If you are looking for a place to sell your services online, make sure to consider Fiverr.
While serious professionals typically focus on sites like UpWork or Freelancer, Fiverr can actually be just as profitable or even more so for the right type of work! Fiverr does a lot to differentiate itself from those other platforms and this gives it some exciting and unique advantages. Read on to discover how to make money on Fiverr.
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What makes Fiverr different?
The reason many professionals overlook Fiverr, is that it initially began life as a very different beast. Fiverr derives its name from a central concept: that you could get any “gig” for a Fiverr. For much of its life, this was the niche Fiverr had carved out for itself. You could use Fiverr as a creator if you wanted to get a logo cheaply made for $5, or if you wanted a fun novelty. Fiverr was where you would go to get someone to say “happy birthday” to your partner in the voice of Optimus Prime (who doesn’t need that?) or to get a thumbnail for a YouTube video.
While creators were free to charge extra for more complex projects or additional bonuses, every gig had to at least start at $5.
Since then, Fiverr has grown to adopt much more of a business focus. You’ll notice as soon as you visit the homepage that the site projects a far more professional image. Creators are no longer required to offer their base services for $5 and, in fact, most gigs will cost much more. The main “Become a Seller” page advertises that the price range for gigs goes all the way up to $10,000!
The site now features tabs for common gigs (and the kinds of things that Fiverr wants to promote). These are:
- Graphic & Design
- Digital Marketing
- Writing & Translation
- Video & Animation
- Music & Audio
- Programming & Tech
- Business
- Lifestyle
- Industries
But while this is true, it’s still possible to pay someone to record a birthday message as Optimus Prime!
Productization
This huge versatility is already good news for those that want to make money on Fiverr. It gives you far more options as to what you want to sell and who you want to sell it to. Whereas sites like UpWork and Freelancer are very much B2B (meaning you sell to businesses), Fiverr gives you the option to sell your creative services to consumers. You are also far more likely to find other creators on Fiverr too, making this the perfect place to sell services like graphic design or music composition to bloggers and vloggers.
More importantly: Fiverr lets you create gigs. In other words, you are choosing how you package your work, the kind of work you want to do, and how you want to communicate that.
See also: How to find online writing jobs as a copywriter
By saying “I will record Optimus Prime for a birthday message” you are offering a very set product at a set price. This is very different from listing yourself as a “voiceover artist” which is far broader. If you can only do one voice and you want a fun way to make some cash, you’re in luck! Or, if you want to focus on precise skills (portraiture, EDM music, thumbnail design, PyGame), you can do exactly that.
By productizing your services in this way, you can make them far more manageable. You can also differentiate yourself and practically eliminate clients with unreasonable demands.
See also: How to become a digital artist
How to start making money on Fiverr
To start making money on Fiverr, simply click the “Become a Seller” link at the top of the page. You can then head to the gigs tab and choose “Create a New Gig.” The good news is that this process is rather straightforward. Just choose a title for your gig (it must start “I will”) and then choose a category. You can then create a number of different packages with set delivery times, pricing, and more. Using search terms is also important to improve discoverability. Creating different “tiers” this way is a great way to encourage buyers to give you a shot and to broaden your appeal.
You’ll also be able to add extra services (faster turn around times (TAT), additional materials, etc.). For example, music composers will often provide higher quality tracks or the original files for editing.
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Top tips that will help you stand out
Adding a video and images is strongly encouraged if you want to capture as many orders as possible. It’s also very important to explain to the reader why they should choose you over the competition. That might be because you have more qualifications, because you have highly relevant experience, or because you have a real passion for your work. If you don’t have anything that sets you apart, your job is to get out there and collect the qualifications and experience that will set you apart.
As you provide your service, you will collect reviews from clients. Ensuring that you get positive scores is very important to your overall success, so go the extra mile wherever possible. Keep in mind the maxim: “under-promise and over-deliver.” It’s also wise to respond to any reviews you get.
Finally, remember that there is a “pinwheel” effect going on here. This means that you may not get any orders at first but that’s just because it takes a while to build up momentum. The more orders you get, the more prominently your gigs will be featured. This can then cause a snowball effect.
It’s especially hard to get orders when you don’t have any reviews, so if you do have a way to drive more clients to your listing… use it! That might mean leveraging a social media presence or even asking previous clients to hire you through Fiverr. You’ll lose out on commission to begin with (more on that in a moment). However, because Fiverr offers a great platform for more people to discover you, it is potentially a worthwhile up-front loss.
Terms and commissions
While Fiverr has a lot of great features for sellers, no platform is perfect. Fiverr has a particularly high commission. It charges $1 for purchases up to $20 and 5% on purchases above that cost. This is in addition to the fees charged by PayPal, which is the payment system that Fiverr uses. Overall, Fiverr is more expensive for freelancers than sites like UpWork, especially as your services scale.
Sellers, therefore, need to think carefully when choosing the distribution platform that’s best for their services. Do you choose a platform like UpWork that is more restrictive but charges less? Or do you consider selling services through your own website with a payment gateway offered by WooCommerce? This option would almost entirely remove any commission while creating a lot more admin on your part.
Or do you do all three?
See also: How to create a WordPress website for a business or side hustle
Fiverr users are also unable to share their email addresses in case they should circumvent Fiverr’s systems. There are, of course, workarounds.
How to make money on Fiverr Pro
Fiverr Pro is a subsection of Fiverr aimed specifically at higher-paying, B2B clients. For a seller to offer a gig on Fiverr Pro, they must first be verified. This guarantees a certain standard of work and further streamlines the type of gig offered to cater to a professional audience. That is to say that searching “Optimus Prime” on Fiverr Pro brings up no results.
Fiverr Pro has a smaller number of tabs as compared with the main site:
- Graphic and Design
- Programming and Tech
- Writing and Translation
- Video and Animation
- Digital Marketing
- Music and Audio
- Business
Essentially, being on Fiverr Pro means that you can charge more and you’re taken more seriously. You’ll also face less competition.
Fortunately, becoming Pro Verified is an easy process. You will simply need to submit an application detailing your expertise, qualifications, and back-catalog of work. There is no fee and anyone can apply. Sellers can convert an existing Gig to a Pro Gig if it has less than 26 reviews.
Pro also has additional features, such as seller requests. This lets you respond to ads posted by the client.
Closing thoughts
In summary, Fiverr is a fantastic platform for selling gigs that you control. Creative types, in particular, will find a lot of unique ways to make money on Fiverr. The site may cater to a less professional audience and charge a rather high commission but if you know how to fit it into your workflow, there is a lot of potential here. Don’t overlook Fiverr!
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