Fiverr Community Forum

Non native English speaking sellers

Fiverr Tips Tips for Sellers
#1

I spend quite a bit of time just reading the forum. Everyday without fail, a seller posts a thread titled “No sale on Fiverr gig no interest buyer help”. Or some variation of that. After clicking the thread, reading the post, and reviewing their gig, the most prominent issue most of these sellers have is broken english.

I understand that Fiverr is a platform that a lot of people from different countries use a way to get income, because there are not a lot of employment opportunities in their environment. Not to mention, most buyers speak English and are from westernized nations. So they must market to that demographic to have the best chance at making money. So I always find it unfortunate that they get such a bad rap, and have such a difficult time here because they have such broken English.

I just wanted to make a thread with some things I think might help them. I know this is a lot of words for a non native speaker to read so I’ll keep it simple (*Note that any seller can benefit from these tips, not just foreigners):

  1. Have someone EDIT YOUR GIGS/DESCRIPTIONS!
  1. Have EXAMPLES of your work on your gig page.
  • Due to strong prejudice (which you can spot at anytime in the buyer requests) you are already operating at a disadvantage because people prefer to work with native speakers. However, you can combat this by having examples of your work on display to show them that you are a SERIOUS seller; not a desperate seller.
  • I would say to even have someone create a promo video for you if you have the funds. This is a service you can hire on fiverr through this link: https://www.fiverr.com/search/gigs?utf8=✓&source=top-bar&locale=en&search_in=everywhere&query=create+promo+video
  1. Utilize the buyer request page, BUT…
  • Most sellers tend to steer away from this area but you can benefit from working with buyers this way and gaining reviews. But here’s the thing, most buyers will steer clear if it is obvious you are not a native speaker (most who look past it tend to be scammers preying on these kinds of sellers). It’s always better to tailor your cover letter to that specific request, but in the case that your english isn’t good, you should definitely have one set, broad, in depth and descriptive cover letter you can copy paste to all your request responses. It is your best shot. You should also utilize tip #1 and have it written and revised for you. You can hire this service on fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/search/gigs?utf8=✓&source=top-bar&locale=en&search_in=everywhere&query=write+cover+letter
  1. Don’t be desperate…
  • Don’t message other sellers asking for work… don’t advertise your gig in the forums to other sellers… don’t send spam messages to buyers who have not reached out to you. This is a bad look and a good way to get reported, banned, and/or erase any chance you have at getting business. I know times are hard but don’t shoot yourself in the foot. Have some pride about yourself and your services. Let your work speak for itself and everything else will fall into place.
  1. Lastly, be consistent, and patient!
  • Getting your first order can take TIME. Reaching seller levels can take TIME. Becoming successful on Fiverr takes TIME. Don’t leave the site or pack up shop because you’ve been on fiverr for 16 hours and no one has thrown their money at you yet. If you give up so quickly you just might miss your blessing. BE PATIENT. DON’T GIVE UP.

I hope this helped somebody. Good luck to everyone.

19 Likes
#2

Great post. :slight_smile: I’m not native speaker and I’m not very good with English at all, but I think it’s a must for any seller who wants to sell internationally to speak at least basic English. :wink: So my advice to those sellers would be - take few more minutes and check your answer twice before you send it as I believe your chance of getting the order is depending on it. :wink: (except in case, you’re That good with what you do, that nobody cares, they just want your service :smiley: )

8 Likes
#3

Your post was moved to Tips for sellers because it’s a good one. :sunglasses: :tropical_drink:

7 Likes
#4

If that weren’t against the site’s ToS, I’d buy a unit of whatever service you’re selling. Just as a loud “thank you” for the time you spent finally telling these people what to do.

Unfortunately, I’m not sure that’s going to change things. Most of this stuff has - at some point - already made an appearance here. Those who spam the forums rarely read long posts, anyway! :expressionless:

3 Likes
#5

Appreciated for your work.

2 Likes
#6

Thank you, prroducer99plus!
I enjoyed reading your text!

I am not a native English speaker (it will become obvious in a few seconds, if not already) :D.

When it comes to my gigs, I picked the worst category (for a non-native English speaker)- writing.

How to compensate broken English (my thoughts and how I do it):

  1. Try to make it as good as possible. Your texts will always differ from those written by native English speakers- accept that. Find proofreading services, it’s cheap. If your rates are too low for additional costs, just write as good as you can- the buyer probably expects broken English (a little bit broken, not Google Translate kind of broken).

