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A Few Tips for Buyer Requests

eliiclaire

By eliiclaire
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eliiclaire Contributor

eliiclaire

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Edit: Before you read this, I wanted to point out some recent issues in buyer requests. At least in the writing section, there have been a lot more spam offers in the last few weeks. So, here’s some buyer requests you should avoid:
Vague Requests : If the buyer request lacks a prompt, word count, clear sense of direction, etc, do not send an offer. More likely than not, the buyer will struggle to provide clarity during the actual order, or they are trying to trick you into doing an order you would not typically do for the timeframe/price.
Bulk Requests : At least in the writing section, there have been a lot of bulk-sized requests lately. Essentially, they will have a budget of $100, so you think it’s a good request to respond to at first. But when you look at the description, they expect you to do something like twenty 1,500-word articles in a month. Along with actually being pretty cheap, you risk having a nightmare order if the buyer lacks communication and you have a long-term project on your hands.
Even if the request is fairly priced, I would personally avoid long-term orders through buyer requests, just because they may scam you out of hours’ worth of work if you’re not careful.

Along with these two issues that have been popping up more lately, avoid the basic signs of scams: overly cheap requests, asking for free samples, asking to inbox instead of sending an offer, requesting work that violates the TOS (especially academic/unethical work), etc.
If you have noticed some other common scams in buyer requests (especially if you’re in a category outside of writing/editing), feel free to mention them in the comments.

I have noticed that a lot of people have been asking for tips with buyer requests lately. Because I am honestly a bit lazy and don’t want to answer each question, I figured making one in-depth post would do the trick.

Why you should use buyer requests:
I know that a lot of people have warned about buyer requests, and I understand their reasoning with so many scammers, but I have personally found it to be a very useful tool. The majority of my orders have come from buyer requests, and all of them have been excellent experiences. Especially if you’re just starting off, or if you hit a plateau with orders/impressions, buyer requests can give you the momentum you need.

The actual tips:
First of all, always ensure that you are able to do what the buyer is asking. It may seem frustrating to ignore all of the unreasonable/irrelevant requests. However, if you receive an order from the buyer who made the request, you can guarantee that either your work will be low-quality or you will deal with a scammer/frustrating buyer.

Secondly, when you submit an offer, take an extra moment to read through the offer again. In your offer, clearly write that you can deliver that specific service, and ask for clarification if needed. This will help the buyer see that you have read their request, and requesting clarification will protect you from any buyers trying to trick you into giving them an unrealistic service.

Finally, always take an extra moment to read through your offer for grammar and clarity. It is always better to have the highest-quality offer than the first offer sent. On this note, avoid making copy-paste offers. Each buyer is different, and you need to customize your offer based on their needs.

Hopefully this helps! The main point I have here is to take an extra moment, so you can set expectations up front for both yourself and the buyer. Even if you are not the first offer sent, high-quality buyers will be searching for high-quality sellers rather than the fastest responder.

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benedictrm Community Regular

benedictrm

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If only everyone Buyer & Seller thought & behaved like this…

Most of the work I get is from BR (here & elsewhere). The biggest issue I face is very poorly presented jobs, in that the person trying to find the right fit with a freelancer writes their job so fast that they forget to include actual info about the project. e.g. I cannot know if I feel that I can mix a song if the song is not there to be heard.

I have had people say it is because they don’t trust putting the song in public but that makes little sense as if the aim here is to put the song in public; now-then, what does it matter? If you get famous enough that people want to hear the rough mix of your song, that is winning. A song gets mixed so people can hear it properly. If people get so into the song they want to get closer to the source of the song, that is something that you cannot buy. Besides how many fans are trolling freelance sites looking to collect songs from unknowns in hope they can Instaham that rough mix when the act makes it big? It is somewhere between zero and brilliant, that guy just gave me free promo. I just Soundclouded a Mix I did for a Rapper who I think just got signed.

🙂

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eliiclaire Contributor

eliiclaire

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On 3/4/2021 at 9:40 PM, benedictrm said:

If only everyone Buyer & Seller thought & behaved like this…

Most of the work I get is from BR (here & elsewhere). The biggest issue I face is very poorly presented jobs, in that the person trying to find the right fit with a freelancer writes their job so fast that they forget to include actual info about the project. e.g. I cannot know if I feel that I can mix a song if the song is not there to be heard.

