[Down to 4.9 Stars for No Reason?]

10 minutes ago, emmaki said:

I had to stop telling buyers when they were wrong.

But the order requirements were basically, "I will drop my writing into the order chats. You will tell me what's wrong." This was more for writing advice/feedback session. So I would say what's wrong and show my corrections. Then we would "argue" back and forth until the buyer understood why. It worked for me and my buyers. These buyers don't want to be right and they didn't want me to let anything slip. But as you said, maybe AI isn't looking at these chats to determine the score. Most likely it was the private reviews that brought this score to 3.5.

Most of these buyers were from my newbie seller days and I no longer work with those types of buyers. So the score can only get better from here (as long as I work on communication and improving my client satisfaction). 🤞

[Down to 4.9 Stars for No Reason?]

Oh, this is interesting. I can now see the ratings breakdown for all of my gigs. My worst gig (Writing Services), has an average rating of 4.7 stars, with "Quality of Delivery" at 3.5 stars:

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Public Reviews (all 5-stars) didn't give me any insight into the 3.5 score, but the Success Score gave some insight:

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The 2-3 Key Areas that Fiverr shows for each gig seems to be the lowest-scored Key Areas (based on the 6 used by Fiverr). I have zero order cancellations, so the reasons would fall on "Effective Communication" and "Client Satisfaction" as the top reasons for my low "Quality of Delivery."

I'm guessing that since this Writing Gig often requires that I provide constructive criticism of my clients' writing (especially if proofreading or editing), there may have been clients unhappy with my critical feedback or AI might have picked up possible argumentative language that I've had in the order chats with ESL buyers who wanted me to correct their grammar in the order chats (several had learning styles of "arguing it out until the concept is understood"). I was pretty blunt in those conversations if the buyers were wrong.

[My Account got flagged due to suspicious location patterns. But I haven't did something like this.]

Hi @milos_siena, @Lyndsey_Fiverr, or @Lena - Can one of you look into why @quo_seo_agency's account was flagged? Thanks in advance for all your help!

[Hello, Fiverr! New here, starting my mental health worker journey.]

6 hours ago, ancan3 said:

Hello everyone, I just posted my first gig and I'm super excited. I will get my Bachelor's Degree in Psychology in a few months and I think it's a perfect start to offer emotional support to those in need via Fiverr, using the strategies I learned. Any tips on how to land my first customer? ^^ 

Hi @ancan3, I love how you put your gig together! Sometimes sellers with with psychology or medical backgrounds accidentally offer prohibitive services by offering medical advice or emotional therapy, so I'm glad that you avoided those words! As long as you stick with offering a listening ear and having meaningful conversations with your buyers, you should be fine.

As @dereck_s mentioned, there aren't too many services offering "emotional support" coaching but there are several sub-categories under "Lifestyle Coaching" that have sellers offering similar services (over 7,000+). I've had several business coaches on Fiverr who mention that sometimes buyers come asking for an "online friend," "accountability coach," or "listening ear."

Do put a time limit on your chats (or else your buyers will think each package is 24 hours long). Since you will be offering services by chat (and not Zoom), you might want to set up your packages to be 30 minutes, 60 minutes, and 90 minutes (in the title), but give yourself a week to deliver. This will help you and your buyer find a good time that works for both of you to chat.

My first business coach's services was also text chat-only (no Zoom) and there was a bit of delay with Fiverr's chat, so a 90-minute chat was like 45-60 minutes of Zoom time. So plan accordingly and give your buyers a heads up so they aren't frustrated that messaging back and forth isn't as quick as social media.

[How to extend review time]

Hi @thea_nrws,

Tell your buyer to go to their delivery and at the bottom, they will see two buttons:

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If they click on "I'm not ready yet," they will be given several choices why:

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To extend their review period, the buyer can click on "I need more time to review." Buyers can request up to 5 days at a time to extend their review period.

To request a revision, the buyer can click the first button, "I still need revisions." This will keep the order open indefinitely until there is a new delivery. Buyers will need to include details on what revisions they would like to make.

I've had buyers use either of these buttons to extend their review period.

[How can i improve my gig's impression and clicks also how can i get my first order?]

Hi @salmaanbhai, It's great that you're able to make changes so quickly! Whenever you do make changes to your gigs, pay attention to your gig statistics to see whether the changes have a positive effect on your gigs or not. Your goal is to turn impressions into clicks, and clicks into inbox inquiries and orders. Make note of your starting numbers right now and see how your gigs perform each week. Your numbers will tell you what is working or if you need to try something else. You can also start putting together your PDF files for your portfolio and gig videos to put up in your next round of updates or to share with your buyers if they ask to see more.

