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Good topic @kaneswriting! I enjoyed reading everyone's input on this thread. 🥰 Here are my key learnings: 1. Know what you can and can't control (and spend your energies and time accordingly). Don't waste time worrying about things that are outside of your control and don't blame things that you can control on external factors. Success depends on taking the right action leading to desired results. 2. Set clear boundaries with your customers. A lot of my "bad" customers were just a result of me not standing up for myself by setting clear boundaries. I didn't know how to say "no" and was bending over backwards (at my own expense and sanity). Once I started to set clear boundaries, I found out that most buyers were more than happy to respect them. 3. Customer Support helps sellers. For the longest time, I thought Customer Service was only pro-buyer. So, I didn't reach out to them as often as I should have. I took the hit for cancelations when I shouldn't have. 4. Don't act on emotions. It pays to be cool-headed. 😎 It shows professionalism and buyers appreciate it when I am level-headed and keep communications logical and productive. I also notice that all my stupid mistakes happen when I act on emotions (e.g., fear, anger, excitement, etc.), so I'll take a break if I need to keep my emotions in check.

I'm trying, but I really can't find anything to tear apart! All I ended up with was a list of really good notes! Those YouTube videos claim that all you need to do is sign up and money will start pouring in (you don't even need skills)! No wonder why so many newbie sellers are surprised when that doesn't happen. This is the reason why most sellers don't even know that there's work to be done "before" publishing that first gig. Publishing the gig is the tip of the iceberg. What's below the surface is what you've outline in detail above. Normally when a newbie seller asks me how they can get orders (and I see that they don't even have a gig), I just tell them they need to publish their gig in order to make money. Now I have an article full of great actionable steps that they can take to start their business on the right foot and with the right mindset for success BEFORE they even publish that gig. These are all the things that I wish I knew when I first started out. So, thank you for taking the time to write this! I have been following your posts since you joined the forum and I'm blown away with the knowledge and insights that you have. I can't wait to see your business go live!

I have Request to Order on 6 of my gigs and will have them on all 7 of them during the winter holidays. I love how it helps me to control orders and increase communication with potential buyers. Only if you are the buyer and you initiate the cancelation. Cancelations initiated by the seller (or CS) doesn't allow the seller or buyer to leave private feedback. I find this strange.

Hi @xotatech - All sellers start as a new seller without any sales, reviews, or history on this platform. The sellers that make it on this platform are skilled in what they do and have a good understanding of their target customers (and what they want). Before I had any reviews, my portfolio was the one thing that gave me credibility because I didn't even have working experience in the skills that I was selling on the marketplace. When my first few orders were placed, buyers were specifically mentioning my portfolio as the reason for placing the order. They knew that I could deliver what they wanted because they saw it in the samples that I provided. After my first 20 reviews, it was much easier for me to get orders.

Hi @mubashirahmed_, All 5 of your posts have been reported for spam. Please review the forum rules before posting here. Gig links are only allowed in "My Fiverr Gigs" or "Improve My Gig." Spamming the forum won't help your business or give you credibility as a global digital marketing expert. We are not your target market.

Hi @tanzeel_designz, you can go ahead and change your keywords and then monitor how your gig performs over the next month to see if it helps you to get more impressions. If it works for you, keep it. If not, you can revert back to your current keywords.

@domenikbrenner, If impressions aren't working in your favor, I wouldn't even bother to look at them, at least several months or longer. I haven't looked at mine for a long time now. I think looking at them is causing you a lot of grief and despair, especially since all of the good things you're doing isn't changing those numbers and negative private reviews can affect your impressions for at least 90 days (sometimes longer). Instead, focus on what is working for you. Organic search is only one way to get orders. There are other ways to get orders and you are getting orders. You also have repeat buyers. You can have a good stream of customers even with zero impressions if you have loyal repeat buyers. I like what @jonbaas said above: It might be good to explore how you can bring in more customers and convert them into a loyal fan base. Once you do that, Fiverr's algorithm has no power over you because you can get orders without it.

If you do get a negative review, most likely Customer Support will not remove it if you deliver the buyer what they ask for (a random picture). I would just cancel based on the fact that I don't offer any gigs for random photos. Customer Support should be able to cancel the order without it affecting your stats. This order request looks very suspicious to me!

You can always ask for extensions before the delivery date expires. Once it goes into late mode, you no longer have that option. If the client would have agreed, the best thing to do is just cancel and reissue a new custom order (and I would do this cancelation/new order process with the buyer at the same time).

