Here is the reason why this happens:
On Fiverr, when you create a new account and then a Gig, you haven't already served any clients, Right? Consequently, you have not earned any level-badge (One, Two or Top-Rated) or even any positive reviews. Why would a buyer prefer you when they have access to hundreds of other highly experienced sellers on the platform?
No need to be upset when you have got to the right place where I am going to share tips that will help you get more orders on Fiverr or your very first order if you haven't earned any yet.
1. Tweak Your Profile
For a new seller, the profile is the only asset that will help buyers judge them. So, the very first thing you need to improve right now is your profile. I'll show you how to take it to the next level.
1.1 Add Profile Picture and Tagline
If you have a smartphone, then I'm sure your phone's gallery must be carrying at least a few decent pictures of you. Problem solved! Select one of them to use as your profile picture. This is important because having no profile picture casts doubt on your seriousness about work.
Tagline shows in a few words that who you are or what kind of Gigs you're offering. It's not that important. Just make sure you do not leave it empty.
1.2 Write a Good Description
The description should precisely explain every professional detail about you like your areas of expertise, your experience, etc. This is one of the important opportunities to attract buyers.
1.3 Add Languages, Skills, and Education
These three sections were introduced lately. In languages section, add languages you can communicate in, and your knowledge level (Basic, Fluent or Native). English is most important if you want to attract clients from all over the world.
Skills include your areas of expertise. You should furnish your profile with whatever skill you've got. It could be MS Office, Adobe Photoshop, a programming language, etc.
Education covers formal college degrees you've achieved and the name of the institution where you studied. If you have a degree in your relative field of work, it will certainly leave a positive impact on reader's mind.
Education covers formal college degrees you've achieved and the name of the institution where you studied. If you have a degree in your relative field of work, it will certainly leave a positive impact on reader's mind.
1.4 Other Information
There are some details about the seller that are calculated automatically by Fiverr or at the time the account is created. It includes country the person belongs to, the date he joined, Average response time and time passed since the last delivery. These facts do matter a lot.1.5 How an Ideal Fiverr Profile Looks
Look at Aaliyaan's Profile (Top-Rated Seller) as a paradigm to get an idea.
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| Aaliyan's Fiverr Profile (Top-Rated Seller) |
2. Make Your Gig Stand Out
You need to take care of a couple of things while creating a Gig. Foremost, it should be adequate to explain everything about your service. Secondly, it should be written in such a manner that Fiverr's algorithm finds it worth appearing on the top results when a potential buyer searches for that specific service. Let me tell you how it's done.
I recommend choosing a single subcategory for a Gig and if you need to offer others too, keep multiple Gigs published concurrently. Fiverr's category page is helpful in this case.
If you want to deal in infographics. Your Gig title should be short but descriptive. Like, "I will design an Awesome Infographic" would be perfect. Make sure the main keyword is part of it. In this example, it's "Infographic".
Seriously, I can't tell you what makes a good description better than this video by Fiverr itself.
A mistake you must avoid is the improper image size that looks horrible. Perfect dimensions for Fiverr images are 550 (width) X 370 (height) pixels. You can increase the size but keep the proportionality. I recommend Canva, a free and beginner-friendly tool to design images.
According to Fiverr, a video explaining your Gig can boost your sales by up to 220%. A bid deal! why don't you cash it out. Pick up your phone or camera and record a video.
Analyze how much money others are charging for the same service and try to offer your Gig a little bit cheaper. Do the same with delivery time because you have to give buyers as more reasons as possible to hire you from thousands of sellers. Once you start getting sales and reviews, you are free to mark the prices up and set a suitable delivery time.
Let's learn from my experience. Once I got a graphics-related order and I did my best to deliver the best. As a conclusion, I had received a lot of orders and positive reviews from the same seller within the next two weeks. It has happened numerous times with me.
Pro Tip: Over-Deliver your work. For instance, if you've got a job to write 500 words article, spend a few more minutes and add 200 words extra without compromising the quality. Secondly, improve your communication skills so that you can understand the buyer's needs immediately.
It occurs often that I receive a message and when I see and reply it an hour later, a phrase like this disappoints me "Sorry, I've assigned this task to someone else as they replied earlier. I'll consider you next time. Thanks!" The truth is, they never come back.
Pro Tip: Install the Fiverr app on your smartphone (available for iOS and Android) so you can be notified of new notifications and respond at the very moment. You may convince the buyer and make a deal with him on the go and complete the job later.
It happens on account of miscommunication between the two parties. The buyer might have ordered something without reading Gig description properly OR you might have proposed something you are actually not capable of doing. Both reasons lead to cancellation.
It can be avoided by writing the description very clearly and adding some FAQs.
In case you've encountered an issue like you want to extend the deadline or wanna modify the order with the client's agreement. No need to cancel the order because Fiverr has a solution for this, known as "Fiverr Resolution Center". The video below explains how it works.
2.1 Be Specific
Whatever you are going to offer, there must be some subcategories. For example, you're interested in offering graphic designing service. Its subcategories could be Logo design, Illustrations, Infographics, Flyers & Posters, T-shirts, etc.I recommend choosing a single subcategory for a Gig and if you need to offer others too, keep multiple Gigs published concurrently. Fiverr's category page is helpful in this case.
2.2 Write Good Title, Description and FAQs
A good Title is what makes buyer open your Gig from a bunch of others displayed to them when they search. Secondly, it's one of the few factors that tell Fiverr what your Gig is about and then Fiverr ranks it accordingly. Let's carry on with our previous example.If you want to deal in infographics. Your Gig title should be short but descriptive. Like, "I will design an Awesome Infographic" would be perfect. Make sure the main keyword is part of it. In this example, it's "Infographic".
