My first order aka my worst order

[omniversal]

A couple months ago I got my first order on Fiverr… the actual gig I created was for a specific logo intro template (in AfterEffects), however that’s not what the buyer wanted. They had a specific idea of what they wanted for an animation, and it had absolutely nothing to do with my gig. This being my first order, I did /not/ want to cancel it and have that bad record. So, I agreed acting like everything was fine, not mentioning their mistake.

They gave me a JPG image to work with… so I had to redraw the whole thing as a vector plus make sure the dozens of parts were separate so I could animate them in AE; due to the nature of the object it was quite complicating. Not to mention I was still somewhat new to AfterEffects, and at the time still had a day job (before I took on Freelancing full-time). Plus, the fact that they didn’t speak good English did not help at all… I was pretty late on the delivery, and lost some sleep along the way, but I eventually got it and they were happy. (it’s a good thing they didn’t cancel because of late delivery… for their sake : P)



I have to say, though, I was pretty discouraged after that! Made me kind of stay off Fiverr for a little bit.

Just my luck, the very first order I get is crap.



Giving Fiverr another shot now, and so far I haven’t had anymore bad orders 😃

Although I’m sure I will get at least some complicating clients here in the future, all I can do is try my best to prevent that and be patient if I do get those orders.

[webchief]

Hi there,



I had my first order after 2 days on fiverr, and I had to work on it for 7 days to finish and I got just 5$ for it, I thought that working here will be very slow and I will not earn any good money, but problem where next: I was newbie and I did not know how fiverr actually work… it was 1 month and 7 days since and I had 38 orders and I earn a lot of money and my account is growing bigger.

So… My point is that you should not leave fiverr in first place at all, you just have to fight you way up and try to make your gigs better,



If your customer does not speak English very good, ask him to explain as best he can,



and your customer did not make any mistake I just looked at your gigs and I did not saw in description some kind of note ( or any part of text) where you say whit what kind of image formats you work, you have to type does things in your desc. and even make gig extra ( why not?) where you charge more if you have to change format of image.



PS( maybe it was there,when he was ordering but I don’t see it now, so in this case it was his fault.)

[omniversal]

At the time freelancing was a side thing, and I couldn’t afford to work for several hours for $5. I did say that I am back now, though.



I could understand him okay, but he didn’t really seem to understand what I was saying.



And the problem wasn’t the file type (because I accept any file type), it was that he was asking for something that he didn’t order. Which was separate from the gig.

Though most of the gigs I have now are updated and some I removed, and I have added new ones.

And at the time, Fiverr didn’t allow me to create gig extras.

[Guest evpassino]

I had similar experiences when I first started on Fiverr, i.e. spending hours and hours for $4, and dealing with buyers who either didn’t ask for what I was offering or communicated so poorly I didn’t know what they were asking for. The other thing I noticed (that doesn’t happen much anymore) is that I used to get a lot of requests for things that violated the TOS. I think those buyers were specifically looking for new sellers who would be desperate enough to break the rules.



It got a little better after I reached level 1, and way better after I reached level 2. Now that I’m well into level 2 with 100% feedback, I find it much easier to get paid what I want, though it still isn’t a living wage. I also don’t feel bad about canceling orders any more.

[landongrace]

1. Invest the first 100 jobs on your account to build your profile.

2. Strive for no negative feedback.

3. Offer twice what your competition on Fiverr is offering for the same price.

4. Offer it faster

    

    

    

   I completed 100 jobs in my fist 60 days and it was insane. Many extra hours on each job. I was focused on 100 jobs and not an hourly rate. Think of it as a new business startup and you are making an investment of time.

    

    

    

   Now my gigs are structured to make $50.00 to $100 per hour.

    

    

    

   For me, 1 in 20 jobs are difficult (A complete Nightmare). It is in any business. I just plan on it. I don’t get bent out of shape. I never ask for more money or vent to the customer. I just have to build it into my rate structure for all the gigs. Sometimes it’s the customer’s fault. Many times it’s the wording on my gig and I change the gig description and video to better sell my services. I have changed one video 3 times before I got it right.

