vickieito

Hi @salmaanbhai, As a new seller with zero reviews, leverage your gig galleries to convince your buyers to buy from you. Add gig videos that clearly show the value of your services and use multi-page PDFs to showcase your work. Use your time to hone your skills and fine-tune your processes so that you are ready to deliver exceptional services when a buyer does come along. Also, don't forget to turn on your "Live Gallery" option so that your delivery images can be added to your gig galleries as you start to gain customers. As a graphics tee designer that promises "unique and eye-catching designs," you really need to show that in your designs. Currently, your 5 t-shirt gigs look too similar with the same background, same fonts, same black shirt on a hanger (and sometimes the same exact design from one gig to the other). You do use your gallery images, but only to show more similar-looking images of black t-shirts on hangers, with the same background and text. Make each gig image unique and relevant to the specific service that you are offering. You can reduce the amount of text on each gig thumbnail to 2-5 words that summarize the service (buyers don't have time to read long text). Make sure the gig thumbnails look good from desktop mode and mobile view with no words or images being cut off. Consider adding in different color t-shirts and more unique designs, especially between the different gigs. You could also find mockups of models wearing the t-shirts in experiences that your buyers would have, to create an emotional connection with your buyers. For example, in your gig for pet t-shirts, why not have a picture of a person (who happens to be wearing one of your dog design tees) playing with their dog? Or someone wearing your "Live with Purpose" t-shirt while hiking in the great outdoors? There are plenty of services that have mockups where you can add your designs to, and these could resonate better with your buyers than a picture of just a t-shirt on a hanger. You can still use some of the images that you have, but make sure each image is unique and builds up your brand of "unique and eye-catching."

Hi @rvd4now, What did CS say to you? If you don't have an open ticket with them, then you can cancel your order here (or submit a Help Desk ticket for help): https://www.fiverr.com/support_tickets/buying-on-fiverr/my-orders/current-orders/cancel-an-order If creating a ticket, you can attach screenshots and explain why you would like to cancel the order and get a refund.

...And the agent did come back to say he was wrong and this change was related to this new, adjusted score. At least I can now see what my average ratings look like with the private reviews factored in.

Hi @williambryan392 - This is a technical glitch that affected some sellers (supposedly, based on the ticket I submitted to CS). Just put in a ticket with CS to see if yours was also affected.

Well, two different things are going on. One is a recent glitch (which will be fixed) and the other is the ongoing changes to the rating system. Scores will definitely be lower based on these changes, especially with how the questions appear to buyers. When I reached out to CS, I told them I thought the lower score was based on the new level system (and I showed them my numbers on why I thought so), but they corrected me and said it should be 5 stars. I really wasn't expecting them to change anything or admit fault. I just wanted confirmation that more recent orders were being given greater weight. Note: It could be that the agent I was talking to was unaware of the changes Fiverr is making. I told him I thought this was related to the "new, adjusted score" that Fiverr was mentioning. So he could come back and say it was related to that (and just leave it as-is).

Hi @ssj1236 @priyank_mod @alanletsgo - This appears to be a technical glitch. I reached out to CS because my overall score also dropped from 5.0 to 4.9, and they told me this was an error and would be corrected when the tech team could get to it (they seem pretty busy now). The best thing to do is to submit a ticket to CS to let them know you were affected by this.

Hi @tania43289, This isn't an issue at all - referrals are a great way to get business on Fiverr. Your buyers can just click on the "Share" button that is above your packages when they visit your gig and share that with anyone who they would like to share your services with: Your buyers should use the full URL link (and not a URL shortener). Also, anyone can put your badge on their website - all they need is the code from your "Scale My Business" dropdown option from your "Growth & Marketing" tab. This badge has your profile picture, Fiverr's logo, a description of your services, your public ratings average, and a direct link to your gigs. It's a more visually appealing way to share your gig (as opposed to a link). If your buyer would like to earn money promoting you and other Fiverr sellers, they can choose to join the Fiverr Affiliate program here: https://www.fiverr.com/partnerships/affiliates

Hi @Lena @milos_siena @Kesha & @Lyndsey_Fiverr - sorry for bugging you all again, but can you look at @kenn_grafix's profile also to see what triggered the account to be flagged? Thanks again for all your help!

