Derek Cullen sells gigs on Fiverr as Deadly Content and is a successful freelance writer and traveller. Here he shares some of his top tips for the platform.
If you’re like me, you think that clear communication is the foundation of any successful business. What’s more, you know that customer service is the number one area that many new businesses and even more freelancers fail to understand or seek to master.
But why am I telling you this?
Well, I know that the key to making a living on Fiverr is all down to communication and customer service. It’s true, certain skills are necessary, but the way to get ahead of other sellers on the platform is to focus on providing an outstanding level of customer service.
The Truth About Selling on Fiverr
For many freelancers, I find that this kind of advice can come as a disappointment, for they maybe want specific actionable tips or secret that will help them success. However, I also believe that the truth is more important and when sellers can accept this truth, only then should they move on to the actionable tips that will help them success even further.
With this in mind and from my own experience as a top seller on Fiverr, here are 5 actionable tips that will enable new sellers to make a living on Fiverr:
How to Actually Make a Living on Fiverr as a Freelancer
1. Choose the Right Username (And Possibly Start Again)
It may come as a surprise but unless you have an established profile or more than fifty reviews, I recommend that you consider starting again. That is to say, statistics suggest that you may need to pay more attention to branding as most sellers on Fiverr have already made their first mistake by choosing a terrible username.
For example, when you take a look at the homepage of Fiverr, you will notice that most sellers have a username that makes little sense. It doesn’t matter if this username is “Dolly435” or “yeRedye”, these names make no sense to buyers and have no actual relevance to what the seller provides.
Instead, my first tip for getting ahead on Fiverr is to focus long and hard on choosing the right username. Think of it like a brand or business name. You want it to sound professional and entirely relevant to what you do.
Takeaway – Don’t rush the username. Brainstorm and take plenty of time to pick the right one.
2. Take the Review System More Seriously
If you ask any successful seller on Fiverr, they will likely tell you that the review system can be hugely stressful. At the same time, this is one of the reasons Fiverr became so popular in the first place, for the review process was hugely interactive and kept the unreliable sellers on their toes.
Either way, these reviews are the first key to getting ahead and making a living on Fiverr. Simply put, you need to become relentless and deliver as many gigs as possible in order to build up more and more reviews.
But that’s just part of the story…
You see, making sales on Fiverr is one thing but getting a string of excellent reviews is another. For many sellers, they lose focus from time to time and end up with a batch of poor reviews. Fiverr pays close attention to profiles with a number of bad reviews. In other words, this batch of poor reviews will mean you are less likely to feature on the first or first few pages of your chosen category.
Takeaway – Always stay focused and maintain excellent reviews for your profile.
3. Know that Perseverance Will Eventually Pay Off
Perseverance is such an important factor on Fiverr. When you start out as a new seller, the ratio of reward to work is pretty low and even demoralizing at the best of times. The truth is, buyers are not willing to trust a seller with few reviews and even when this happens, they are rarely willing to pay more than $5 for the effort.
It sucks and Fiverr can seem “unfair” during this time but this is an integral part of the process and the period when sellers either give up or persevere. Needless to say, it’s only the sellers who persevere that stand any chance of gaining traction on the platform.
Takeaway – Fiverr requires a lot of hard work and time to gain any kind of traction.
4. Focus on Quality (And Not the Money)
To be honest, anytime another Fiverr seller asks me for advice, their reaction tends to be one of great disappointment. You see, when I inform sellers that they need to work harder and pay more attention to quality, they seem to take this advice as being unimportant or even unhelpful.
But what do I mean exactly?
If you want excellent reviews or repeat customers or an impressive reputation on Fiverr, you need to focus on quality and deliver the highest possible standard every time. At the beginning, you may find this challenging because pay low but honestly, it’s necessary to succeed.
Just so you know, I never, ever focus on the money with Fiverr. When I arrange a job, my objective is always to produce a piece of work that I would be happy to pay for myself. As a result, this quality remains high enough that customers recognize how much time I put into my work.
Takeaway – Focus on quality, forget the money and take your standard of work more seriously.
5. Play y the Rules and Respect the Game
One of my biggest frustrations about Fiverr is the large number of unethical or dishonest sellers. I believe they will all be gone and weeded out of the platform over the next years but regardless, they exist.
More specifically, it frustrates me to see so many sellers breaking the rules and being lazy in an attempt to get traction. Quite often, this involves communicating with customers outside of the platform or plagiarizing work from something they found online – both of which are against the rules.
As someone who has been recognized as a top seller on Fiverr, let me assure you that you need to respect and play by the Fiverr rules to stand any chance of succeeding. In fact, when you do succeed, you will realize the true importance of abiding by these rules and nurturing a respectful relationship with the customer support team and hierarchy within the platform.
Moral of the story: There is a formula to making a living on Fiverr but hard work, perseverance and honesty is just as important as whatever skill or talent you have to offer the buyers.
Have we inspired you to take your skills on to Fiverr? From graphic design to specialist services, you’ll find plenty of opportunity. Or, if you’re looking for quality content you can hire Derek on Fiverr here.
