 80% of my clients are ordering the combo package (CV or Resume + Cover Letter + LinkedIn Optimization) [Premium] 8% are ordering CV or Resume + Cover Letter [Standard] 5% are ordering a CV or Resume [Basic] 5% are ordering a package with an add-on (career consultation, background research on company, bio rewrite, additional cover letters, additional CVs or Resumes) 2% have custom orders (cover letter only) ... so it makes sense to have the combo package as my premium package. I really don't like milestones orders, they are a headache to deal with. So maybe I'll do as you suggest and just deliver everything at once and go through the normal revision process (since it can stay in revision as long as the buyer needs it). That way there is already an on-time delivery of all three deliverables and it's just revising at that point. Thanks for the suggestions!

@donnovan86, you are absolutely right! Fiverr CS pretty much told me the same thing: If the buyer does not accept the request to extend the delivery date, the order will be marked late and it will result in a late penalty. Fiverr CS cannot undo that. @miiila, I thought the buyer would have 4 days to respond, but now the buyer only has 2 days to respond ...is this part of the new features rolling out? This was really the only option. I was also worried because I had already given the buyer the CV and cover letter (and was just waiting to do the LInkedIn optimization). Here's what Fiverr CS said: "The option to cancel the order is always open seeing as the Buyer is unresponsive, and if you'd like to go with this option, I'll make sure it's not affecting your Completion Rate. You're welcome to let the Buyer know that they can place the order again when they are ready...As for your work, once an order is cancelled the Buyer is not able to use the work that you have done as per our guidelines. In the case that they are using your work, I would recommend letting them know that they do not have your permission and if they do not cooperate please reach out to us and we'll help you further in this regard." Since I still have not heard from the buyer, I opted to cancel the order. My order cancelation rate went down by a percentage (only because the number of orders in the last 60 days was decreased), but this cancelation did not count against me. The only downside is I've performed work that I didn't get paid for, the buyer has the files (and I don't have any way of proving if he is using the files or not). There really isn't any motivation on his part to reach out to me to place another order. And if he does reach out to me, he is very busy and could take another two weeks or more to get back to me. Well, lesson learned! I'm thinking about turning my combo package into a 3-part milestones order to prevent something like this from happening again...

I've been stress eating this afternoon. Voraciously munching on handfuls of almonds and walnuts while I'm waiting to see how this one plays out. Luckily I have a lot of orders to work on to keep me busy. The cover letter and CV are finished. I'm just waiting for the buyer's approval to move forward as well as his LinkedIn information to optimize his profile. This order has been opened since the first week in May, and the delivery date has already been extended three times so far because the buyer wanted time to review everything before moving forward. The trouble is, he's busy. He is traveling right now (until May 31st) and I haven't heard from him since May 16th. It's not really a surprise because there isn't good reception where he's at right now. I have been reaching out to him several times through the chats, but not too much since I know he probably won't see the messages until he is finished traveling. For the first three requests to extend the delivery date, the buyer approved it on the due date. So there is a possibility that the buyer will magically appear tomorrow and do the same for this fourth request. But there's always the possibility that it won't happen. And he might not make it within the 2 day window of time. So it's just a waiting game right now!

@williambryan392 .& @imagination7413, Amazing content, thanks to the both of you for your posts! I was the first one to react to your post @williambryan392, but it literally popped up right after my 5th post of the day! ...And thanks for mentioning a newbie. 😊 Luckily there was so much content to go through that it's kept me busy. And with Listerina chiming in, things couldn't have gotten better! This post has definitely been bookmarked in my browser so that I can refer to it often and and share often. 🥰

I like this explanation! That means I've posted in the right category ... I think! 😉 Thanks @smashradio for the personal welcome! I'm following you and I've bookmarked a lot of your content. I really appreciate the time you take to explain everything in detail. These are my top three favorite! https://community.fiverr.com/forums/topic/256924-my-top-8-red-flags-when-selling-on-fiverr/ https://community.fiverr.com/forums/topic/282129-the-biggest-seller-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them/ https://community.fiverr.com/forums/topic/263159-many-clicks-but-no-sales-read-this-a-guide-to-improve-conversion-rate/ It's scary making that first post! Some newbies come to the forum expecting the forum members to take their side. I'm glad you were humble enough to take the criticism! 😊 I've been following you too. Thanks for making the forum a better place! Thanks for your key learnings! I think you are the first one. ...where's @smashradio's article about "no'? I found many articles on the art of saying "no" from @imagination7413. Thanks @fiveroptic1! I saw you on a lot of older threads but not on recent ones until now. 😊 Good to see you!

