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Fiverr sales are plummeting!

by dakota5369
29 replies
I was just wondering if i am doing something wrong, or if the market just turned on me. about a month ago i started doing gigs on fiverr. my best gig was an immediate hit and i had a tough time keeping up (i do testimonials in Spanish). because i take a lot of time in doing them correctly and without just reading from a script i wrote, it went over real well and i have 24 thumbs up with no negatives. overall i have 43 thumbs up none down. i think this was reflective of the quality of my work. i was a news anchor in panama and i think my delivery is very good.

anyway, i was doing so well until about 10 days ago. the orders have almost completely stopped. the only jobs i seem to get are people i write back to who may have initially been interested a few weeks ago. what has happened? is it because not enough people need spanish testimonials and i got the few customers right away? is it just a random slow time? am i not doing something right to promote it? my gig is on page 5, so it isnt like it is too hard to find.

anyway, i was just wondering if those of you who have a lot of success getting orders have some tips. i hate to think i am going to run out of gigs. thanks
#fiverr #plummeting #sales
  • Profile picture of the author x3xsolxdierx3x
    If you find yourself spending 30+ minutes to complete a fiverr, fiverr may not be in your best interest to begin with. Either figure out how you can trim the amount of time you spend completing a fiverr, or find another avenue and charge more.
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    • Profile picture of the author dakota5369
      Originally Posted by x3xsolxdierx3x View Post

      If you find yourself spending 30+ minutes to complete a fiverr, fiverr may not be in your best interest to begin with. Either figure out how you can trim the amount of time you spend completing a fiverr, or find another avenue and charge more.
      i do spend a lot of time on the testimonials. however, it is evened out some by the article spinning, posting links on facebook, etc gigs i have. i do it more for fun. since i am not on the news since i moved to the united states, it just gives me a little taste of being in front of the camera. it certainly is not a livable income. but i enjoy it.

      i also offer the same gig for more on similar sites as well as my own site. however, i am having no luck finding buyers in either place. i am new to internet marketing, so my website doesnt get enough traffic
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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    Originally Posted by dakota5369 View Post

    what has happened?
    Many marketers believe that their customers deserve to see testimonials that come from paying customers, not incentivized testimonials which have been bought on fiverr.com. What's happened is perhaps that there was a small, limited supply of "other marketers" who, for whatever reason, wanted/needed/didn't mind buying Spanish testimonials for their products, and that market's now saturated - perhaps temporarily until those same people bring out other products.

    Originally Posted by dakota5369 View Post

    i was just wondering if those of you who have a lot of success getting orders have some tips. i hate to think i am going to run out of gigs.
    I respectfully suggest to you that the reason you've experienced what you're commenting on is probably to do with the nature of the service you're providing rather than any general considerations about "getting orders at fiverr".
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    • Profile picture of the author dakota5369
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      Many marketers believe that their customers deserve to see testimonials that come from paying customers, not incentivized testimonials which have been bought on fiverr.com. What's happened is perhaps that there was a small, limited supply of "other marketers" who, for whatever reason, wanted/needed/didn't mind buying Spanish testimonials for their products, and that market's now saturated - perhaps temporarily until those same people bring out other products.



      I respectfully suggest to you that the reason you've experienced what you're commenting on is probably to do with the nature of the service you're providing rather than any general considerations about "getting orders at fiverr".
      you could be right. i know there may not be a ton of people looking for spanish testimonials. i have had many ask me to do them in english, but after doing a couple they are just too hard for me.

      on your first point, i also have one where i do testimonials on received products. this helps take a little of the sting out of just getting $5. i have had a couple of people send me products, but they are few and far between (thanks radiant lash!)
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  • Profile picture of the author dakota5369
    Originally Posted by Lumpy Rutherford View Post

    Have you thought of possibly creating your own site and then narrow down keywords that are related to the service you are offering? If you do nice work, you could possibly earn much more than $5 for your service. I'd hope so, at least.

