How Does Fiverr Work For Beginners?

Fiverr Introduction:

WHAT IS FIVERR?

Fiverr basically an online marketplace for freelance services founded in Tel Aviv in 2010 by Shai Wininger and Micha Kaufman (currently is the CEO), for the sole aim of providing a platform for freelancers to offer services to customers around the world according to Wikipedia.

Having been active on the platform since 2016, I strongly believe that the definition above is a fair attempt but it does not explain in plain language what Fiverr is as the Wikipedia article was taken from an article on TechCrunch published in 2012. A lot has really happened since 2012.

Fiverr today has evolved and grown beyond just being a platform for freelancers to offer services even though it started for that purpose. Before I go further let me breakdown Wikipedia’s definition of Fiverr in more simple terms.

Fiverr is an online Marketplace, this statement is true but Amazon, Craigslist, eBay, Ali Express are all online marketplaces. That definition raises another question, How does Fiverr differ from these major online marketplaces I mentioned above?

Fiverr is an online marketplace for freelance services, This means that on the platform, you can basically set up a store like it is done on AliExpress and Amazon but you sell services as opposed to physical products.

Hence, Fiverr is an online marketplace where freelancers sell their services to customers around the world. This means that you can either become a SELLER of services (Freelancer) or a BUYER of services on Fiverr.

It started out in 2010 with a unique concept of letting their sellers carry out any job for buyers and get paid $5 USD. Thus, the name “Fiverr” was coined from this concept. Later on, the concept was changed to allow sellers to earn more from jobs carried out for the buyers. So, a seller can earn from a minimum of $5 USD to any amount on any job carried out.

HOW DOES FIVERR WORK?

Sellers provide a platform for both Sellers (Freelancers) and Buyers (Customers) to exchanges services.

There many local businesses around the world that have been built around Fiverr. A very good example is This story published by Forbes in 2016 about three people making 6 figures a year. This is an idea I employ in my business today, some of my web design jobs are always outsourced to overseas sellers while I focus on what I have at hand at the moment. This way jobs get delivered on time and I do not have to reject jobs due to lack of the much-needed manpower. This is something that is definitely worth doing especially if you are truly interested in making money on fiverr.

You can basically start a Social media Management Company and get people who are ready to take much less than you are getting from clients and outsource to a highly skilled expert in Bangladesh to do that job and deliver. That is what they call Fiverr Arbitrage.

JOINING FIVERR

Joining Fiverr is quite simple and straightforward. Sellers and buyers can sign up for free by creating a Fiverr account.

For a buyer: After the creation of the account, search out the services you need, then, go ahead to post requests or, directly place orders.

For sellers: You create a gig(s) after creating the account.

FIVERR GIGS

If you have decided to sell your expertise on Fiverr, then, the very next thing to do after signing up to create a gig. The services offered on Fiverr are referred to as Gigs. Whatever skill you decide to sell on Fiverr, a gig has to be created for it.

Gigs always have a title. For example, your gig title can be, “I will be your professional spokesperson” or, “I will write any letter to anyone for you” etc. Your gig can have any title depending on whatever skill you want to offer.

SHOULD I BECOME A BUYER OR SELLER?

Do you desire services from others, which you are willing to spend your money on? Then become a buyer. Or, you desire to advertise and sell your skills and expertise to others? Then become a seller.

Becoming either a buyer or a seller on Fiverr solely depends or you. A buyer can be a seller and a seller can be a buyer. Yes, one person can be on both sides of the marketplace on Fiverr.

CHOOSING WHAT TO SELL

Choosing what to sell on Fiverr is the tricky part. There are millions of people selling on Fiverr, hence, there is competition. To compete with other sellers, you need to make research. I have written about this here

So, the first thing to do before choosing what to sell is to make research on what others are selling. Check out how they created their gigs; how many jobs they have done on that particular gig, and other relevant information before choosing to create yours. This is the best way to choose what to sell as it has proven to give the new sellers headway on Fiverr. However, do not copy a gig word for word. Instead, let there be some variations between your gig and that of others.

In choosing what to sell on Fiverr, it is also best to choose what you have passion for. When you like doing something and you get paid to do it, that’s an added advantage.

Note: There three Gig packages on Fiverr and they are Basic, Standard, and Premium and all of these packages are priced differently. More about Fiverr Gig? watch the video below

HOW MUCH CAN I MAKE SELLING ON FIVERR?

As a seller on Fiverr, you can earn, at least, from $5 USD to $5000 on a gig. There is actually no maximum limit to how much you can earn. The determinant for how much you can earn is your gig: How appealing is your gig? How much effort are you willing to put in?

Some sellers can create a gig and make $500 USD weekly, others make the same amount monthly, while some do not get their first job until after a while on Fiverr.

The only limitation to how much you can make on Fiverr is you! Below is another video on how I made over $10,000 on Fiverr in 3 months

HOW TO GET JOBS ON FIVERR

For a beginner, getting jobs on Fiverr isn’t a walk in the park. You need to put in all the effort. These efforts involve

Setting up your gig correctly
Send offers daily. Every seller has a maximum of 10 offers to send in a day. As much as possible, exhaust your offers as this can help create traffic on your account.
Reach out on social media. Join facebook groups around what you sell and post your Fiverr links
Talk to your friends and family to buy your gig and leave a good review
Visit Forums like Reddit, Quora, Medium etc and collaborate
The entire process of how to promote your Fiverr gig is shown in the video below.

HOW DO I RECEIVE MY MONEY FROM FIVERR?