Thanks @djwaruna! It looks like you have been on the forum for over 5 years! I'd love to hear your thoughts on how you get the most out of the forum! I think the biggest benefit so far is that I've been debunking a lot of myths and biases that I thought were truths. I've been reading a lot of articles on the forum, especially this article right here on posting (thanks @miiila!) ... but I still feel I need more time learning, following, and responding to others' post before I initiate too many conversations on my own. I still can't figure out the differences between all the different categories. For example, "Fiverr Stories" and "Your Fiverr Experience" seems kind of the same to me. The Ranting Pot seems pretty straight forward and Casual Conversations seems pretty safe for posting. Right now, it's much easier to just jump into conversations that have already been started. And instead of just following or answering questions from other newbies, I'm starting to have actual conversations with people. So that's been a new and fun thing for me too. 😊

@alex68berlin and @excel_expert, the next time that happens again, have the buyer cancel the order on their end with "ordered by mistake" as the reason. If the cancelation is done this way, it will not affect your seller statistics (so please make sure it is done correctly). Sometimes when the seller initiates the cancelation (even through Fiverr CS) the cancelation affects seller statistics. It's always better if the buyer initiates the cancelation in these instances. I like how @imagination7413 explains it here: If canceled in this way, the following statement will show up on the canceled order (this is how you know you did it correctly): In order for this to work, clear and professional communication with the buyer is necessary. Remind the buyer of the scope of your package and show them how they included requirements that don't align with what you offer. Suggest that they initiate the cancelation so that they can get a full refund and provide them with the instructions provided above. You may even want to suggest how they can go about finding another seller who is more qualified to meet their needs. When approached this way, most of my buyers are grateful for my help and are more than willing to initiate the cancelation in this way.

Hi @frank_d ...Did my post trigger that comment?

Hi there! I saw several posts from newbies asking about the benefits of the forum, so I thought it might be helpful to share what I’m doing to get the most out of it and hopefully get others to talk more about this topic. I am also new to the forum. I made my first post on May 3rd, so I’ve been active on the forum for 25 days now. This is actually my second attempt at it—I signed up for the forum five months ago, took one look, and ran away. There was too much information (and misinformation). Too much spam. And it was really hard to find the answers because as a new seller, I was pretty clueless. This time around it has been a much better experience because I learned how to filter out a lot the noise and concentrate on the content that I find most meaningful. First, I want to clarify two things: 1) Being active on the forum will not get you more orders or more gig impressions. The forum is a great source of information and a fun place to interact with others who are using the Fiverr platform, but it will not result in more orders or get you more sales. If anything, more time on the forum simply means less time that you could be working on your business. 2) As a newbie to the forum, your first priority should not be about making posts. I discovered this quickly because when I made my first post, I received only one response and a confused-faced emoji. This taught me that I would be better off following conversations, responding to others’ posts, and observing more experienced members on the forum. So far, I’ve only started five conversations and out of the five, three could probably be deleted because they aren’t providing any value to the forum. So, how can a newbie get the most out of the forum? As a newbie, I spend most of my time on the forum browsing, observing, reacting, following, bookmarking, and verifying. It helps me and it may help you, too! 1) Browsing – Instead of posting your question, why not look it up in search on the forum or the Help Center? Most likely someone has already asked the same question and you can find your answer much quicker by searching. I see many newbies posting a question, waiting around, and then reposting the same question again a week later. They could have easily looked up answers to their questions in a matter of minutes. 2) Observing – Learn how to act on the forum by watching others. How are others posting and reacting? Pay attention to the posts that get called “spam,” down voted, a confused-face emoji, or negative/interesting responses from other forum members. Look at how others react to your posts as well. Try to find out why others are reacting in negative ways, and avoid making similar posts. 3) Reacting – You can react to posts with emojis, up voting, down voting, or, if you encounter spam, you can report it. All of these reactions (when used responsibly) add to conversations and creates value for other forum members. 4) Following & Bookmarking – When you like someone, follow them. When I follow someone, it’s because they’ve impressed me in some way. When you find good content, bookmark it in your browser or follow the conversation. Following good content is a great way to filter out a lot of the nonsense that is on the forum. Bookmarking it will help you retrieve that content again when you need it. 5) Verifying – Just because it is on the forum doesn’t mean that it's true. If you read something, look into the person who made the post. Do they have authority to make the claims that they make in their posts? Are they using credible sources, such as the Help Center? I find it alarming that many newbies are so willing to take advice from someone with zero experience that they turn down the advice of the more experienced members of the forum. If these newbies just took a little time to look into the backgrounds of those who were posting, they would have a better idea on who they could trust. Doing these five things have really helped me to create order out of all the information that is out there on the forum. There really are nuggets to be found, so it’s worth it to take the time to search out good content and good people to follow. Now it’s your turn. 😊 I wrote this post with less than a month’s worth of experience on the forum so I’d love to hear from the rest of you! How has the forum been for you? And how are you getting the most out of it?

