Ready to learn how to be successful on Fiverr?
One of the first things I learned about Fiverr when I created my account was that I wasn’t alone. The number of people selling my service was so high that I almost made a U-turn.
Fast-forward six years, there is a Gmail notification every few hours on my phone from someone seeking my services. And that’s while I charge almost ten times more than I did when I was new on the marketplace.
The trick, I have come to learn, was not just being good but also being able to communicate it to prospective buyers. I would actually risk it all and say that my marketing has contributed more to my growth than my expertise.
Don’t Forget: Is Fiverr Good for Beginners?
Where to Start on Fiverr
Fiverr is a straightforward platform. You set up an account and start selling gigs.
But, what gigs? What’s a gig even? And how do you create one?
A gig is a service you sell on Fiverr. It can be anything from writing, transcription, eBook cover creation, and editing services to voice-over recording and coding.
You can sell yourself for as many services as you wish. But just because you can doesn’t mean you should. An observation I have made is that the most successful sellers focus on a single service.
Choosing a gig is the easiest part for most people because they already know what they are good at. Jacks of all trades and newbies, on the other hand, have a hard time narrowing down the long list of options at their disposal and are highly likely to flub.
If you are struggling to decide on a service, perhaps you should explore the marketplace and see what’s in demand. Plausibly, the demand is highest for services that have a category.
Fiverr has also made sure to create subcategories under each main category, so it’s easy to find an exact match for your skill.
If you hover your mouse over the digital marketing category, for instance, this is what you see:
How to create a gig on Fiverr
Once you have settled on a category, it’s now time to create your Fiverr gig and let the world know who you are. Don’t overthink this part, and don’t overexert yourself.
Personally, I searched about a dozen top-rated sellers in my category to see what a selling description looks like. I got more than I bargained for. Some of the best performers had really poor descriptions and titles, and just like that, I had spotted the very first market gap.
As a novice, you want to skim as many profiles as possible and judge them from a buyer’s point of view. Then cherry-pick standout bits from the various titles and descriptions and create a winning concoction.
Additional Reading: Is Fiverr a Good Way to Make Money?
Creating your title
If there is a place where brevity comes in handy, it’s in the title. Just state what you offer and how you do it.
For instance, Iemaline connects brands to Instagram influencers. Her title, as shown in this screengrab below, is expressive yet concise and straight to the point:
You want to tell it all in one short statement and, if there is room, highlight a selling point or two.
For example, you could say, I create authentic business logos in 24 hours. Mentioning your delivery time there makes you stand out for prospective buyers who need a logo urgently.
Describing your gig
The description is a vital part of your gig, as only high-potential clients view it. Here you can be as elaborate as you want as long as you are short and snappy with each point.
Keep these tips in mind when creating your gig description:
- Research and use keywords
- Target a specific gig service
- Mention what makes you unique
- Use lists and bullet points
- Think from your target buyer’s perspective
- Use actionable language
- Insert a call-to-action (CTA)
- Proofread your description
Inserting tags
Search tags are keywords you add when creating a gig to increase its visibility in Fiverr search results. Ask yourself, what words are prospective buyers likely to use when searching for your service?
Here are a few tag do’s and don’ts for a winning gig:
- Use at least three tags. (You get a maximum of five.)
- Avoid word duplication
- Avoid special characters
- Abide by Fiverr’s terms of use
If you don’t have a place to start, click on top-rated gigs and check their tags for inspiration.
For inspiration, below are the tags of a five-star-rated video editor:
Instructions for buyers
Be direct about what you expect from the buyer before they order. Most sellers request buyers to contact them before placing orders. This one helps if you are an established seller with too many orders in queue.
As an up-and-coming seller, you don’t really need to create this filter. Instead, ask the buyer to describe what they want to the best of their ability, so you have a visual idea of the time and effort it will take to finish the work.
Video preview
Fiverr boldly claims that gigs with video previews get over 200% more orders. It makes sense. Below is a screenshot of the results page for top-rated video editing gigs, and as you can see, each gig has a video preview.
Your video should describe your services, your selling points, and your availability at the very least. Note that Fiverr allows video previews between 30 and 75 seconds long, so you have to be as succinct as possible.
Additional Reading: How to Make Money on Fiverr Without Skills
How to get your first buyers and reviews
There is no one-size-fits-all success formula on Fiverr for beginners. One thing that’s for sure is that the marketplace won’t take you around the entry-level employee catch-22 situation.
Just like employees need experience to get jobs but can’t gain experience without jobs, on Fiverr, you need reviews to get buyers and buyers to get reviews.
