New sellers asking for help - what to do instead

[lisamusser]

Every time I come to the forum, I see new sellers asking for tips or advice to make their first sale. While it is normal to ask for help when you are new, many veteran sellers here have answered the same questions over and over. It gets very frustrating to repeat things over and over, so to make it easier on all of us, you can search for these answers by clicking on the magnifying glass at the top of the page and search for your topic.

For example, if you type “how to get my first sale” you’ll get a page with posts from other sellers on this topic. You’ll see where some of these topics have been discussed many times so you should get a pretty clear understanding of how it works.

When coming to Fiverr you should know that it can take some time to get your first sale. You’re entering a marketplace with hundreds of sellers and it can take several months to get your gigs close to the front pages of search results. It’s the same as creating a website, you need search traffic for anyone to find you. How do you get search traffic? By optimizing your gigs with the best SEO practices and promoting your gigs everywhere you can. Again, just search for “how to optimize my gigs” and read those posts for the answers. There are also Fiverr help pages that discuss the same topics.

The reason for this post today is because I’m seeing a lot of articles published outside of Fiverr that are giving out misinformation to people wanting to get their gigs found. I read two of these last night that were terribly wrong and would get a new seller’s account banned, like giving out free samples, asking for a review after completing an order, and contacting competitors past clients for work.I couldn’t believe the advice the author of this article was giving. And there was no place I could see to leave a comment to tell them that what they were saying could get the readers’ acount banned.

The best thing you can do for yourself as a new seller is to read the posts here in the forum and learn everything you can about this business and how to be successful here. Don’t rely on what you read on the Internet because it can get you in trouble.

When I first started on Fiverr a year ago, I followed the advice I got from an ebook on Amazon by someone who said they were a seller making thousands of dollars per month. Well, a couple of their suggestions got one of my gigs denied and a got a warning from it.

Despite what you see other sellers doing - asking for reviews or feedback or creating a “tip jar” can get you in trouble. I know sellers who do this, they just haven’t been caught yet is the only difference. Don’t risk losing your account. Before you do anything on Fiverr, read and educate yourself about what you’re doing. Know what you can and can not say in your gig description, and what services you can and cannot offer.

This is not a content mill and everyone who sets up their business here is responsible for it. If you’re a seller on Fiverr, you’re a business owner whether you realize it or not. You are responsible for knowing the rules here, setting up your gigs correctly, and promoting/marketing yourself to bring in sales. If you want to be successful you have to work at it. Fiverr is a platform that allows you to run your business here and they take care of the complicated stuff like payments and customer issues.

Another point I would like to make is that regardless of where you were ranked before, things change and you can go from the first page to the very back page of search at any time. The factors that affect ranking is the volume of sales, the number of views you get, your stats (response rate, order completion, and on-time delivery) whether you’re getting current orders, and many others. It is a complicated system and all you can do is try your best to gain new customers and keep repeat customers coming back to keep getting orders coming in.

So remember:

• Read the forum topics
• Learn all you can
• Optimize your gigs and profile
• Market yourself
• Take responsibility for your own success

I hope this didn’t come off as a rant - it wasn;'t intended to be. To all of the new sellers out there - . welcome and best of luck to you.

[english_voice]

Great sentiment. However… The very people who need to read informative and helpful posts like yours never will. Never. That is why we continually see the same questions asked.

Some people are just lazy and / or lack initiative. And still they continually wonder why they don’t succeed as a freelancer…

[vickiespencer]

Every time I come to the forum, I see new sellers asking for tips or advice to make their first sale. While it is normal to ask for help when you are new, many veteran sellers here have answered the same questions over and over. It gets very frustrating to repeat things over and over, so to make it easier on all of us, you can search for these answers by clicking on the magnifying glass at the top of the page and search for your topic.

For example, if you type “how to get my first sale” you’ll get a page with posts from other sellers on this topic. You’ll see where some of these topics have been discussed many times so you should get a pretty clear understanding of how it works.

When coming to Fiverr you should know that it can take some time to get your first sale. You’re entering a marketplace with hundreds of sellers and it can take several months to get your gigs close to the front pages of search results. It’s the same as creating a website, you need search traffic for anyone to find you. How do you get search traffic? By optimizing your gigs with the best SEO practices and promoting your gigs everywhere you can. Again, just search for “how to optimize my gigs” and read those posts for the answers. There are also Fiverr help pages that discuss the same topics.

The reason for this post today is because I’m seeing a lot of articles published outside of Fiverr that are giving out misinformation to people wanting to get their gigs found. I read two of these last night that were terribly wrong and would get a new seller’s account banned, like giving out free samples, asking for a review after completing an order, and contacting competitors past clients for work.I couldn’t believe the advice the author of this article was giving. And there was no place I could see to leave a comment to tell them that what they were saying could get the readers’ acount banned.