@williambryan392, I've never had a late order, so I'm wondering if Option 3 would work: Cancel the order and reissue a new custom order for 90 days and extend if more time is needed before the order expires. You can extend multiple times until the project is complete (the longest I've extended it was 5 months, but you can keep asking for extensions indefinitely). This would - Remove the "late" delivery from your statistics. Not count against your order completion rate as long as the buyer accepts the new custom offer within 2 weeks of cancelation.

If you aren't ready to accept new orders now, you might want to pause your gigs until you are ready. Otherwise, you can keep your account as-is and take on any orders that come your way.

I hope you saw my post, @katakatica! My post was hidden for 11 hours because I probably used a forbidden word (not sure which one)! TLDR - I joined Fiverr for all the wrong reasons. Luckily, I was able to quickly adjust and correct myself. Thanks! I try to remember that when I answer questions on the forum. I was a new seller earlier this year, so it wasn't long ago when I was in their shoes. If I could make a 180-degree change, so can others. I think luck, hard work, and a willingness to admit when things aren't working helped me to be successful on this platform. When I first started, I was "faking it 'till I was making it." The only way I could prove myself was through my portfolio. And I had to make up that portfolio, because I didn't have any past projects to go off of. Once I started getting orders, I used each order as a chance to prove to my customers (and myself) that I could do this "for real." I really love how hard work is rewarded on this platform. I've had the Fiverr's Choice badge consistently since April, and this badge alone has not only helped my business to grow but it also clears away a lot of my concerns about not being "an expert" or a "real seller." It was Day 2 of being a freelancer on Fiverr that I saw I had 0 impressions, 0 clicks, and 0 orders. That told me I had to get off my lazy bum and work. My scientist brain was telling me that action was required to get the desired result. So, I was only lazy for 2 days. 😊 That's why I love following all of you on the forum! I learn so much from each of your posts! I think it's sad that so many new sellers don't see the golden nuggets that are right in front of them. Or they see but don't implement. Every business is different, so they'll never know what works or not if they don't try.

I'll answer you for free, @zeus777! I'm guilty of joining Fiverr for all the wrong reasons - I didn't know what skill I could sell on the platform (and it didn't really matter to me). I also joined Fiverr because I wanted to make "quick and easy money" doing the most generic skills that anyone could do - data entry, proofreading, and beta reading. I also believed myths such as "staying online 24/7" because that was what other sellers on the platform were telling me. That myth landed me in the hospital, so I found out it wasn't true. Also, I posted gigs before I knew that I could deliver on them. And I would kill myself with over delivery to get my orders right, even if it was only $5. I think on many of the orders, I put in over 40 hours to get it right. That was in the beginning. I was very lucky that I was able to replace my day job within a few months of being on this platform, especially since I posted gigs for high-competition skills that anyone can do. So based on this, I might be what you have been calling a "fake" seller. The only thing is, I've been very honest about where my skills are and I don't (even now) consider or call myself an expert. I have been very open to try things that my customers ask of me and only keep the services that I feel adds to the quality of the customer experience. For that reason, I no longer offer voiceovers for my eLearning courses or logo designs in conjunction with my PowerPoint designs. I still use the platform to develop my skills. For example, I mostly design in Canva, Word, and PowerPoint but just recently designed a resume in InDesign (which was my first time using the program). It took forever because I had had to look up how to do everything in the program. But I was able to create a design that I was proud of (and the buyer was pleased with). When I posted my first gig, I vowed I would never write on the platform. This was because I only wanted to do the easy stuff and writing was hard. However, writing was what my customers wanted, so I started offering it. In the beginning, I was REALLY rusty. Words didn't flow smoothly. It would take forever to write just one sentence. I joined the forum to help me improve my writing so that I could write on demand (and I also wanted to learn how to do business smarter, without the 24/7 rule). Sorry for rambling! Hopefully this has given you insight into the mindset of someone who joined Fiverr for all the wrong reasons, had no idea of what skills to sell, and made really stupid mistakes!

Hi @gayanchamira! I think freelancing on Fiverr contributes to sustainability goals in many ways: 1. This platform is a great equalizer in terms of economic opportunities for all - if you have skills and the internet, you can earn money on Fiverr. The start up costs are very low and there are lots of resources to increase in education and skill, regardless of nationality, geographic location, race, religion, gender, abilities, age, familial status, economic status, and social status. There are a few limitations - Fiverr isn't available in some countries, you have to be at least 13 years old, and you do need money to cover the basics, but the barrier of entry is much lower than most brick-and-motar businesses out there. 2. This platform is international and promotes diversity. I think working with my buyers from all over the world (and interacting with other sellers on this platform) has given me a more global outlook and promotes diversity and forward-thinking. 3. Working remotely can be good for the environment. I don't use any paper (everything is done digitally), I don't commute to work, and I can work from anywhere. This helps to reduce unnecessary paper waste, emissions, and urban crowding. 4. Freelancing can be good for remote workers. I love how I have more control over my income and time. I am financially independent and can increase my prices whenever it makes sense. I also have more time for family, my health, and spend more time developing my skills and use of technology than I did working a corporate job. This lifestyle isn't for everyone, but it works for me. Opportunity for improvement: I could probably do more to reduce my energy, technology, and and waste footprints. My energy consumption and use of electronics have increased dramatically. Also, I do generate a lot of waste through Amazon orders and Oisix orders (Japan's version of Hello Fresh). Japan has a good recycling system, so I take advantage of that, but I should probably do more to reduce my paper and electronic waste. I should also start growing some of my own food and pick greener options when I buy.