So far, Buyer Insights has been really handy for me! I received two inquiries today and my first customer averages $51-$100 per order, so I was able to negotiate a price slightly higher than what I'd normally offer. The second customer I spent about 20 seconds on because I knew I was priced higher than his average order price and he was demanding a 24-hr delivery. It also looks like the 2nd buyer opted out of showing his completed orders, rating, and what he usually orders. However, I can see his rating and number of orders in the section above ... and if I really wanted to spy on him, I could click on his order find out who he bought from and know what he usually orders, too. So I'm not sure how helpful the opt out feature is for buyers because the information they're opting out of is already public information.

The decision I made was definitely survival instinct rather than a strategic plan like @mariashtelle1 did ... the changes felt quite drastic at the time but I was in survival mode and just wanted to stop the influx before I broke down. 😂 Luckily I was able to keep up with it all. I listed my first gig Nov 2021, so I'm like you too, I'm still trying to learn how to run this business in a sustainable way. I'm glad the longer delivery times are working for you as well! ....And what you said about the psychological advantage is true! I was thinking I was just awesome (getting good reviews), but it looks like a lot of my good reviews are because I'm delivering early. 😅 On prices, I ended up increasing the minimum package from $15 to $50. My orders are about 50% what it was before, but I still get orders every day, so I'm not too worried. I hope you're able to figure out prices that work for you, too!

... 10+ orders would've killed me! 😂 Really, I start complaining if I have to do more than 2 orders a day. I'm glad the longer delivery times are working for you too! Like you said, it's a balancing act trying to figure out the financial model that works best, without compromising too much in income, quality, or sanity. I'm glad you were able to find a system that works for you! Good points here, and well said too. I used to think that sellers had to offer the quickest times to their buyers. So I would often let buyers push me around and I would sacrifice everything to get the orders out as quickly as I could. This seems to be another "myth" or "rumor" that is floating around... 🤔 Being firm with what we will and will not do gives buyers reason to respect and value our services even more. I'm surprised with the number of buyers who want to work with me even though I my delivery times are longer than what they were initially asking for. That's true, isn't it? Fiverr likes it when we deliver much quicker than our stated delivery times. I'm like you...I offer 14 days on things that usually take only a day or so to do. Congratulations on your big order!!!! 🥳🎉 I honestly have never figured out how to price expedited deliveries (that buyers will pay and that is worth it for me). How much do you charge? Double rates? I agree with your statement on delivery times, quality, and price. The buyers who are willing to go with my longer delivery times do so because value quality over time. And I have definitely learned the 'buy cheap, buy twice (or thrice)' lesson as well!

Last month I received a huge influx of orders. Instead of doing 1-4 orders a day, I was suddenly forced to do 6-8 orders a day. On top of the regular orders coming in, there were buyers placing orders for expedited 24-hr deliveries. So I decided to remove all options to expedite and extended my delivery times from 2-5 days to 10-14 days on my packages. I also increased my gig prices. It's now been a month since I made the changes and I'm reluctant to change it. I love the longer delivery times! I usually deliver in half the time, but there have been some instances when I needed all 14 days. It's great to have that flexibility. I also love the visibility it gives my business. I used to schedule orders out only 1 week in advance but now I can schedule orders out a month in advance based on the orders in queue. This means I can have a good idea of how much I'll make before the month even starts and can take action earlier if I need to make more income. The best thing is that my buyers aren't even asking for shorter delivery times (many have asked for more time). So for me, the longer deliveries have been working really well so far. I know every business is different, so I'm curious. How are delivery times working for you? Do you find yourself needing to expedite orders to stay competitive? Or are you enjoying longer delivery times like I am?