[How do I make a powerpoint available for live portfolio when I send it to the customer]

6 hours ago, remikkrekora said:

@vickieito Hi Vicki, I wanted to ask you about the live portfolio. I deliver business names to customers and recently switched from sending over the names in the word format to sending them over in a powerpoint (pptx file). Will the customer be able to use the powerpoint as an image in the review?

Hi @remikkrekora, I usually create a unique delivery image (i.e., jpeg file) for my customers to accept. Editable files such as PowerPoints and Word documents won't be shown as delivery images. I also deal with personal and sensitive information (such as names and contact info) that I need to blur or remove before the sample is acceptable as a delivery image. For my writing gigs, I'll just include a summary of the services that I provided on a PowerPoint slide (and then save it as a jpeg). You do have to be careful to select the right file if there are multiple files in your delivery (in that case, it might be best to put the actual delivery in a zip folder along with the delivery image so that the wrong image (with confidential information) is not accidentally posted to your image gallery.

[How can i improve my gig's impression and clicks also how can i get my first order?]

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."

 

[No happy with order- I need here]

Hi @rvd4now, 

52 minutes ago, rvd4now said:

I tried to contact Fiverr customer service for help, but I haven't been able to get anywhere with them. I just want a refund for the service I paid for.

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.

[Down to 4.9 Stars for No Reason?]

12 hours ago, vickieito said:

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).

...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.

[Official feedback thread re: the new leveling system]

6 minutes ago, williambryan392 said:

I just saw that my overall score just dropped to 4.9  (the one on the top left of the dashboard). All gigs and my overall public score are still 5 overall though. Anyone else just seen a change to this on their profiles?

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.

[Down to 4.9 Stars for No Reason?]

7 minutes ago, vibronx said:

It might be a glitch for now, but most of us will get a 4.9 rating come March 14. This is just a taste.

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.

3 minutes ago, smartdezigns said:

I don't think it's a glitch because based on your Rating Breakdown, your overall rating should be 4.9* which is correct.

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).

[Down to 4.9 Stars for No Reason?]

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.

[Will it be a problem if the buyer himself shares the link?]

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:

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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).

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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

[SOS: Your account has been flagged for a severe violation of Fiverr policies As a result, you are not able to participate in the level system.]

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!

[Account Flagged Due to Misunderstanding]

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!

[Should Fiverr send another notification one hour before the delivery deadline? What Do you all think?]

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). 

[Should Fiverr send another notification one hour before the delivery deadline? What Do you all think?]

9 hours ago, mandyzines said:

Which part of our scoring is affected now by delivering too close to the deadline?

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.

5 hours ago, arianelaurent said:

Can I ask whether this is based on your own experience or something someone at Fiverr has said?

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.

[Etiquettes for navigating ratings and reviews from buyers]

5 minutes ago, vibronx said:

I already got hooked just by them calling me a superstar. I crave praise, okay?

Glad to know I'm not the only one! 😂

2 minutes ago, vibronx said:

But with the new system in place, I try to be as positive as I can—both in the review and in the inbox afterward, so I help my sellers progress because I appreciate them.

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).

[Etiquettes for navigating ratings and reviews from buyers]

24 minutes ago, emmaki said:

I've be told at least once by my SM in the past that more reviews were needed as the lack of reviews was hurting me. 

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.

24 minutes ago, emmaki said:

But get one word or the overall tone a a little wrong (very easy if you're a non-native speaker) in tone and boom, you're in trouble. And just look how many of the requests here fail on that front,

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":

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Think of how many buyers who would just get hooked on getting badges because they left "superstar" reviews:

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[Etiquettes for navigating ratings and reviews from buyers]

13 minutes ago, vibronx said:

I’ve had sellers chase me in my inbox spamming/begging me to leave a review mere minutes after delivering an order and not letting go

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.

[Etiquettes for navigating ratings and reviews from buyers]

13 hours ago, mandyzines said:

Here's this today, sent within the inbox after an order was automatically completed. No review was left--publicly, anyway. Will my AI boss equate this to the success it should be equated with? Or, because they did not review on Fiverr will my social credit score go down in comparison to other sellers?

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.

[Should Fiverr send another notification one hour before the delivery deadline? What Do you all think?]

1 minute ago, catwriter said:

I never get the notification 12 hours before, because I deliver before that (as in, days before the 12-hours-before notification could arrive).

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).

[Free Gig Marketing Daily Limitation on Social Media Platfrom.]

1 hour ago, genious_rabbani said:

most mentors & successful sellers told me I should use social media for my gig marketing

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.

[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.]

4 hours ago, zubairshah611 said:

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

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.