Seriously, I can't tell you what makes a good description better than this video by Fiverr itself.
2.3 Media Gallery is Important, Trust Me!
While making a Gig, you are asked to upload a few related photos and videos. Three pictures can be added at a maximum and one at least. This is the best place to present your portfolio. The first image is also used as your Gig cover photo. That being so, it should be eye-catching.A mistake you must avoid is the improper image size that looks horrible. Perfect dimensions for Fiverr images are 550 (width) X 370 (height) pixels. You can increase the size but keep the proportionality. I recommend Canva, a free and beginner-friendly tool to design images.
According to Fiverr, a video explaining your Gig can boost your sales by up to 220%. A bid deal! why don't you cash it out. Pick up your phone or camera and record a video.
2.4 Use Tags Wisely
Tags appear at the end of your Gig because they are of no use to the reader. They exist just to help Fiverr know which category your Gig belongs to. Use this simple trick to figure out what tags to use for best results. Search for your targeted service and visit 5 to 10 well-performing Gigs to see their tags (scroll down to the bottom) and select the ones that are in common.2.5 Keep Low Prices and Deliver Fast
Fiverr's seller community is increasing day by day and so the competition. As a new seller, you have to make some sacrifices to stand out. Sacrifices in terms of pricing and delivery time.Analyze how much money others are charging for the same service and try to offer your Gig a little bit cheaper. Do the same with delivery time because you have to give buyers as more reasons as possible to hire you from thousands of sellers. Once you start getting sales and reviews, you are free to mark the prices up and set a suitable delivery time.
3. Make Returning Clients
It's unlikely that you provide great work to someone and next time they go to another seller when they are looking for the same. Don't forget the condition: Great Work.Let's learn from my experience. Once I got a graphics-related order and I did my best to deliver the best. As a conclusion, I had received a lot of orders and positive reviews from the same seller within the next two weeks. It has happened numerous times with me.
Pro Tip: Over-Deliver your work. For instance, if you've got a job to write 500 words article, spend a few more minutes and add 200 words extra without compromising the quality. Secondly, improve your communication skills so that you can understand the buyer's needs immediately.
4. Reply To Messages Early
This advice may seem a little pointless to you but it's really important. When the buyers are in a hurry, they message many sellers simultaneously and whoever replies first, gets the order.It occurs often that I receive a message and when I see and reply it an hour later, a phrase like this disappoints me "Sorry, I've assigned this task to someone else as they replied earlier. I'll consider you next time. Thanks!" The truth is, they never come back.
Pro Tip: Install the Fiverr app on your smartphone (available for iOS and Android) so you can be notified of new notifications and respond at the very moment. You may convince the buyer and make a deal with him on the go and complete the job later.
5. Maintain Low Cancellation Rate
High Cancellation rate causes your Gig not to appear on the top of search results. Throughout your career as a seller, you may find yourself at a point where you require to cancel an active order.It happens on account of miscommunication between the two parties. The buyer might have ordered something without reading Gig description properly OR you might have proposed something you are actually not capable of doing. Both reasons lead to cancellation.
It can be avoided by writing the description very clearly and adding some FAQs.
In case you've encountered an issue like you want to extend the deadline or wanna modify the order with the client's agreement. No need to cancel the order because Fiverr has a solution for this, known as "Fiverr Resolution Center". The video below explains how it works.
6. Utilize Buyer Requests
At times, buyers don't want to search for a perfect Gig to get their work done. So, what they do is submit a request explaining what they need in a specific budget. Sellers go through those requests and bid. Then it's up to the client that whom he appoints the job to. The point is, do visit buyer requests section frequently and offer your service to appropriate ones.7. Have a Portfolio
Clients always want to know what kind of work you've done before. It helps them assess how much experienced and capable you are. So, don't discard the work you've ever provided to a client. Equip your Gig's images portion with some of your best pieces of work.8. Keep More Gigs Active
Create a Gig for each subcategory that comes under your main skill. For example, a person who knows business can create different Gigs for different kinds of jobs like Market research, Business plans, Financial consulting, Business tips, etc. Higher the number of active Gigs, higher the chances of getting more orders. A new seller is allowed to have 7 Gigs active at a time.9. Share on Social Media
Fiverr claims to have analyzed that Gigs that are shared on social media get a lot more sales than the ones that aren't shared. I think it's not true in all cases. It depends on your friends and followers. If you have been followed by some business people, they might be interested in your business-related Gig. Otherwise, it will just piss them off.10. FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions by struggling sellers.- [accordion]
- Why I can't See Buyer Requests
- "Buyer Requests" option is available under the "Selling" menu item if you are logged in. If you don't see anything here, it could be so due to two possible reasons. First, you have no Gig active OR there is no request available in any of your active Gig's category.
- How Long It Takes To Earn The First Order?
- There is no exact answer. You may get your first sale the day you join Fiverr or it may take weeks. Tips mentioned in this article will help you get it as soon as possible.
Concluding
That's it for now! I hope these tips will help you with your Fiverr journey somehow. I'll keep this article up-to-date as from time to time Fiverr changes their system and I don't want my readers to rely on out-dated information.In the end, I'd like to say that patience must be kept in order to notch something up in business or whatever you're dealing with. To be honest, only the beginning is slightly discouraging but once you get moving, orders will start rolling in if you're doing professionally.
