In the month of January, I started writing on Fiverr. As a blogger, I have made money, but one frustrating part of being a writer online and freelancing is the volatility of income. It is incredibly inconsistent.
I have had months I’ve made almost $5,000 in the past two years. I have also had months I’ve made $800 and barely made any supplemental writing income.
This is how it’s gone for the past two years, as I’ve established myself as a blogger online. However, I wanted something more consistent and stable. I wanted writing income I could actually not feel like I was rolling the dice with.
So, I asked a network of writers what I should do. I didn’t want to be completely dependent on unpredictable algorithms to peddle my work, so one of my writing friends suggested Fiverr. She said she was able to make additional income on Fiverr and learn a lot by doing so, so I figured I might try the same.
I made a gig saying I would write blog posts for people, with a starting rate of $20 for the basic package, $100 for my standard package. I didn’t really know what I was doing. I tried to make an appealing package and tout all my blogging accomplishments to attract customers.
For days, I had no customers. I considered lowering my rate, but people told me my gig would pick up traction once I got my first gig. I shouldn’t accommodate too much with my rates and services because of where I stand with my writing.
I have only made $260 off one customer. The customer purchased multiple gigs for his business, and we’ve established a long-term relationship where I write articles in his expert subject area.
This is how I made $260 so far, besides getting lucky with a buyer randomly messaging someone who had established no reputation, no ratings, and no history on the platform:
Be extremely accommodating as a new seller
The fact is, as a new seller on Fiverr or freelancer in general, you have to be extremely accommodating and bend on requirements from sellers like word counts and other requirements. I was getting paid $50 per 1500 word article, which was significantly lower than I requested.
But you have to be accommodating for a variety of reasons. First, the first five-star rating is incredibly important to establish yourself on Fiverr. If you don’t satisfy your first customer, why should anyone else seek your services?
Also, you can have demands and expectations for your quality of work and how you see your services.
But that has to come after getting a few customers and getting several ratings.
I still only have one rating. I would do better by diminishing my price for the time being. Still, there were times I had to write 5,000 words for a $125 reward.
Communicate well and build a working relationship with my buyer
My buyer gave very clear expectations for what he wanted for his business. I tried to meet all those expectations but communicated well when I was not able to meet a deadline or when a demand seemed unrealistic.
I was new to the field I was writing in, so I feel like I did a significant amount of research to educate myself in the field.
However, recently I had to push back on a rate for the amount of work requested. The buyer requested $150 for about 20,000 words, and for the time being, I just had to say no.
Look up successful gigs in your field
Put yourself in the position of the buyer. In fact, Fiverr lets you see things from the perspective of the buyer. You can see what successful gigs are using as gigs and prices.
I saw what one seller was posting as her gig image — she made nice graphics with good buyer reviews. Another made gig images touting their credentials.
I decided to do the latter to hopefully attract more business.
Takeaways
It’s tough as a new seller on Fiverr or any other writing-related gig platform. I hope it will get better soon, as I feel like my first month was successful, but it has also felt like I’ve pulled teeth to get work.
I think it will only get better from here on out. To be clear Fiverr takes 20% of the cut for each order, so my buyer actually paid me $350.
Regardless, lessons in communicating well, being accommodating, and looking up successful gigs can help in getting business as a new Fiverr user.
What works for me might not work for you, but most new sellers go through the same thing. I eagerly await what the stage past being a new seller holds.