I have had people say it is because they don’t trust putting the song in public but that makes little sense as if the aim here is to put the song in public; now-then, what does it matter? If you get famous enough that people want to hear the rough mix of your song, that is winning. A song gets mixed so people can hear it properly. If people get so into the song they want to get closer to the source of the song, that is something that you cannot buy. Besides how many fans are trolling freelance sites looking to collect songs from unknowns in hope they can Instaham that rough mix when the act makes it big? It is somewhere between zero and brilliant, that guy just gave me free promo. I just Soundclouded a Mix I did for a Rapper who I think just got signed. 

In the writing section, I have the same issue. A lot of times, the buyers don’t take much time to make their requests and are vague in their prompt, word count, target audience, etc. And I definitely agree that it doesn’t make much sense to be afraid of posting a rough recording in public (and can’t they use some sort of sound watermark like people do in those stock music samples?). 

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benedictrm Community Regular

benedictrm

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On 3/4/2021 at 10:14 PM, eliiclaire said:

In the writing section, I have the same issue. A lot of times, the buyers don’t take much time to make their requests and are vague in their prompt, word count, target audience, etc. And I definitely agree that it doesn’t make much sense to be afraid of posting a rough recording in public (and can’t they use some sort of sound watermark like people do in those stock music samples?).

I put it that people who make poor proposals for our attention are probably poor to work for seeing they are a) not really committed, b) not willing to explain their thing. But it is still very annoying to waste time chasing job basics - that normally never arrive.

Sometimes I wonder if it is a test: are you as Hipster as me? If you are, you will know what I am talkin’ bout 😉

Watermarks on a rough Mix are not the best plan simply because most of them are somewhat challenged already so having to ‘hear around’ a watermark is not helpful. Just share the darned mp3 as the song is meant to be heard. Hiding for whatever fear, is not useful, esp if you have dreams to be a Star.

Being a buyer means that you have to sell the Freelancers in taking your Gig. If you want the best, you have to show that you have a great project and that you will be great to work with. Good clear info, quick friendly communication and a fair budget (which is almost never $5). 

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enunciator Grand Master

enunciator

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The Buyer Requests page can indeed be useful, and it is actually where I got my first order on Fiverr no less! The issue is attempting to find the flecks of gold within the raging dumpster-fire full of frauds, cheapskates, and predators.

I think in total, out of 173 sent offer, I only nabbed about 12 orders, but in contrast, I’ve clicked the “Remove Request” button well over a thousand times.

Buyer’s Request is the refuge for the new, the desperate, the bored, and the curious; and it would take a bit of effort from Fiverr to change it from it’s current state. 

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eliiclaire Contributor

eliiclaire

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On 3/4/2021 at 11:11 PM, enunciator said:

The Buyer Requests page can indeed be useful, and it is actually where I got my first order on Fiverr no less! The issue is attempting to find the flecks of gold within the raging dumpster-fire full of frauds, cheapskates, and predators.

I think in total, out of 173 sent offer, I only nabbed about 12 orders, but in contrast, I’ve clicked the “Remove Request” button well over a thousand times.

Buyer’s Request is the refuge for the new, the desperate, the bored, and the curious; and it would take a bit of effort from Fiverr to change it from it’s current state.

I definitely agree that a lot of the scammers are posting in buyer requests, and it can be tiring to filter through all of them sometimes. 

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eliiclaire Contributor

eliiclaire

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It is absolutely best Tips for buyer request. Thank you.

I have question, what number of words can be written in buyer request?

For a buyer request, you can go up to about 400 words (I believe it’s the same for offers, but don’t quote me on this). However, because the reader is more likely to pass over a request/offer if it’s too long,100-200 words is the best length.

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shibiyas Collaborator

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Thank you for the great tip!

I really agree with the mentioned points. I have got number of orders by taking extra moment to read requests and then writing attractively. Buyer won’t check if it’s like a copy paste description.

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eliiclaire Contributor

eliiclaire

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Thank you for the great tip!

I really agree with the mentioned points. I have got number of orders by taking extra moment to read requests and then writing attractively. Buyer won’t check if it’s like a copy paste description.

Definitely! There are several good buyers sending requests–you just have to take the time to make offers that appeal to them.

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eliiclaire Contributor

eliiclaire

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Thanks for sharing … will you explain it please how you write a buyer request .

I’ve sent 30+ offer but I’m failed.

It takes quite a few buyer requests before you receive an order, so you might not be doing anything wrong as much as there’s just a lot of others offers alongside yours. If you’re comfortable, would you be okay with taking a screenshot of one of the offers you sent? Maybe I could point out some possible weak areas.

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ankushlaxman Contributor

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It takes quite a few buyer requests before you receive an order, so you might not be doing anything wrong as much as there’s just a lot of others offers alongside yours. If you’re comfortable, would you be okay with taking a screenshot of one of the offers you sent? Maybe I could point out some possible weak areas.