  2. The good article is good even with a broken English- and the bad article is bad even with a perfect English. This applies to almost every writing category here.

  3. My writing rates are fairly low. It took me 6 years to become a doctor and I have 4 years of experience. For some people, it may be 700 words of broken English about a diabetic foot, but in essence, it is thousands of pages read over the last 10 years and dozens of patients treated with some relatively small grammatical errors.

  4. Afterall, the grammar is important, but sending the right message is importanter :smiley:

As long as your articles are packed with value, the grammatical issues won’t be a problem.

Sorry for the wall of text :slight_smile:

9 Likes
#7

It’s fine Thanks is enough :slight_smile:

Lol I figured this wouldn’t stop all the posts from coming in, but some of them actually do need help

1 Like
#8

Nice one… and not all non-native English speakers come pre-fitted with terrible English. At least, that much is clear from your write-up.

3 Likes
#9

I have mixed feelings about this. It will mislead buyers who don’t realize that the seller uses broken hard to understand English. The idea should be to give buyers an idea of the kind of seller they would be hiring, not to trick them into thinking the seller has good communication in English, only to find out after they hire him that communication is a big problem.

10 Likes
#10

It can’t possibly be a good article if it is written in broken English. That is an oxymoron.

This may be the problem with all the writers who really can’t write. They think broken English is ok in writing. It is not ok to write in broken English if you are going to be selling yourself as a professional writer. Professional writers should know how to write correctly.

11 Likes
#11

Perhaps hire someone to edit your gigs and descriptions each time??
Hire someone you can trust, someone who speaks the seller’s language AND English, team up work together…well, if it’s possible.

1 Like
#12

The price makes it acceptable (and when it comes to highly specialized knowledge, the message is far more important than a few grammatical mistakes).

Does your spells works better if the candles used are made of high quality wax? I guess no, because it’s not about the wax, but about something much more valuable- spirituality.

In my case, the value is in the highly specialized knowledge.

#13

I guess if that is how you have to rationalize it then whatever works but I would be furious if I hired a writer who didn’t know how to write correctly. I am horrified by all the incorrect writing I see on websites. It’s sad to me that there are so many who think writing can be incorrect and still be ok. Writing has rules that show you know what you are doing, and if you don’t follow those rules you look uneducated in how to write.

You can get correctly written articles for only $5. There is correct writing and there is incorrect writing and if you are claiming to be professional you better know how to write correctly.

5 Likes
#14

ohhhh that’s hard!!!

#15

I found that :point_up_2: funny because as an African, I would also consider you a foreigner :slight_smile:

That aside, these are really great tips. Especially number 4. Just yesterday, someone was literally begging for anyone on the forum to hire them.

Thanks for sharing!

1 Like
#16

Publishing incorrect writing is not writer’s, but publisher’s fault. And it’s not rationalizing but compromising. Finding a professional writer with a specialized knowledge, who will write you an article for $5? I’m not sure about it… Professional rewriter maybe.

Would you cast a spell that you learned about for years before you could cast it for $5 (and lets say it takes 45mins to cast it)? :slight_smile:

What I’m trying to say is that a highly educated native English speaker won’t do anything for $5 if it takes more than 10 minutes to be done.

#17

Let me familiarize you with the realities here. There are top rated sellers who are great writers who will write articles with correct grammar for $5 and they are frequently right here on the forum.

The point is that even if it’s just $5, the writing needs to be correct. You have no business writing and charging anything for it unless it is correctly written.

4 Likes
#18

You missed the first part of the quoted sentence, which drastically changes the context of it (I’m sure by mistake and not to make your point of view more valid).

Never mind, professional writer with highly specialized knowledge willing to write an article for $5 is a chance no one should miss, indeed.

1 Like
#19

Edit: I have to agree with you on the broken English thing by the way, when it comes to writing. I can’t imagine paying for an article and it’s littered with errors.

I don’t think that having your gig page being readable is misleading.

Most whom need it have a good enough understanding of the language to communicate. Which is all they really need. However they still need to have a professional gig page. Spelling/grammatical errors on your gig page is not professional.

Just because your gig page isn’t in broken English, doesn’t mean that you are tricking the buyer… unless you don’t speak English AT ALL, there’s nothing wrong with it.

2 Likes
#20

Well I know that lol. But remember the part about most buyers being westernized? I was writing from that perspective.

Side note: I want to visit Egypt really badly one day lol

1 Like