Hi @Lena @milos_siena @Kesha @Lyndsey_Fiverr - can one of you look into @ranawaqar_'s request? This is one of the many accounts that recently were flagged for location inconsistencies/violation of Fiverr's ToS. Thanks in advance for all your help!

Great points, @catwriter! I'm glad my buyers aren't the ones demanding 24-hour deliveries. Most of my buyers are happy with a 2-week or 4-week delivery time (and so am I). I do my best work when I'm not racing against a clock. I'm glad there are so many sellers on Fiverr that can take care of those buyers who are looking for the 24-hour turnaround times so I don't have to. For the few repeat buyers that I trust, I might do daily deliveries in the order chats (e.g., for proofreading, editing, or data entry) and then a final delivery once all deliverables are met (such as 5,000 words or 12 hours of work).

If you look at the Success Score, the key areas always seem to blend together. One area almost always affects another key area. Here's what's affected by delivering early: 1) Client Satisfaction - when you set long delivery dates and deliver much earlier than expected, you're exceeding customer expectations and buyers are pleasantly surprised. 2) Delivery Time - Fiverr's tips include to "Deliver on time, or early if possible." I noticed when I deliver early, I get higher visibility in search and more buyer inquiries in my inbox. 3) Value for the Money - Delivering early is an easy way to make customers feel like they are getting more value for their money. Unless they pay the fees to expedite their order, I never promise to deliver early, so buyers are extremely happy when I do. They know I charge anywhere from $50 to double my prices if I have to expedite the order, so if I happen to deliver an order a week or so early (still not as fast as expediting, but much earlier than they expected), they are ecstatic. This makes them more likely to leave feedback on the order or refer my services to their friends. Both! Not only does Fiverr encourage us to deliver early, it always helped me to keep my customers happy and have better visibility in search. I don't really see a benefit from setting delivery times to 24 hours. Set your delivery time to 2-3 days and deliver in 12-24 hours. This allows you to be prepared to handle any unexpected issues or problems that always seem to pop up in time-sensitive orders. I actually set my delivery dates closer to 2 weeks (even if it only takes a day or so to complete the order). This gives me greater flexibility to plan my orders and work schedule.

Glad to know I'm not the only one! 😂 I am really honest with sellers when they deliver. If I don't like the delivery, I let them know why and what I'd like to see in the revision. The weird thing is, the first instinct that most sellers have if I'm not happy with a delivery is to cancel the order (which really should be the last resort if revisions don't work, not the first solution). However, now that I work with better sellers, I'm usually very pleased with the delivery, so I have no problems with their higher prices or leaving tips. I always leave public reviews but I do like to take time to gather my thoughts before leaving them. So I would get annoyed if someone were to ask me to leave a review, because that's my intention (even if it takes me a day or so to leave it).

Oh, that's disappointing. I guess that just wishful thinking on my part. I was hoping the algorithm could do more. My husband always thought it was ridiculous that I had to get a pat on my back for every order that I delivered ("Only on Fiverr!" he would say). It's such a weird system to be required to get a review on each order (but it's optional for buyers). I would like every repeat order from a buyer to count as a positive review (and they don't have to leave a review). Repeat buyers stop being creative after leaving about 6 reviews. I personally start leaving cookie-cutter reviews after 3-4 orders with the same seller. It's tough. Fiverr should probably just tell all sellers that we failed and the new rule is to never to message buyers at all regarding their review. Actually, it's an old rule, but it's a good rule to follow if you want to avoid any issues with your Fiverr account, especially if communication isn't your strong point. It's better to be safe than sorry, especially when it comes to Fiverr's ToS. Fiverr should also give incentives for buyers who do leave reviews. Get rid of forum levels and give them to buyers. I could be a Grand Master as a buyer for all the reviews that I left, that went "above and beyond": Think of how many buyers who would just get hooked on getting badges because they left "superstar" reviews:

I've had a lot of negative experiences as a newbie buyer. Constant pressure to place the order (yes, they used the "I am poor and need to feed my wife and kids" angle). Spammy messages when I was disappointed with the order. Pressure to accept something I wasn't happy with. Pressure/begging to leave a good review. And terrible customer service after I left a good review - making me feel stupid and used (they only wanted the good review). Well, I was stupid. I probably shouldn't have bought from so many newbie sellers when I was first starting out.