The best thing you can do for yourself as a new seller is to read the posts here in the forum and learn everything you can about this business and how to be successful here. Don’t rely on what you read on the Internet because it can get you in trouble.

When I first started on Fiverr a year ago, I followed the advice I got from an ebook on Amazon by someone who said they were a seller making thousands of dollars per month. Well, a couple of their suggestions got one of my gigs denied and a got a warning from it.

Despite what you see other sellers doing - asking for reviews or feedback or creating a “tip jar” can get you in trouble. I know sellers who do this, they just haven’t been caught yet is the only difference. Don’t risk losing your account. Before you do anything on Fiverr, read and educate yourself about what you’re doing. Know what you can and can not say in your gig description, and what services you can and cannot offer.

This is not a content mill and everyone who sets up their business here is responsible for it. If you’re a seller on Fiverr, you’re a business owner whether you realize it or not. You are responsible for knowing the rules here, setting up your gigs correctly, and promoting/marketing yourself to bring in sales. If you want to be successful you have to work at it. Fiverr is a platform that allows you to run your business here and they take care of the complicated stuff like payments and customer issues.

Another point I would like to make is that regardless of where you were ranked before, things change and you can go from the first page to the very back page of search at any time. The factors that affect ranking is the volume of sales, the number of views you get, your stats (response rate, order completion, and on-time delivery) whether you’re getting current orders, and many others. It is a complicated system and all you can do is try your best to gain new customers and keep repeat customers coming back to keep getting orders coming in.

So remember:

• Read the forum topics
• Learn all you can
• Optimize your gigs and profile
• Market yourself
• Take responsibility for your own success

I hope this didn’t come off as a rant - it wasn;'t intended to be. To all of the new sellers out there - . welcome and best of luck to you.

with hundreds of sellers

I do not mean to contradict you, but it is thousands, if not tens of thousands, of sellers! In logo design alone, there are over 165,000 gigs!

When I first started on Fiverr a year ago, I followed the advice I got from an ebook on Amazon by someone who said they were a seller making thousands of dollars per month. Well, a couple of their suggestions got one of my gigs denied, and a got a warning from it.

Another supposed Fiver Guru book to read! ?

If you want to be successful you have to work at it.

regardless of where you were ranked before, things change, and you can go from the first page to the very back page of search at any time.

I hope this didn’t come off as a rant - it wasn’t intended to be. To all of the new sellers out there - . welcome and best of luck to you.

You did an excellent job of highlighting the issues. The problem is, like @english_voice said, the people who need it may not read it. They are often looking for quick and easy solutions, which is sad because the Forum has a wealth of information in the search!

PS, I hope you do not think my reply was to make fun of your post. I thought maybe the gifs would attract those who need to read the highlighted parts of your post. 😉

[lisamusser]

Yes, I agree. It’s like beating a dead horse. I just hope that they don’t read these articles online that make big claims but tell people to do unethical things. Both of the articles I read last night were giving bad advice. Hope they avoid things like that.

[vickiespencer]

Yes, I agree. It’s like beating a dead horse. I just hope that they don’t read these articles online that make big claims but tell people to do unethical things. Both of the articles I read last night were giving bad advice. Hope they avoid things like that.

I just hope that they don’t read these articles online that make big claims but tell people to do unethical things.

Some do that even in their post here.

[lisamusser]

Thank you @vickiespencer. I didn’t realize the sheer size of the platform. It is much larger than I realized. I enjoyed the gifs, they are cute and funny. Some of them even look like me at 2 am, lol.

[vickiespencer]

Thank you @vickiespencer. I didn’t realize the sheer size of the platform. It is much larger than I realized. I enjoyed the gifs, they are cute and funny. Some of them even look like me at 2 am, lol.

I didn’t realize the sheer size of the platform.

Our Forum friend @blavaro created this document not long ago. It is an eye opener! since the pandemic some categories have doubled or tripled!

All_Services2424×2751 1.5 MB

[lisamusser]

Oh my goodness, that’s enormous. He must have put in a lot of time just tracking all those numbers and categorizing them. It’s good to see that the platform is growing .

[zeus777]

I think everything that needs to be said has already been pointed out by @vickiespencer and @english_voice, sadly the ones that need to read this the most will not take it seriously.

When I first clicked on this post, the second I saw it, I went
“Nope, it’s too long, most of the new sellers would go wow, I don’t want to read that, I need to look for a post that will give me better tips.”

When I say “better tips,” it’s this non-existing miracle magical tip/advice that is only 2 sentences long and takes effect within less than 24 hours…Sorry, ain’t gonna happen… 😰

[lisamusser]

Yes, I agree @zeus777. They are all looking for a magical shortcut that will solve their problem overnight. I was reading some other posts in the forum and one seller called it perfectly - the money button. They just want to know where the money button is.

