omnilegentangel

I still dont' understand charging the Buyer for the tip AND the seller. As a Buyer, the lowest amount you can tip is $5. I've paid $2.38 on top of the $5 just to give the tip. That's a total of $7.38. Then, as a Seller, Fiverr takes out 20% of the tip. When I've received a $20 tip, I'm only getting $16 of that tip. So if Fiverr is charging half of the tip to the Buyer ($10) and I'm being charged 20% of the tip ($4), that means Fiverr is making $14 on a $20 tip. That seems a bit much to me. Just my thoughts.

Hello All: I achieved a new level on Fiverr (Level One) and wanted to share my experience. I started on Fiverr in July 2022 as a Sensitivity Reader and Beta Reader. After receiving more clicks on my Sensitivity Reader gig, I quickly put all of my energy into that gig and started receiving inquiries about two months later. I got my first sale almost three months into being on Fiverr. I removed the Beta gig so that I could refine it as I had refined the Sensitivity gig but became so busy with personal things, I never found the time to go back to it so I've had only the Sensitivity gig up since about October 2022. My Sensitivity gig is not among the cheapest and this may be why I don't receive that many requests. However, for the work I give the client, I know I am underpriced compared to Sensitivity Readers outside of Fiverr (about 3x less for what I provide). In the year since becoming a Sensitivity Reader, I've received nine orders and one order for being a Beta Reader (with the Beta Reading being the cheapest order). Each month, I had to wait until my "review" date to show that I had achieved whatever milestone I was trying to achieve to move to Level One (because even when you achieve the milestone, i.e., you get ten sales, or you earn whatever amount of money you need to earn to move to the next level, it doesn't show until after your review date). I achieved my Level One Seller status toward the latter part of July 2023, however, I did not see the status reflected on my account until August 15th (one day after my normal monthly review date of Aug 14th). During the year of selling my gigs, I received a total of $1657 (after all fees were deducted). Dividing that by 12 months gives me a total of making $138/month. That may seem small for most, and you certainly can't make a full-time job with this amount of money. However, I'm only looking to make about $500/month to help with expenses as I have other income. $500/month would pay for my business expenses and provide me with about an extra $250-$300/month in profit (after all federal and state tax considerations). I've found I get about ONE sale/month (again, I believe this is due to my prices being on the higher end of the Fiverr price spectrum for my gig, but again, my prices are very low compared to Sensitivity readers outside of Fiverr and I know I'm worth it!). Plus, the emotional strain of this gig is priceless but I love helping others to improve our world. My reviews prove this point. I've never taken advantage of the offers suggested by Fiverr (i.e., to pay to have my gigs "pushed up to the top," or to have my money sent to me early). I'm already paying 20% of my earnings on each sale and to me, that's enough. But I believe we all have to do what we think is best for our business. I wrote this article to give folks who are wondering what the path may be to becoming a Level One Seller and to provide encouragement. I enjoy doing Sensitivity Readings because I know it will make a difference in the world. At least I hope it does if the writers take my suggestions. That to me is worth more than money (although I also want to earn more). I believe I can earn more once I add more gigs, but I don't want to overwhelm myself either. I have a better handle on how Fiverr works (especially features such as messaging, extensions, reviews, customer support, etc). Those are all learning curves and I'm still learning - never stop learning or staying up to date on Fiverr Forums (they're great). I don't know how long I might stay on Fiverr since I'm a writer myself and have a few projects going on that are very time-consuming. I also know that I could make much more for the work I do by going private. I do like that I don't have to search for clients by using Fiverr but again, I'm not trying to become a millionaire on here (although I've heard you can!); I'm just trying to have a decent wage for the work I do. I hope this gives another seller out there some inspiration and some encouragement. If your gigs aren't making what you want, go back to the drawing board and either revise them or exchange them for new gigs. I whole-heartedly believe you can make a living wage on here but you have to commit to changing hats once in a while and/or changing your prices until people trust you enough to pay you more. If anyone has any questions for me on my journey or my gig (remember, I'll be changing that to more than one in the future), I would be happy to answer. I wish you all continued success! Angela

CONGRATULATIONS!

