I don’t mean for this to be a shameless promotion for my Fiverr gig. It is just that something unexpected has happened recently and for people looking to work on Fiverr, or at least thinking about it, this may be helpful.
When I started working on Fiverr, I priced myself low at just 5 cents a word. It’s advisable to get a few gigs and reviews under your belt before you charge something more befitting your probable awesome skills. As well as my main private clients, for the past year I have vacillated between Fiverr and Medium, with a good month on one, then a good one on the other. Rarely both at the same time but that is fine.
I recently wrote about how I preferred Medium but that was because I had gone viral with two articles in a row, racking up over 100 views and $2700, for just a few hours of work. They were heady and exciting days. I haven’t written much there since and will only get a few hundred this month. But while riding high on Medium, I put my prices up to 10 cents a word on Fiverr, to dissuade all but the more select purchasers. The plan was to write a lot more on Medium.
The plan failed. I put my prices up a month ago and this happened:
I tripled my views. This could be a coincidence as my reviews have increased but it is a curious result. Not everyone gives you a review after all.
What I think has happened is partly down to more work triggering the elusive god that is the Fiverr algorithm, coupled with a brief burst of favourable reviews. Also, putting my prices up has resulted in a higher percentage of good, professional clients.
As I said, this isn’t just self-promotion. (This link is self-promotion.) It is also designed to help anyone thinking of trying Fiverr out.
Advice for starting out on Fiverr
The site used to have a bad rap and it still has the odd problem. But as a side gig, I think it is pretty worthwhile. I recommend starting out with low pricing and getting some decent reviews. This will also help with the algorithm. Possibly. Who knows how that thing works?
Once you have some decent reviews, start inching up the prices. Do it slowly while also focusing on moving up the seller ranks. As I have found, the more you charge, the better the client and conversion rate. But do it too quickly and you anger the algorithm and you will suddenly have no work for a couple of weeks.
Take things slow and try to do consistently good work. Play the long game. Having said that, I have been there less than a year and doubled my prices. So go for a long-ish game.
I am still not charging my normal rate for work and it is time to inch slightly upward again. The good thing is that I now feel the site is a decent side-earner and will only get more valuable as time goes on. I wrote roughly 8000 words for clients over the last week or so, and it has helped with the bills.
If you want to try it out click on this. Good luck!