When you are ready to cash out or withdraw your earnings from Fiverr, there are three options that you can use to get your funds:

Direct deposit to your bank account: This option is available to only those in the United States.
PayPal: This option is available to everyone, but, a PayPal account can only be linked to one Fiverr account.
Fiverr Revenue Card: The Fiverr revenue card is supported by Payoneer.
Below are videos on how to create a Paypal and Payoneer account respectively

Note: A seller can use all three options available, but, cannot change the account linked to a withdrawal option. For instance, I can withdraw my funds using both Fiverr Revenue Card and PayPal, but I cannot change the PayPal account that I registered with for withdrawal from my Fiverr account.

WHO BUYS ON FIVERR?

A buyer on Fiverr is one who is in need of a skill or a service and is willing to give cash in exchange for it. Anyone can be a buyer on Fiverr as long as they are will to spend to get the service. When in need of services offered on Fiverr, search out the service you need and order it.

HOW DO I MAKE PAYMENT AS A BUYER?

After you have found out the service you need, just like the seller cashing out, there are also three options available to a buyer for making payments.

Fiverr balance: If you have the equivalent amount of your order or more in your Fiverr wallet, you are allowed to make payments from there as a buyer.

The payment is however made to Fiverr and they hold on to it until the job has been completed. If the buyer is satisfied with the job the order is marked as complete. However, in a case where the buyer doesn’t mark the order as complete after delivery, Fiverr will mark the job as complete after a three-day waiting period unless the buyer asks for a revision. This keeps a lot of powers within the domain of the buyer.

Somehow, it seems as though there are lots of similarities between a buyer and a seller. What then is the difference between both?

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A BUYER AND A SELLER ON FIVERR

There are similarities between a buyer and a seller, but there are also some major differences between them:

Buyers post requests while sellers send offers
Only the buyer and Fiverr can mark an order as complete.
Only sellers can deliver a job.
Buyers can place an order on revision.

HOW DOES FIVERR MAKE MONEY?

So far, we have been speaking mainly about the buyers and the sellers. It seems the transaction is only between the buyers and sellers alone, but, Fiverr is not left out. They benefit from every transaction on the site. The sellers are charged 20% of all they make while the buyers are charged 10% on every transaction. This means that as a seller, if someone pays you $100 to get something done, at the end of the ay you get $80 while Fiverr keeps just $20. I think its fair considering that they own the platform, Right?

HOW DO I CONTACT FIVERR

Fiverr can be contacted through their support center and an auto-response is gotten via mail almost immediately upon contacting them. Usually, it takes about 24 hours to get a response from their customer care representatives. However, there is a forum available where you get to meet other sellers and get answers to every question possible.

FIVERR ALTERNATIVES

Asides Fiverr, there are a number of other sites where you can earn money online. A few of them are:

Upwork: This is by far the best Fiverr alternative. Upwork however, requires sellers to submit an application for review and subsequent approval before they can start selling.
Freelancer: This is another alternative, only that it is a little less competitive and it isn’t free. Sellers are to pay a fee after a 30-day trial period.
People per hour: This alternative has similarities with Fiverr. The difference being that the freelancers have to buy proposal credits to be eligible to send more proposals, Upwork does this as well.
Guru: This alternative site is a bit less competitive than Fiverr. It allows its sellers to fix different payment plans with various buyers.

ADVANTAGES OF FIVERR

Working from convenience: One advantage is that you get to work from home or anywhere you are, and at your own pace. Your gigs already carry a number of days in which you can complete a particular job just in case someone orders your gig without contacting you first.
Exposure: Although working means working from home, the experience exposes you to various clientelle and their needs. This exposes your expertise in your area of concentration and leaves you better in that field.
You control your income: As a freelancer, you can earn more by working more. The more effort you put into it means more money unlike getting a regular job and slaving without an increase in the paycheck.

Gigs: Sellers get to create a variety of different gigs. New sellers are allowed to create 7 Gigs while top-rated sellers are allowed to create 20 gigs. One seller can have a writing gig, graphics design gig, singing gig, etc.

DISADVANTAGES OF FIVERR

Disabling of account: They have very strict policies and punishment for most things is that your account will be disabled which is why I encourage that you read their terms and condition before getting started. They have a set of rules that must be adhered to and failure to do that can attract a ban on your account after three warnings. Some things that can cause an account to attract a ban or warnings are:
Encouraging clients to make contact outside the platform
Having multiple accounts
Using one payment account for various accounts

Fiverr fees: As a seller, you pay 20% from every revenue you generate from your gig, including tips. Although this is how they make a profit, the fee is considered extremely high by some.
Difficulty in getting jobs: It can take some new sellers extremely long to get their first job after setting up their account and gig. They have to put in so much effort and some stay for a period of five months or more before getting any jobs. The good news is that This Fiverr video training course profers a solution to this.

Long payment process: The payment process on Fiverr can be very long and sometimes unbearable, especially if you’re in urgent need of the cash. You get to do a job and wait for a period of 14 days before the money can be in your wallet to withdraw. Sometimes, an extra 3 days is added if the buyer doesn’t mark the order as complete and you have to wait on Fiverr to do that.

SUMMARY OF FIVERR

Fiverr does grant you a space in the workplace by letting you sign-up for free, but, it does provide some level of a financial guarantee or should I say Job security as it is one of my favourite ways to make money online. It has been a great source of income to many despite the cons. For starters, it might be a bit more challenging than expected, but, when you get the hang of it you’re good to go.

Fiverr is definitely worth it if you’ve got the patience and are willing to do a number of jobs for almost free until you are able to rank your gig. In the end, it’s a way to earn little or good cash on the side.

FIVERR COMMUNITY EVENTS

Fiverr community event is a program that brings the online community offline. The events bring together people in a local neighborhood. The online community has got your back, but. the offline community events are got you even better. Join a community event today. Find a community event near you here.