I am a Seller and I'm also a Buyer (but I'm a Seller more than I am a Buyer). As a Seller, I've always received a tip for my work (of which I am grateful). However, as a recent Buyer, I was given the opportunity to provide my Seller with a tip. Naturally, I applaud being able to give a good Seller a tip when they have done good work. But when I went to give the tip, I was sent back a message that I had to pay extra money to send the tip because it was for Fiverr's administrative costs to give the tip to the Seller. If this is the case, then why is the Seller also charged? I'm really confused as to how this fee can be charged on both ends. Can anyone provide an explanation? Ty. Happy Selling and Buying! Angela

Wow, you can be a critique partner on Fiverr too? That's awesome. (OR, are you saying you're a Critique partner off of the platform)? Lol

Gotcha! No worries; totally understand.

Sorry guys, please skip the "WIP or published works question." I'm not trying to have anyone violate any Fiverr rules by posting something that could directly/indirectly take people off of the platform!!

Hello Everyone! I started on Fiverr on July 1, 2022 so my 1-year Fiverr anniversary is almost here. My goal was to become a Level One Seller within one year (while earning at least a decent amount of supplemental income so that I could work on my dream at the same time). I just accepted my 10th client (the last requirement I had to fulfill to become a Level One Seller). Thankfully, I will achieve this goal once my current order has been completed. Although it's been a long road, I'm proud of what I've accomplished (since I only concentrated on ONE gig for most of the time I've been on the platform). I made three other gigs but removed them within a few months of starting because (a) I reviewed my stats and noticed that my main gig was the one people gravitated to the most, (b) I realized it my main gig was the one I enjoyed the most because I believed in my ability to help Buyers AND their customers the most, and (c) I wanted to continue to create the best quality product I could create (and that took more time to achieve). I wish I could say I earned a boatload of money (I didn't) but I DID earn a very decent amount of supplemental income (while still helping others AND having the time and energy to work on MY dream: writing my first novel). THIS was MY goal; it may not be YOUR goal. I want to tell every new Fiverr Seller that you CAN use this platform to achieve what YOU want to achieve! If you want super sales, create more gigs and make sure that your performance matches your prices (which also matches your marketing strategies). If you want supplemental income only (because you're doing more outside things, such as having an outside job or working an outside career), then figure out the amount of time you can reasonably commit to becoming the BEST representative of the gig/s you have created. If you're not getting clients and/or receiving non-stellar reviews, you MUST review YOUR skills to ensure you are at the skill level you need to be to entice new clients while performing well. In addition, you MUST review your gig stats at least once/month to see where YOUR possible clients are gravitating to and adjust your gigs accordingly. NO ONE can do this but YOU! But there are many in the forum that can help you as well. Learn from their experiences and ask for suggestions! Make YOUR plan successful by deciding on YOUR goals (NOT someone else's), making a plan, and committing to YOUR plan. I PROMISE, you WILL be successful! Good luck! YOU CAN DO IT!!

I forgot to add in my response that Fiverr has also stated that the Buyer has to meet certain criteria when posting a review regarding a cancellation. Hopefully, this will also keep frivolous reviews from being posted.

Hello Everyone! Just wanted to see how many Beta/Sensitivity/ARC readers, ghost writers, book cover/trailer designers, and/or any other person working within the Writing/Translation, etc. groups are also writers/authors of their own works? I'm an aspiring Historical Fiction author. My main subgenres will include Mystery and Romance. I would love to connect with other aspiring and/or experienced authors, book cover/trailer designers, etc. to encourage and support each other! Let me know if (a) you're an aspiring or experienced author, (b) your genre/subgenre, (c) your WIP and/or one of your most recently published works, and (d) if you're already published, if you chose to be self-published, traditionally-published or hybrid-published (and why)! Happy Writing and Reading!

From what I'm understanding, once a Buyer leaves a review, a Seller WOULD be able to respond to the review. A Seller is just not able to INITIATE a review when it comes to a cancellation. I hope I am clear on this point. If not, moderators please help me to understand!! Thx!