    The Fiver market, it seems to me, caters to people only willing to pay $5 or less. So that severely limits the reach you will have right there, don't you think?
    i do have my own site and i ask $40 there. of course for more money, i use better cameras, etc. but again, the site doesnt get the traffic it needs to sell, i would guess. and it is amazing the things some people expect for $5! people want me to shoot it from a tv set, in soundproof booths, on location, etc. but like i said, i do the ones i can and it is mostly for fun
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    • Profile picture of the author Zachmo
      you might try other sites for freelancers like elance or odesk. As a buyer I wont settle for fiverr much than I do to elance or odesk.
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      • Profile picture of the author dakota5369
        Originally Posted by Zachmo View Post

        you might try other sites for freelancers like elance or odesk. As a buyer I wont settle for fiverr much than I do to elance or odesk.
        you can do testimonials on elance?
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  • Profile picture of the author Quratulain
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    • Profile picture of the author dakota5369
      Originally Posted by Quratulain View Post

      ha this could happen, ask the fiverr admin to feature your gig, it will shoot to top !
      I just sent a request for that. However, i got a warning last week for sending a link to my website. i wonder if they will hold that against me
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  • Profile picture of the author mandark
    Fiverr is a bit fickle like that.. it will show you in the "auto" section of the search for a while (if your gig is doing well, if they like it, if the moon is waning today, whatever), but as soon as you're off the first page of their search for your "keywords" (what people search for to find your gig.. not so different from SEO keywords eh?), people stop finding you.

    If you want guaranteed finds, put your gig in your sig for forums related to your gig. Otherwise just wait until you float up in the search results again. They are fairly random from what I've seen, so you will undoubtedly float back to the top again soon.
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  • Profile picture of the author ReportKing
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    • Profile picture of the author Barry Unruh
      Originally Posted by ReportKing View Post

      I also have noticed that their moderators have become overly tough and it's almost impossible to get a gig posted (it now takes 5-7 days and then it's refused a lot).

      The reasons they give for refusal are also somewhat ridiculous in some cases.

      I have been able to submit the same gig 3 times and get it approved on the third try, however.
      That really makes me wonder what you are trying to sell. I have never had a Fiverr Gig wait for approval or get refused. The same with my wife. We have posting around 30 gigs between the two of us, currently all of them suspended, but never had a single one trigger a review.
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    • Profile picture of the author dakota5369
      Originally Posted by ReportKing View Post

      My sales have plummeted as well. I went from doing about $150-$200 per month to $50 last month and the same so far this month.

      It sucks because I was using fiverr to pay my hosting, autoresponder and domain bills, and now it's not enough to cover.

      I also have noticed that their moderators have become overly tough and it's almost impossible to get a gig posted (it now takes 5-7 days and then it's refused a lot).

      The reasons they give for refusal are also somewhat ridiculous in some cases.

      I have been able to submit the same gig 3 times and get it approved on the third try, however.
      like the other poster said, i find this strange. i have 15 current gigs on there and all have been instantly active. even after i got a warning for putting in my contact info, they still posted my gigs right away
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  • Profile picture of the author Orator
    Originally Posted by dakota5369 View Post

    I was just wondering if i am doing something wrong, or if the market just turned on me. about a month ago i started doing gigs on fiverr. my best gig was an immediate hit and i had a tough time keeping up (i do testimonials in Spanish). because i take a lot of time in doing them correctly and without just reading from a script i wrote, it went over real well and i have 24 thumbs up with no negatives. overall i have 43 thumbs up none down. i think this was reflective of the quality of my work. i was a news anchor in panama and i think my delivery is very good.

    anyway, i was doing so well until about 10 days ago. the orders have almost completely stopped. the only jobs i seem to get are people i write back to who may have initially been interested a few weeks ago. what has happened? is it because not enough people need spanish testimonials and i got the few customers right away? is it just a random slow time? am i not doing something right to promote it? my gig is on page 5, so it isnt like it is too hard to find.

    anyway, i was just wondering if those of you who have a lot of success getting orders have some tips. i hate to think i am going to run out of gigs. thanks
    I think your problem is going to be two-fold.

    1) There are a lot of people beginning to offer testimonials on fiverr, and this is going to cut into your client base.