    

    

    

   I want to encourage you to dig in deep. It has worked for me.

    

    

    

   16 months. 1100 gigs, $30 average sale, No negative feedback.

    

   The no negative feedback is expensive, but it is well worth it!

    

    

    

   Fiverr comes down to one dynamic. YOU. Are you going to be that “Incredible Person” that everyone loves. Having awesome customer service and helping people with products that have tremendous value to the customer. Fiverr can give you an awesome platform, but Fiverr can’t make you a better person. It’s up to you!

[doubleu]

You’re not alone @omniversal, starting out as a new seller is always a bit difficult because you don’t have anyone vouching for you (in the form of reviews or sales). My first sale was the same, I put so much time into it, it was ridiculous to be reminded it was just for $4 when it was complete. But I suppose during the first sale you’re also learning how to manage your time and perfecting your workflow. It’ll get better, trust me!



Good advice @landongrace

[tsweezey]

Congrats on your first order… although I do wish it was a better experience for you.



For what it’s worth, I provide video services, and even with a green screen production I service $5 orders too. So for $5 I’ll load the teleprompter, adjust the lighting, setup the camera, shoot the video, produce the audio, key the background, match the audio, and render the final product. To be clear though, I’m not griping. It’s just the reality of operating here on fiverr. Fortunately though, $5 orders are the minority for me, and I’ll admit… I like overcompensating on smaller orders 🙂



Another reality is that buyers don’t often understand what’s possible and what’s not. It’s incumbent on us as sellers to set the expectation. If we aren’t qualified to do the gig, there’s no harm in telling them just that. I have no problem telling a customer that I’d be doing them a disservice if I accepted a gig that I wasn’t absolutely certain would result in a five star delivery. It use to be that fiverr penalized sellers for cancellations, but fortunately, that’s no longer the case. Saying “no” to a customer might be in both our best interests.



And as @landongrace noted, maintaining a 100% feedback can be perceived as expensive. Certainly, refunding orders or working extra hard to make sure a demanding customer is satisfied, even for a $5 order, can sometimes seem extreme. But then again, a 100% rating also has great value as a marketing tool. So if you operate in such a fashion that it’s imperative to maintain that rating, then it’s just business to break our back when necessary. It helps take the emotion out of it.



Also, my experience is that gigs come in fits and starts. There really seems to be no rhyme or reason why my orders are great one week, and non-existent the next. It’s a weird flow, but the longer you do it, the more it seems to work itself out. I think many sellers note this after a few months too.



The only other thing I’ll say is that sometimes you’ll find yourself on a roll… everyone is happy, fiverr is awesome! Then sometimes you are filling orders around the clock with “modify requests” flying in left and right at which point fiverr isn’t so great. But that too balances out.



Fiverr is a weird animal. And I think the best advise I can give to anyone who’s serious about being a seller is pretty much the same advice I’d give to anyone running a business; have a great product, distinguish yourself from the competition, set the correct expectation, keep your clients happy, and be flexible. Oh yeah, and protect those ratings!

[supplylk]

A professional, Highly Creative and innovative graphic designer having exclusive skills in logo designing. Love to create impressive logo designs and have capability to meet deadlines.



I am a professional Graphic Designer with 8 years experience.

Creative & killer designs that you can get in cheap price.

Super fast delivery within 24 hours, unlimited modifications and money back guarantee.

Try and believe, satisfaction is guaranteed. Step up your business with a catchy and unique logo design.

[omniversal]

@supplylk

facepalm Yeah I’m definitely going to order your logo design gig, especially since that’s what I’m trying to sell also… Please don’t spam the forum with meaningless self-promotion posts, it’s annoying.

[omniversal]

And thanks everyone for the advice 🙂 Seems I’m not the only one who’s had bad luck starting off.