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 since I started selling on Fiverr, and wow, what a journey it has been. I thought I’d share some lessons that I picked up along the way that might help you if you’re here for the long run or just getting started as a newbie. 

These are the things that in my opinion matter the most, well, at least to me. 🤷‍♂️ 

Your Profile Speaks for You (and it should)

Believe me, I have seen profiles that have either no clarity or not enough information on them. Your profile matters the most when it comes to building trust, that counts and counts a lot. I remember once a buyer said to me inquiring about my services: 

I've gone through different gigs but their profiles didn't impress me much, not what they said in their gigs. It just doesn't add up."

This is why it is important, because buyers need to see who's the real deal if they're buying from you, and I'd really emphasize adding all the information on your profile, and by all, I mean not only profile description, skills, and languages. Come on, it's the basics. Try to check all the boxes like: 

And please take those tests that your skills require 

Plus, in your profile description, try to use clear language, talk directly to your ideal buyer, and keep it simple. I have seen a lot of profiles who have just pasted the ChatGPT written profile descriptions. It may be good, but it gives your buyers a feeling that you don't care much, well it's what I'd think as a buyer, so. Also, be honest about what you can do, and show a bit of your personality too - it helps them feel like they’re dealing with a real person, not just another XYZ seller. 

I live in Pakistan and we have a big time difference. Like I get messages mostly during the night times: from 12 am midnight to 7 am morning and it definitely makes sense because it's the time when most of the buyers with different timezones especially US, UK, and Germany are starting their day or are going to work/start working. And it's quite hard to respond to them quickly if I am working according to my time zone. So I am working at night, most of the time, and it enables me to respond to messages quickly. 

 buyers have many options (gigs) to choose from, and whoever responds quickly gets an upper edge, plus they're most likely going to work and want to assign the project or work as soon as possible. Well, it might not be true for all of the buyers, but if I were a buyer, I'd prefer the one who responds quickly according to my timezone, and we all know time is valuable for everyone, so it's a basic principle. 

But sending an instant response doesn't feel like you've understood and read all the requirements. So I use a 

 to let the buyers know that I have got the message and I am going through it. So to sum it all up, when you get a message, jump on it if you can. Buyers appreciate it, and not to mention, it helps with Fiverr’s response time rating, which is of course crucial and shows up with your gigs. So fast replies do make a difference. 

One of the best things I've learned and it took me quite a time to understand this. I used to overpromise, thinking it would impress clients, of course, my inner salesman does his job well 😅. But most of the time I ended up with no surprise element and stood out to them as an average seller. And not to mention, I got to work extra hours to fulfill those overpromises. So instead, I shifted from being an average seller with a bit of a sales guy (which is necessary of course, will talk about this in communication sections), to delivering surprise work, over-delivering, and providing some free value. 

Now, that doesn't mean you should deliver the work outside the scope of your project. What I mean to say is, try to offer extra value or deliver extraordinary work which should feel like you've done some extra work. I offer video editing services (which is a complex skill on its own), I offer guides, resources, and sometimes tips on how to record your voice better, how to write your video script the easiest way, etc. 

Trust me it really makes a difference because clients love the extra effort, and it keeps them coming back. 

Don’t Take Revisions Personally (and literally)

At first, I used to feel bad when clients asked for changes, and given the nature of my work (video editing), I sometimes felt exhausted because it takes time to make a simple change and export the whole video again and again with those power-hungry effects. But revisions are just part of freelancing, it just is (for most digital services). 

So instead of taking it personally, I created a document that I send to clients that contains all the information on what are the things they want me to change and explaining what are the changes that cannot (and shouldn't be) done. This way, they can easily understand my point of view too, and can easily write all their revisions. 

Trust me it's a nightmare for clients to go through the whole video of 15-30 minutes or sometimes an hour and write the revisions at specific timestamps. So I made it easier for them and of course for me too. 

First things first, there's a big misunderstanding with most of the sellers here that you cannot ask for feedback. That's definitely not true. The thing is, 

you cannot ask for a positive feedback, or urge your clients to provide a specific type of feedback. 

You can always ask for feedback and the best way for this is to send them a thank you note and ask politely for feedback, asking them what you think about my service or what was your experience so far, etc. 

Most clients know that it's part of the platform and it's for the betterment of both the sellers and buyers so that any new buyer can see what others have said about us on our certain gig. But if a client doesn't know about it, or doesn't provide feedback, sending a thank you note or letting them know that they can leave their feedback is the only thing you can and should do. 

Now, I do want to mention a recent change in the review system that was a bit complex for the buyers at the start and still is for most new buyers, that they ended up leaving 3-4 stars reviews while checking every box that says they wanted to leave 5 stars. As a matter of fact, a client after leaving feedback, said to me that he wanted to give 5 stars and he was sure he selected 5 stars, but it ended up 4 stars and he didn't know how and why it happened. Well, it's for Fiverr to make the process as smooth as it should be for a user, whether a buyer or a seller but I only faced this only 2 times. I think it has gotten better and maybe Fiverr fixed it. 

The best way is to guide them or share any article about Fiverr's new review system that the staff usually shares here on the forum. A little extra care in communication is all that I am talking about. 

Keep Learning & Updating Your Skills (most important)

a lot, and in those recent years, it's now more than ever, almost every big freelance platform. But as a skilled person, it's always up to me to work on myself and keep improving my skillset. Because there’s always someone who knows something you don’t. And, there's always some room for improvement. It may be in your skillset, or in your soft skills like communication, etc. So, I try to stay up to date by learning new skills that have become necessary in my skillset or tools related to my gigs. 

Speaking of communication, I really want to emphasize a lot on that. I remember I couldn't convert clients who contacted me and inquired about my services. I sure wasn't good in communication is what I concluded. Because it's not always about your gig description, it's sometimes about your communication too. Try to learn and practice this skill well, maybe with your friends or family. The way how I improved it, was by connecting to people and taking mentorship from the right mentors on how I could improve in pitching or responding well. Believe me, the results are not what I expected, they're more than what I expected. 

So if you're here anyway selling your services, please 

 too because you're here selling your services and how could you sell your services if you don't know how to communicate well? 

Stay Consistent, Even During Slow Times (I had my rough days on Fiverr too)

There are times when orders slow down, and it can feel really discouraging. But that shouldn't demotivate you to say, 

"Oh, this platform is not meant for me anymore,"

"There's too much competition now, maybe I should leave." 

if I am behind honest, I used to say the same when I faced a downfall, but I said to myself: "This is a business and I should expect ups and downs, but I used that time to polish my skill and explored more potential gigs in which I can offer my services. 

In my opinion, when you don't receive orders, it's a reminder that you have now the time to work on more and explore more ways to increase your revenue. Use your time of downfall as an opportunity, 

 and come back with a more improved skillset and mindset. 

I hope it helps and I am sure it will. I wish you all the best. I wanted to write more but maybe next year since this platform is changing a lot and I am sure the next year will be quite a bit different. Lastly, don't rely on immoral, unethical, and ticky tacky tactics to abuse the platform because they just won't work and would only do you worse rather than any good. 

What I learned in 2 years working as a Seller on Fiverr?

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