@eliiclaire Is taking a screenshot of a sent offer to a buyer request allowed on Fiverr? Since I’ve not received replies to my offers, I’ve been wondering if I am doing something wrong and need help.

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eliiclaire Contributor

eliiclaire

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@eliiclaire Here are the attachments:

Thanks in advance

Although I like that you are trying to receive the buyer’s expectations up front (I do the same thing), you also need to mention some of your qualifications. It’s important to have clear communication in the process you’ll take, but ultimately, you should think of your offer as a sales pitch. What training/experience do you have? Why are you the best fit for the project?

Again, there’s nothing wrong with clear communication, but first you want to prove to the buyer that you can complete the job properly.

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eliiclaire Contributor

eliiclaire

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You are writing very well. I like your last line a lot but it doesn’t always happen because I send buyer requests with a lot of understanding so I go after many and the result buyer doesn’t hire me.

I understand, and I deal with the same issue a lot. Honestly, good buyers are less likely to be in the requests, so they’re harder to find. But ultimately, it’s better to take longer to find a good buyer than to immediately find a poor buyer that’s hard to deal with and potentially causes trouble to your account (through cancellations/low reviews).

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ankushlaxman Contributor

ankushlaxman

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On 3/12/2021 at 1:38 AM, eliiclaire said:

Although I like that you are trying to receive the buyer’s expectations up front (I do the same thing), you also need to mention some of your qualifications. It’s important to have clear communication in the process you’ll take, but ultimately, you should think of your offer as a sales pitch. What training/experience do you have? Why are you the best fit for the project?

Again, there’s nothing wrong with clear communication, but first you want to prove to the buyer that you can complete the job properly.

@eliiclaire Thank you for the suggestions. I have no official training as far as my gigs are concerned. I am self-taught. I thought it is a bad idea to mention that I have no training. I do mention my experience in my gig descriptions without trying to sound like I have no training. I also mention that I am more a hands-on kind of person. In order to prove that I can get the job done, I have provided many examples as a PDF in my gig gallery for all my gigs.

 

On 3/12/2021 at 1:49 AM, opumak said:

You are writing very well. I like your last line a lot but it doesn’t always happen because I send buyer requests with a lot of understanding so I go after many and the result buyer doesn’t hire me.

@opumak Every buyer will have different requirements. I don’t know, but it could be that mentioning that last line will make a prospective buyer will think that the seller will bump up the price in order to get more money just for the sake of it. On the other hand, you don’t want to undercut yourself with the offer amount and delivery time without having a clear picture of what the buyer needs. The seller needs to earn too. That is why I mention that the price and delivery time are indicative. Thank you for your review.

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eliiclaire Contributor

eliiclaire

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@eliiclaire Thank you for the suggestions. I have no official training as far as my gigs are concerned. I am self-taught. I thought it is a bad idea to mention that I have no training. I do mention my experience in my gig descriptions without trying to sound like I have no training. I also mention that I am more a hands-on kind of person. In order to prove that I can get the job done, I have provided many examples as a PDF in my gig gallery for all my gigs.

Since you have a large number of examples, you could ask the buyer to refer to your gig gallery! Also, you don’t need official training as long as you have proof that you can do the job well.

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darkforce1980 Apprentice

darkforce1980

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On 3/22/2021 at 3:32 PM, eliiclaire said:

I definitely agree that a lot of the scammers are posting in buyer requests, and it can be tiring to filter through all of them sometimes.

what are the Scammers trying to do in here ?.. it is not hard for them to cheat you in here ?

 

On 3/22/2021 at 3:42 PM, ankushlaxman said:

@eliiclaire Thank you for the suggestions. I have no official training as far as my gigs are concerned. I am self-taught. I thought it is a bad idea to mention that I have no training. I do mention my experience in my gig descriptions without trying to sound like I have no training. I also mention that I am more a hands-on kind of person. In order to prove that I can get the job done, I have provided many examples as a PDF in my gig gallery for all my gigs.

I am kind like you … I have no official training or well maybe a lillte for not focus on what I want to make in here …but I have use computer sind i was 3 years old… think I made my first program in basic when I was 8 years old … and program my first homepage when I was 17 years i think… it :rofl: long time ago …anyway when I was 30 i was leader for a kindsklub where some of them want to make an game … so I join in .it kind of fail … but later I did made a mobil game … got it on google play…but today i think it is very cool to make complet Excel that most don´t even thinking about doing 

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