    2) I would double-check your keywords to make sure there optimized, and maybe consider rewriting your summary.

    3) Also make sure your keeping an eye on the request section for people seeking testimonials.

    Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

    Many marketers believe that their customers deserve to see testimonials that come from paying customers, not incentivized testimonials which have been bought on fiverr.com. What's happened is perhaps that there was a small, limited supply of "other marketers" who, for whatever reason, wanted/needed/didn't mind buying Spanish testimonials for their products, and that market's now saturated - perhaps temporarily until those same people bring out other products.



    I respectfully suggest to you that the reason you've experienced what you're commenting on is probably to do with the nature of the service you're providing rather than any general considerations about "getting orders at fiverr".
    With all due respect Alexa, I think you might overestimating the ethics of a lot of marketers. Internet Marketing has a lot of grey area ethics involved, and most people can rationalize just about anything if they put their mind to it.

    I know fiverr well, and I'm pretty sure his problem has less to do with the ethical dilemmas of his clients, and more with the growth of people offering similar gigs.
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    • Profile picture of the author dakota5369
      Originally Posted by Orator View Post

      I think your problem is going to be two-fold.

      1) There are a lot of people beginning to offer testimonials on fiverr, and this is going to cut into your client base.

      2) I would double-check your keywords to make sure there optimized, and maybe consider rewriting your summary.

      3) Also make sure your keeping an eye on the request section for people seeking testimonials.



      With all due respect Alexa, I think you might overestimating the ethics of a lot of marketers. Internet Marketing has a lot of grey area ethics involved, and most people can rationalize just about anything if they put their mind to it.

      I know fiverr well, and I'm pretty sure his problem has less to do with the ethical dilemmas of his clients, and more with the growth of people offering similar gigs.
      thanks for the advice. and while the competition is increasing, my gig has only been up a month. so it isnt like in that short of a time it went up that much. also, i do spanish testimonials which are a lot less common. and i dont mean to sound arrogant, but mine are a LOT better than the lady from argentina doing it who has hundreds of orders. that leads me to believe your other theory might be right. i need to check out how well it is optimized. thanks for the advice

      edit- and as for suggesting people want to use actual customers, things like these testimonials are EXACTLY why the one thing i NEVER look at when someone is selling something is a testimonial. it isnt like they are going to put up people that hate it. if 200 people hate it but 3 love it, they will use those 3. and usually they are not real customers at all. i would never use a testimonial as a determining factor
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    • Profile picture of the author Vogin
      If only there was a simple answer to your question...

      I've been checking out Fiverr almost the same period of time as you did. I have managed to acquire several observations:

      • "customers" often have ridiculous demands
      • competition is very high for congeneric gigs
      • customers lack the education and knowledge to realize that popular gigs, such as "I will tweet to my ten thousand followers on Twitter", are virtually useless
      • I'm having a hard time understanding Fiverr when I see the top featured gig "I will read your past lives for $5", a.k.a. a total gibberish

      My recommendation:
      • Google around "how to promote fiverr gigs" or something like that
      • make sure you press on the work with previous clients
      • value your time and bear in mind that $4 is a measly amount

      Originally Posted by Orator View Post


      With all due respect Alexa, I think you might overestimating the ethics of a lot of marketers.
      I, on the other hand, believe she acts ethically and therefore expects everyone to do the same.

      I've also experienced the power of my "word of honor" in the offline world and it's always interesting to see how people who usually don't care much about promises are astonished by my perspicuous expectations that they will honor their part of the deal - and they do.
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      • Profile picture of the author Orator
        Originally Posted by Vogin View Post

        If only there was a simple answer to your question...

        I've been checking out Fiverr almost the same period of time as you did. I have managed to acquire several observations:

        • "customers" often have ridiculous demands
        • competition is very high for congeneric gigs
        • customers lack the education and knowledge to realize that popular gigs, such as "I will tweet to my ten thousand followers on Twitter", are virtually useless
        • I'm having a hard time understanding Fiverr when I see the top featured gig "I will read your past lives for $5", a.k.a. a total gibberish

        My recommendation:
        • Google around "how to promote fiverr gigs" or something like that
        • make sure you press on the work with previous clients
        • value your time and bear in mind that $4 is a measly amount



        I, on the other hand, believe she acts ethically and therefore expects everyone to do the same.