[riaz05]

Very good information. Best of luck too 👍

[riaz05]

I think everything that needs to be said has already been pointed out by @vickiespencer and @english_voice, sadly the ones that need to read this the most will not take it seriously.

When I first clicked on this post, the second I saw it, I went

“Nope, it’s too long, most of the new sellers would go wow, I don’t want to read that, I need to look for a post that will give me better tips.”

When I say “better tips,” it’s this non-existing miracle magical tip/advice that is only 2 sentences long and takes effect within less than 24 hours…Sorry, ain’t gonna happen… 😰

Point​:ok_hand:. But i read from start to bottom. Anyone who wants success in life will definitely read 📖.

[lisamusser]

Point​:ok_hand:. But i read from start to bottom. Anyone who wants success in life will definitely read 📖.

Thank you @riaz05. I hope others will read as well. It will save them a lot of problems later.

[hasnat_osman]

will try to follow your given instructions.

[misriyaps]

Thank you for your information.

[zeus777]

They just want to know where the money button is.

Fools, they should be looking for the orchard of money trees.

Everyone knows that…

If you didn’t know: It’s near the end of the rainbow, just between Narnia and Santa’s house.

just between Narnia and Santa’s house.

Really!?? All this time I believed it was Somewhere between Middle Earth and the basement of Hogwarts!!! No wonder I couldn’t find it!! 😱

[alphagev]

Fiverr is represented like a “quick&easy money” marketplace all over the Web. There are tons of articles and videos spreading falsity about that and stating you can be successful even if you don’t have any skill.
People trying to make a living would easily be tricked.
It takes time and effort to build up a healthy profile, to make sales. It takes time even to read ToS. Most people have short span of attention, basic English skills or are just lazy.
There are wonderful and patient members here, who help everyday. I hope new sellers will find the research button on the Forum, take time to understand how this marketplace works and try to follow and understand advices.

[lisamusser]

Fiverr is represented like a “quick&easy money” marketplace all over the Web. There are tons of articles and videos spreading falsity about that and stating you can be successful even if you don’t have any skill.

People trying to make a living would easily be tricked.

It takes time and effort to build up a healthy profile, to make sales. It takes time even to read ToS. Most people have short span of attention, basic English skills or are just lazy.

There are wonderful and patient members here, who help everyday. I hope new sellers will find the research button on the Forum, take time to understand how this marketplace works and try to follow and understand advices.

Yes, I agree. There is a lot of misinformation (articles and YouTube videos) out there painting Fiverr as a place to make easy money, rather than a place to build a business over time and work for yourself. It takes time to build successful gigs and a steady stream of repeat buyers. I was just shocked at the advice these sources were giving new sellers and would-be sellers. All the wrong things to do - which is probably why a lot of them end up here asking why their gig got denied or their account banned.

[hilmi007]

so helpfulll madam iam new on fiverr and just learning how this marketplace work 😄

[teramangala]

Thank you @riaz05. I hope others will read as well. It will save them a lot of problems later.

Thank you for the reading 🤓

[funusual]

Writing something for those the least likely to get off their backsides to read it, might be a very noble effort, but it’s high on the futile scale I’m afraid.

It’s not lost on all, but those who “get it” already know.

Seems there must be somewhere which gives the following advice to most new users:

• Do no research
• Never search the forums
• Don’t read the terms
• Effort, nah, don’t put any of that in
• Never read the support pages / blogs
• Post 10 minutes after publishing your gig to ask “why me not sell / how 2 make sell”
• Make sure your forum read time and topics viewed figures are really low
• Stay online 29 hours a day, 8 days a week, 43 days a month, 736 days a year
• Post your gig to social media so your mum, gran and best mate’s dog can all see, even though they already know…
• Send 11.4 buyer requests a day
• If at first you don’t succeed, create multiple accounts and repeat all the same errors on them too

So much bad advice on the forums which Fiverr needs to clear out, but they keep all the stupid posts, their priorities are confusing: they’ll suspend people for a week for the most petty, trivial things; like calling a thief a thief, or telling someone they actually need some talent to freelance, but deleting bad advice is too much admin for them.

There may well be tens of thousands of gigs in some categories, but frankly, that just means there’s a lot of poor gigs with zero effort, they’ll never get anywhere and give up soon.

The one line in all the above which stands out most to me is this:

Take responsibility for your own success

Too tight, I could not agree more but hasn’t “personal responsibility” recently been called out as racist by the planet’s insane media?

Shows the state of the entire world, not just here in this corner of the web.