Sellers shouldn't be punished if buyers don't leave a review because reviews are optional, and for the repeat buyer, extremely cumbersome to write. Sometimes I wish that my repeat buyers don't leave any public reviews because I can feel their pain written in their cookie-cutter reviews that they dutifully write for me. I would be happy if they didn't leave reviews because their business is good enough for me. I'm sure that Fiverr's algorithm can gauge happy buyers who don't leave reviews through their behaviors (such as repeat buying) and conversations (such as "Great Job" and other expressions of gratitude in the inbox). Supposedly the algorithm is looking at "tone" of conversations so if the buyer's tone is happy and grateful, it should pick it up. But who knows? The Success Score is complicated and it not only accounts for your performance, it's your performance in relation to other sellers in your sub-category.

Fiverr also loves it when you deliver early like @catwriter. Set your delivery dates so that you can deliver a few days before it's due. If you want to deliver in 24 hours, set the delivery to 2 or 3 days (and delivery in 24 hours). The algorithm likes this better than if you set a 24-hour delivery time and deliver 14 hours later. Try to avoid getting that 12-hour notification because it does impact your seller performance, especially if other sellers in your sub-category are delivering much faster than their self-imposed delivery dates. If anything, ask for an extension at least 2-3 days before the delivery is due if you think you won't make the deadline. Give yourself plenty of wiggle room - the algorithm still considers it an early delivery if you set your delivery date a month out (but deliver in a few weeks).

It doesn't make sense to advertise your gig on social media if your gigs aren't optimized for your target buyers. If you focus on utilizing all the tools to improve your gigs, Fiverr will show your gigs to interested buyers. If you don't have a good Fiverr profile or gigs, no one will buy, even if you are driving a lot of traffic to your gig. My advice to you is the same as I made to this seller: https://community.fiverr.com/forums/topic/325187-i-think-is-all-about-the-reviews-i-have-seen-this-very-deeply-that-only-the-people-who-got-reviews-are-on-the-first-page-and-the-second-page/?do=findComment&comment=2034259 If you grew many businesses from "ZERO to HERO," your buyers need to see examples of that. Share compelling case studies that will pull on the heartstrings of your customers. Don't just tell them what you do (e.g., services you provide or platforms you work on - this doesn't differentiate you from the competition), show them how you are the solution to their problems. Highlight what makes you unique and memorable.

As a new seller, your goal shouldn't be to get on the first and second page. Your goal is to get orders. As long as you are getting impressions (greater than zero), buyers are seeing your gigs in search. Even 5-20 impressions a day is enough to get clicks, and if you get clicks, you have a chance to turn clicks into orders. You can do this by building up your credibility through your profile and gigs. Don't just tell buyers that you have 5 years of experience or that you are "the most advanced & successful white hat SEO backlink service" ... show your buyers that you are through your gig gallery and gig descriptions. This is especially important if you don't have any reviews yet. Your Fiverr profile and gigs act as your business card to your buyers. Right now, your business card is looking pretty generic and empty. Utilize all the tools that you have to showcase your unique offerings and skills. If you don't stand out from the competition, your gigs will get overlooked in search and buyers will pass over your gig for someone else that catches their eye. In your gig gallery, you can have 3 photos, a gig video, and 2 PDFs (which can have multiple pages). You can also make your gig descriptions more unique and tailored to your target customers' pain points. Anticipate questions and add them to your FAQs or as a PDF in your gig gallery. Once you get enough delivery images in there, you can probably take down the PDF and provide it on demand if customers need help. I created a "Top 10 Ways for Getting Started on Fiverr" guide because as a newbie seller with newbie prices, most of the buyers approaching me were new-to-Fiverr buyers. Do whatever you can to assure your buyers that you are the expert and that you will take care of them. When I didn't have orders, I was constantly creating and refining samples in my gig galleries. Not only did this help me hone my skills, it allowed me to put myself in my buyers' shoes so that I knew what they wanted even before they approached me. My first 10 orders were a result of the efforts that I put into my gig gallery. Buyers saw that I could give them what they needed, they saw examples of what they wanted, and this was convincing enough that they approached me in the inbox to discuss their projects. Newbie buyers have all the tools they need to succeed, but very few are using the tools to their maximum benefit.