        I've also experienced the power of my "word of honor" in the offline world and it's always interesting to see how people who usually don't care much about promises are astonished by my perspicuous expectations that they will honor their part of the deal - and they do.
        I never claimed she didn't act ethically, I was merely disagreeing with her on the possible ethics of most marketers.

        I do agree that you should do as you say, but those standards aren't held up by everyone.
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  • Profile picture of the author J Bold
    Just try more gigs. Keep trying new gigs that take you little time and see if you can get more buyers for the new gigs. Don't just ride that horse until it's dead. Try something else but still using Fiverr.
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    • Profile picture of the author dakota5369
      Originally Posted by redicelander View Post

      Just try more gigs. Keep trying new gigs that take you little time and see if you can get more buyers for the new gigs. Don't just ride that horse until it's dead. Try something else but still using Fiverr.
      yea, i have 15 gigs on there. some are easy for me. like i said this one is just more for my enjoyment. and with 24 positive reviews, i dont want to just re-post it. i just got an email saying they are going to review it for a feature. hopefully i will make it


      for those of you who pm'd me, i can not pm yet. not enough posts. sorry
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  • Profile picture of the author alamest
    Very interesting topic I liked cause I know about fiverr but don't understand what does it do..

    Thanks
    Alam
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    • Profile picture of the author dakota5369
      Originally Posted by alamest View Post

      Very interesting topic I liked cause I know about fiverr but don't understand what does it do..

      Thanks
      Alam
      i dont think anyone really understands it. i posted my gigs on fourerr too. less competition so far. less traffic of course, but i might get a few orders to help offset the lack of business on fiverr.
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  • Profile picture of the author dakota5369
    alright! my testimonial gig just got featured! just in time since i have no orders!
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  • Profile picture of the author jazbo
    Yes you can make quick money on there, you just need to offer the right gigs, and employ tactics to keep those gigs popular.
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  • Profile picture of the author dakota5369
    well my featured gig is not actually a good money maker. for the time it takes, it isnt worth it. it is just something to give me a little fun
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    • Profile picture of the author paulie888
      Originally Posted by dakota5369 View Post

      well my featured gig is not actually a good money maker. for the time it takes, it isnt worth it. it is just something to give me a little fun
      Well, if you actually want to turn Fiverr into a business, you'll have to offer gigs where you only spend a maximum of 10-20 minutes to finish them - otherwise you're better off just treating this as a hobby, and consider the occasional money that you make just a little bonus.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mar
    I wonder if it would help you to put a link to your fiverr profile into your signature file here on the forum? If you look around, you'll see that some folks do just that :O)

    Mar

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    • Profile picture of the author Devid Farah
      You can start getting more orders in your GIG if you choose to add more values to your earlier customers.

      You can promote a 3 days of 'order 2 GIGS & get 1 free".

      It sure works and try to see how many people that 'liked' your GIG.

      Those that 'liked' your GIG will usually have it among others below their profiles so that they can click-in and contact you any time.

      But it may be possible that you didn't encourage your earlier clients to click the 'like' button so that they will find your GIG whenever they need your services.

      Repeat customers are usually the best customers!
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  • Profile picture of the author hotseochick
    You should consider doing some marketing for your Fiverr. Maybe you just need to get yourself out there a little more. I think there is a need for reviewers, but because there are so many reviewers on fiverr its going to get harder and harder to get jobs. You need to get your name out there. After all, you have great ratings so you've got a few steps ahead some of your competition. Good luck!
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    • Profile picture of the author Devid Farah
      There is absolutely nothing wrong in telling your writer exactly what you want.

      Any good content provider will try as much as possible to adhere to given instructions.

      If the writer or content provider isn't ready to listen to your instructions, he or she may not be wort the time and money you are spending hiring his or her writing services.
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