@charuka_designs, it says that they couldn't associate the Facebook account with you. Did you double check that you entered in the right information?

Hi @mehedipro, Fiverr is designed to allow buyers to automatically place an order, so please make sure your gigs are set up for you to succeed if that happens. For me, that includes higher prices and longer delivery times. If you get an auto order without the order requirements, you can either let that order stay in the "incomplete" status until the buyer submits the order requirements or cancel the order. Orders canceled before the order requirements are submitted won't affect your order completion rate. If you get an auto order submitted with order requirements but the order requirements are blank/have vague answers, it's up to you to clear up those questions as soon as possible. Ask questions until you understand fully what the buyer wants. If you have everything you need, proceed with the order. If the buyer requires more than what they ordered, submit a gig extra to add on the service. If the buyer refuses to pay for the gig extra or mistakenly ordered the wrong gig, the buyer can cancel the order with "ordered by mistake" as the reason so that the cancelation won't affect your seller statistics. If the buyer requires less than what they ordered, you can cancel the order and have them place a new order with the correct price. If you cancel an order and the buyer buys from you within 2 weeks, that order will not negatively affect your order completion rate.

You have my vote @cartoon_avatar! The waving hand emoji works! I'd also like to add a "shocked face" emoji because that is my reaction to many of the posts on the forum.

Fiverr doesn't guarantee that you will get any briefs. If you don't receive any, it's because Fiverr hasn't found any matches for you. I didn't have matches for months.

You train the AI by marking why you are rejecting a brief here: On the brief page crashing, you're not the first one to report that. You might want to report this with Fiverr here: https://www.fiverr.com/support_tickets/account-and-security/report-bug

This gig image editor is on the editing page at the top of the gallery: By selecting the "Start creating" button, you then can select an editable template and then add in your images, text, shapes, and color to the gig image. After making those changes, you have the option of setting your new design as your primary image in your gallery. It's a very basic editor: I just looked at the downloadable templates - those look so much better than the available templates on the free editor!

Hi @rakib__101, I see that you're a web designer so you might be interested in this post I wrote from a customer's perspective (to a web designer). Web designers have a lot of technical knowledge while their target buyers don't. So you'll have to remember that when writing your gigs: https://community.fiverr.com/forums/topic/292234-experienced-sellers-only/?do=findComment&comment=1842480 I wouldn't depend on buyer briefs as a main source of orders. If your gig is not getting many impressions, most likely you won't be getting many briefs either. Both the marketplace and buyer briefs operate using smart algorithms to match buyers to the most relevant services. So if you aren't considered relevant in search, you probably won't be considered relevant for briefs either. Your relevancy will be determined by your title, tags, gig descriptions, and seller performance. Make sure you are using keywords that your target audience will use when they look for you in search. The more you can speak to your target customers, the more relevant you will be in search.

I just received the following from Fiverr: After looking at the 44 available templates to create a gig image, I decided not to use this feature. It looks like this feature is limited to the first 10K users who respond to the email, so if you received the email (and are interested in using Fiverr's gig image templates), you'll need to act fast! If you are using the gig image template designer, please let us know how this feature works for you!

@uncle_ayon, your account is very new (started in Oct 2022), so it can take a while to build your business and get that first order. I think your title, tags, and gig descriptions are good and like how you used 2 keywords in each tag to maximize your exposure on the marketplace. I also like how you have brand consistency in your gig images but also include an image so that it's easier for your buyers to differentiate your packages by look. I see opportunity for you to take advantage of your gallery to show of your skill and portfolio - add gig videos for each of your gigs, and use all of the available slots for images and PDFs (3 images & 2 PDFs). When you have zero reviews, your portfolio plays a huge role in a buyer's decision to go with you. You might also want to call out some of the pain points of your buyers so that you can show how you are the solution.

Did it drop suddenly or gradually? Or has it always been low?

What kind of impressions and clicks are you seeing?