As @english_voice says “some people are just lazy”

I’d go so far as to say some are plain bone-idle, with a sense of entitlement, and a number of victim complexes.

It’s a marathon, once people understand that they’ll stop passing out after sprinting away from the start line, then maybe some might make it to the end…

I could not agree more. Glad to know there are still grounded people aware of what freelancing and putting effort in your own success actually means.

[salmanulsajib]

I could not agree more. Glad to know there are still grounded people aware of what freelancing and putting effort in your own success actually means.

freelancing

freelancing is a good work for every man… lots helpfull its me.

[maegan_bertrand]

New Sellers, Take Note!! Bless this whole thread !!! I wish so many more people would realize that freelance doesn’t mean shortcut to easy money. It’s not true!- it takes work and dedication.

You are 100% responsible for the adverse outcome if you follow advice from spammy blogs and YouTube videos where they tell you how to subvert the system or get sales/clients through unethical practices. I’m here to tell you, it doesn’t pay half as well in the long term.

[nikitakakade24]

Every time I come to the forum, I see new sellers asking for tips or advice to make their first sale. While it is normal to ask for help when you are new, many veteran sellers here have answered the same questions over and over. It gets very frustrating to repeat things over and over, so to make it easier on all of us, you can search for these answers by clicking on the magnifying glass at the top of the page and search for your topic.

For example, if you type “how to get my first sale” you’ll get a page with posts from other sellers on this topic. You’ll see where some of these topics have been discussed many times so you should get a pretty clear understanding of how it works.

When coming to Fiverr you should know that it can take some time to get your first sale. You’re entering a marketplace with hundreds of sellers and it can take several months to get your gigs close to the front pages of search results. It’s the same as creating a website, you need search traffic for anyone to find you. How do you get search traffic? By optimizing your gigs with the best SEO practices and promoting your gigs everywhere you can. Again, just search for “how to optimize my gigs” and read those posts for the answers. There are also Fiverr help pages that discuss the same topics.

The reason for this post today is because I’m seeing a lot of articles published outside of Fiverr that are giving out misinformation to people wanting to get their gigs found. I read two of these last night that were terribly wrong and would get a new seller’s account banned, like giving out free samples, asking for a review after completing an order, and contacting competitors past clients for work.I couldn’t believe the advice the author of this article was giving. And there was no place I could see to leave a comment to tell them that what they were saying could get the readers’ acount banned.

The best thing you can do for yourself as a new seller is to read the posts here in the forum and learn everything you can about this business and how to be successful here. Don’t rely on what you read on the Internet because it can get you in trouble.

When I first started on Fiverr a year ago, I followed the advice I got from an ebook on Amazon by someone who said they were a seller making thousands of dollars per month. Well, a couple of their suggestions got one of my gigs denied and a got a warning from it.

Despite what you see other sellers doing - asking for reviews or feedback or creating a “tip jar” can get you in trouble. I know sellers who do this, they just haven’t been caught yet is the only difference. Don’t risk losing your account. Before you do anything on Fiverr, read and educate yourself about what you’re doing. Know what you can and can not say in your gig description, and what services you can and cannot offer.

This is not a content mill and everyone who sets up their business here is responsible for it. If you’re a seller on Fiverr, you’re a business owner whether you realize it or not. You are responsible for knowing the rules here, setting up your gigs correctly, and promoting/marketing yourself to bring in sales. If you want to be successful you have to work at it. Fiverr is a platform that allows you to run your business here and they take care of the complicated stuff like payments and customer issues.

Another point I would like to make is that regardless of where you were ranked before, things change and you can go from the first page to the very back page of search at any time. The factors that affect ranking is the volume of sales, the number of views you get, your stats (response rate, order completion, and on-time delivery) whether you’re getting current orders, and many others. It is a complicated system and all you can do is try your best to gain new customers and keep repeat customers coming back to keep getting orders coming in.

So remember:

• Read the forum topics
• Learn all you can
• Optimize your gigs and profile
• Market yourself
• Take responsibility for your own success

I hope this didn’t come off as a rant - it wasn;'t intended to be. To all of the new sellers out there - . welcome and best of luck to you.

contacting competitors past clients for work

Actually when I started my journey back in 2018, I followed this method too. But then I realized I was so wrong.

[nikitakakade24]

New Sellers, Take Note!! Bless this whole thread !!! I wish so many more people would realize that freelance doesn’t mean shortcut to easy money. It’s not true!- it takes work and dedication.

You are 100% responsible for the adverse outcome if you follow advice from spammy blogs and YouTube videos where they tell you how to subvert the system or get sales/clients through unethical practices. I’m here to tell you, it doesn’t pay half as well in the long term.

freelance doesn’t mean shortcut to easy money

👏

Very well said