Here's what I use: Hi {username}! This is just a friendly reminder that your order will auto-close in less than 24 hours. To request more time to review your order, from the order delivery, select "I'm not ready yet" and "I need more time to review." You can extend your review period for up to five days at a time. If you would like a revision, from the order delivery, select "I'm not ready yet" and "I still need revisions." You have two free revisions remaining on this order. Otherwise, if all is good and you do not need any further revisions, the order will auto-close and be marked as complete. If the order auto-closes, send this message in the inbox: Hi {username}! I noticed that your order was auto-closed by Fiverr and marked as complete. It was a pleasure serving you and I wish you the best of luck with your project! Thanks again for your business. Feel free to contact me here in the inbox if you have any questions related to your order or future projects! It's important for buyers to know that I didn't close the order. Also, buyers will sometimes come back to tell me that they didn't get notifications of the delivery or their revision request didn't go through. So it's good for them to know how to contact me if there were any issues doing that - especially since they may be alarmed that they can't add more messages on a closed order. The last thing you want a buyer to do is feel like you closed them off and their only recourse is to vent via their public review. Note: Most of these messages are for newer buyers. Like @smartdezigns, I deal with repeat buyers differently and I don't mention leaving feedback at all.

I know as a buyer, I feel more pressure as a buyer to not make a mistake in my review. I also don't want to have to jump through all the hoops to leave a review (especially with the different screens). I do find myself rushing through so I can get to written part (or waiting until later so that I can take the time to leave one). I can see how buyers can get busy and forget to leave one (or rush through and make a mistake).

If they leave feedback on the order page (or inbox chats), I just ask them if I can use their comments in my advertising to future clients (then I save a screenshot of that approval). Buyers don't have to leave public feedback if they don't want (and many times my resume clients come after several weeks/months to tell me that my resume landed them interviews, LinkedIn connects, or a job). So I just keep those for marketing purposes if clients need additional proof/assurances of the quality of my work.

I've always used the word "feedback" or "comments" - as in, "Feel free to leave feedback on this order..." ...or I'll just mention for them to "add the delivery image to my gallery when leaving comments on this order."

I agree with @katakatica - I think it's great that we have clear guidelines from Fiverr about asking or following up on reviews left by customers, but I wouldn't even mention reviews after making a delivery. I think even mentioning the review (or asking "How can I improve?") puts undue pressure on the buyer, especially if they gave you less than a perfect score. I have one statement in my delivery message that lets buyers know that leaving honest reviews is appreciated because it lets other buyers know how it is to work with me. Other than that, I don't follow up after the delivery unless the buyer didn't even acknowledge the delivery (and at that point, I do reach out to let the buyer know that the order will auto-close, what it means, and how to request more review time/revisions if they need it). I noticed buyers can change their reviews if it wasn't the review that they wanted to leave (and CS seems okay with making the change). If buyers change their reviews, sellers should be able to change their responses to the review. Otherwise, sellers may come off as insensitive or rude because their responses are no longer relevant to the new review left by the buyer.

Hi @Lena - Are you able to help @vickyamz (see above)? Thank you so much!

Hi @shanta350, It should be your picture ...and since the Fiverr account is yours, your ID is the only acceptable form of ID to verify your account. Even for minor accounts (requiring parents to agree to the ToS), the minor's ID is needed. This is to ensure that all information is accurate and truthful. This means that if you don't have an ID (such as a passport), you can't verify your account (and using someone else's identity violates Fiverr's ToS and could get your account banned). The best thing to do is reach out to Customer Service to find out what you should do to get your account straightened out. It doesn't make sense to keep operating using someone else's ID. There may be other forms of ID/documentation that you already have that may be acceptable for Fiverr. Otherwise, you will need to get an acceptable form of ID before you will be allowed to offer services on Fiverr.