Well, thank you! I'm really trying! Angela

Oh Lord....I'm SO CLOSE to becoming a Level One Seller (but it's been elusive). I know it's not, but sure seems that way! I've been on Fiverr since July 1, 2022. I've worked very hard on the orders I've received (as we all do, I imagine) and I'm NOT upset about hard work! Lately, I've just been a bit discouraged. So I'm coming to those who have been there for some advice! Ok, here's the situation: currently, I have 7 orders completed and I'm working on my 8th (due early February). I've attained every other criteria to become a Level One Seller (EXCEPT for the #10 order completion requirement). I have two questions: QUESTION #1: How have you guys dealt with this issue? I don't want to feel discouraged but just trying to get to Level One seems like a HUGE and overwhelming challenge. I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong as far as being seen in the Fiverr algorithm or with Buyers being interested. I've revised my gigs several times (based on tips from you guys) and I've had more Buyers (but never more than #2/month and since most Buyers are only gravitating towards one of my gigs, I recently put the others on "pause" to tweak them a little more; I had three in total). Right now, I only have the one showing. One tweak I'm thinking of doing to my current gig would be to add the type of clients I've helped (to help Buyers know the level of work I can do). The problem with this tweak is that the project I worked on hasn't been published yet (I do Sensitivity and Beta Readings) BUT the clients are well-established (New York Times bestsellers, Amazon best sellers, State Poetry Laureates, etc., and/or received other high accolades in the writing industry). I'm still trying to figure out HOW to do this tweak. QUESTION #2: Has anyone ever considered branching out on your own (and if so, HOW did you decide, WHAT time frame do you suggest to do so, and DO you do Fiverr AND your independent business at the same time)? Now, I want to be clear: I truly appreciate Fiverr for being a platform where I can gain exposure to more potential clients than I could ever have gained on my own. But it does seems challenging to attain the New Seller Level status (where I feel I would get better exposure). In addition, the 20% fee Fiverr takes from every package can be substantial (ESPECIALLY, when my two upper level packages aren't exactly cheap and, that fee doesn't stop for several levels, correct)? I'm just wondering if anyone else has any tips on trying to decide whether to devote more time on the platform if you aren't progressing to new levels within a certain period or to branch out and be totally independent (but stay on the platform as you build). I have done research into my field and find that most independent Sensitivity Readers earn three times (or more) of the amount I make on Fiverr (but they are finding their own clients via social media and other marketing strategies, neither of which I'm great at since I don't have a large social media following nor am I experienced at marketing my skills yet). In addition, I'm currently writing my first novel so my time is honestly, a bit limited. So, as you can see, this makes this a difficult topic to maneuver. Any SERIOUS comments and/or suggestions are welcome! Happy Selling! Angela

Thanks for sharing this info! The Subscription option showed up on my gig the other day. The info provided stated that there would be a way to add in discounts once I chose the subscription option. I chose (a) 3 months with a 5% discount, and (b) 6 months with a 10% discount. However, I perform Sensitivity/Beta/ARC Readings and I'm not sure how the subscription option would work with those gig choices? Normally, someone will get a reading done and then the gig is over. I really just wanted to be able to offer my returning clients a discount if they wanted to do more edits. I'm not really sure how the Subscription service would work for this type of gig when it's usually a "one and done" type of deal (but if anyone has any info, please let me know how you use this option for your Sensitivity/Beta/ARC gigs). The only thing I can really think of is if a client had a few books that they wanted a reading for (but most of the time, they're only writing one book at a time). Thanks in advance, Angela

You might be able to see the answer to your question in the Fiverr Experience Forum. I think there was a discussion there (or the Fiverr Seller Tips). How long have you been back on the site? If you're not receiving orders, were you receiving orders before? If so, maybe you have to review your gig now and "adjust". In any case, if you're an experienced Seller and you were getting orders before with decent reviews (and no TOS violations), it probably won't take you too long to get back into the "groove" of things. Much success! Angela