Here are a few ways to entangle yourself from the dilemma:
- Buy your own gigs
One extremely black hat yet practical solution is to create dummy accounts, buy your gigs disguised as genuine buyers, and give yourself five-star ratings.
- Ask your friends to buy your gigs
If you have friends on Fiverr, you can ask them to buy your gigs, after which you can refund them. This is a less objectionable way to get your first reviews, but it will only work if you have friends on Fiverr.
- Exchange reviews
Thousands of beginners out there have the same problem as you and will be willing to buy your gigs if you promise to return the favor. The Black Hat SEO Forum is an excellent place to source them.
- Be affordable
Most buyers on Fiverr want services on the cheap. Avoid the idea of overvaluing your services. In fact, it would help if you priced your gig slightly below the market average.
Someone lamented on the Fiverr forum that they couldn’t attract buyers and reviews, even after spending hours optimizing their gig. They got this answer:
I didn’t need to visit the poster’s profile to agree with this response. That kind of pricing needs to be accompanied by a track record. This seller was only looking for their first buyer.
- Utilize Buyer Requests
Buyers who can’t find gigs that match their requests or just don’t want to search for gigs usually create buyer requests and let relevant sellers find them.
If your gig suits the requirements of a buyer request, Fiverr will show it to you, and you can choose to send a proposal or not.
Here are eight excellent tips for writing the best buyer request proposals:
- Set reasonable bidding prices
- Write straight-shooting descriptions
- Address the buyers’ needs
- Ask questions
- Sell yourself indirectly
- Explain how you’ll do the task
- Provide samples
- Insert CTAs (Call-to-Actions)
Advanced tips to accelerate your success on Fiverr
Once you get your first few buyers and positive reviews, orders will likely start streaming in. This is a crucial stage where you have so much power in your hands and can make or break your authority.
The following tips will help you enhance your growth:
1. Use gig packages
Instead of suddenly changing your pricing and risking losing existing clients, you can use gig packages to charge more for additional advantages.
For example, if you initially charged $5 per page for copywriting services, you can charge double the price in a separate package that guarantees a quicker turnaround time and allows for extra editing requests.
This way, you will keep your existing clients without ruining your chances of attracting new higher-paying ones.
2. Offer upsells
Upselling is an easy way to make the most of every Fiverr transaction. It entails marketing yourself for related services to a buyer who just bought your gig.
A web design client, for instance, might want web development services too. You can talk them into purchasing the service from you and even discount it to increase its appeal.
It’s never too early to want to upsell a gig. As a matter of fact, a satisfied buyer is most likely to buy again from you early on after a transaction. You just need to get your presumption right, so it’s difficult for them to reject your offer.
3. Offer a money-back guarantee
A money-back guarantee allows buyers to cancel transactions when they are not happy about a service. Including it in your gig not only magnetizes skeptical clients but also protects you from negative reviews.
4. Advertise off-site
Contrary to popular notion, Fiverr doesn’t have a problem with off-site marketing. In fact, the platform encourages it.
If you have a solid social media presence, that’s an excellent place to start. Blog posts, too, can go a long way toward increasing your visibility.
What to do if you get too many orders
Getting too many orders is the kind of problem every new Fiverr seller wants . . . until they reach there, and it’s suddenly a terrible situation.
When you get more orders than you can handle at a time, you risk increasing your cancellation rate. Fiverr penalizes sellers with high cancellation rates, and one way they do it is by demoting freelancers to lower seller levels.
Potential buyers may also avoid you thinking the cancellation rates have something to do with your work quality.
I found a few workable solutions that might come in handy for you:
1. Increase your pricing
Highly-priced gigs attract fewer orders. Consider increasing yours steadily until you remain with a manageable workload.
2. Outsource the work
This is a risky move, but one that can pay off if you know a seller who is as good as you and is available on order.
3. Extend delivery time
The 24-hour delivery option should be the first off the table if you reckon you could finish your orders if you were afforded more time.
You can even scrap the two-day option, but it’s wise to base your decision on client preferences to avoid locking out important buyers.
4. Set an order limit
The Limit Orders In Queue option allows you to set the maximum number of orders you can receive at a time. Every time the limit is reached, your gig will temporarily disappear from Fiverr’s search results page.
How to be successful on Fiverr – Conclusion
If there was a formula for success on Fiverr, everyone would be a top-rated seller. But that’s not the case. You have to find a way to sell your best qualities and be unique in an option-ridden marketplace.
Hopefully, this guide expedites your journey to the top and helps you get the most out of Fiverr.
