No orders yet (in other words, the usual tale)

#1

Hi all,

I’m a new seller (I began as a buyer). I haven’t yet converted any views here into sales. It’s only been a few days, so perhaps I’m just being impatient – if I just need to settle down and wait, it’s fine to tell me that. :slight_smile: If there are problems, though, then I want to address them early.

This is the gig which is getting the most clicks and views:

https://www.fiverr.com/thetruemelissa/proofread-your-writing-academic-or-colloquial-or-fiction

Here are things that I’m wondering about:

Using a cartoon as my profile picture. I like it, but perhaps some people think it’s unprofessional.

Offering references. Nobody else is doing that. That makes it weird, and weird can be bad even when the references are good.

Having one gig unrelated to my other gigs. Does it make me look unfocused or something?

Not having a video. Apparently some people think those are very important. I dislike them, personally, but if they’re as important as all that then I suppose I’ll see what I can do.

Charging by the page, which is the standard everywhere else, and not by the word as seems to be the standard on Fiverr. Again, perhaps it’s just weird enough to be off-putting?

I’m interested in any other feedback as well. I think my prices are quite reasonable, but perhaps they should be super-duper-low so that some people will decide it’s worth taking a chance on an apparent newbie? Or maybe I should put up lots more samples to demonstrate that I’m not actually a newbie?

There are an awful lot of people doing proofreading, so it’ll be hard to stand out. I do get that. I’m essentially starting a small business here, and building that up takes time.

One other possibility is that people who seek proofreaders on Fiverr aren’t really interested in improving, that most of them just want the proofreader to fix it for them and return a clean copy which they can submit without glancing at it again. If that’s the case, my gig isn’t actually what they want. I saw a few people offering to “help” with school assignments in which the clear implication is that the seller will simply do it for you. I’m not sure how I feel about that . . . but if I’m simply cleaning up the copy and not doing the actual schoolwork part, I suppose I could live with it. It would be less time and trouble than the educational method I use by default.

I’m open to any and all feedback, and I’ll try to accept it gracefully.

#2

One thing that is required is patience. Freelancing success doesn’t happen overnight. You’re also in a very competitive field. So, you have to work much harder and be a lot more creative with your services to stand out.

Gig videos work very, very well. For example, we’ve completed over 1100 projects since last January. Without our gig videos to showcase our service with a professional presentation, our success wouldn’t have been possible without them. Adding a video to your gigs should be taken into consideration.

Good luck!

#3

Hi thetruemelissa,

First off, the opening paragraph sounds a bit odd. You’re telling the buyer too much. Just say that you’ve been an online tutor for _ years for the ____ (name of company), the largest online tutoring company. And you’ve helped x (how many) student writers.

Second, the image isn’t very appealing. It doesn’t look good visually and it’s hard to read your comments. I would suggest saving a word document you’ve edited as a pdf and using that instead.

Third, I’ll send you a message about.

#4

chbuyer, I wish I could take your first suggestion. I’m not allowed to give the name of the company on Fiverr because the name and its URL are the same thing.

Better image, eh? I can work on that. Thanks for the feedback

#5

Thanks. I’m considering a video. I roughed one out yesterday, but I’m not happy with it yet.

I appreciate the feedback.

#6

I would fill out your description as much as possible. That’ll help your gig in rank especially if you are using relevant key words fluidly. Also, you should try to add a video if you can. I know you said you don’t like it, but it absolutely helps your gig rank in search.

#7

If it helps to optimize my search placement, I’ll definitely do it. Thanks.

#8

My other gig still exists, but I have another incorporating (most of) the suggestions. No video yet, but other than that, am I looking better?

Proofread your academic writing