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Problem Solving: Buyers not Reading FAQ


simplybright

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So, I’ve been having an issue for a while now where I receive messages from buyers asking questions that are answered either in my gig description or FAQ section. I’ve taken the time to craft a very solid gig page with a plethora of information that has been fine-tuned over the years. Honestly, I could do with more FAQ options/higher word cap because I have to pick and choose what the MOST important information is and that has been difficult.

While one buyer alone is not an issue, I respond to anywhere from 30-50 messages a day (on top of the orders I have to work on) and it’s just not viable for me to respond to multiple requests when the information is readily available on my gig page. Frankly, it gets really frustrating.

I have a set response where I politely ask buyers to read through my gig/FAQ and if they have any additional questions, I’d be happy to answer. Problem is, probably 1 out of 5 customers get an attitude when I do this. I feel they may be think I’m blowing them off? But again, I only have so much time in a day.

Has anyone seen any success with something particular they do to get clients to read their gig pages more thoroughly? Bonus if it’s BEFORE they even contact you, lol. I feel like a huge obstacle is that a lot of clients order via the mobile app and it’s not extremely evident that there are sections to the gig page with more information. But at this point, I’m really desperate for something that can cut down the unnecessary messaging.

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I’m not sure that the chances of buyers reading the FAQ are any better on desktop since Fiverr broke up the gig structure by inserting ads for other gigs in between long description and FAQ, so you’d think the gig stops there and would have to scroll past the row of ads to even see the FAQ.

I have something like “please read the gig description” right in the 3 package tiers’ descriptions, the small description right below the names of basic/standard/premium gig, which, I assume, almost anyone intending to buy reads, and I think it helps somewhat, but of course you sacrifice a big part of the small character limit instead of putting more key terms/an enticing short description.

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I’m not sure that the chances of buyers reading the FAQ are any better on desktop since Fiverr broke up the gig structure by inserting ads for other gigs in between long description and FAQ, so you’d think the gig stops there and would have to scroll past the row of ads to even see the FAQ.

I have something like “please read the gig description” right in the 3 package tiers’ descriptions, the small description right below the names of basic/standard/premium gig, which, I assume, almost anyone intending to buy reads, and I think it helps somewhat, but of course you sacrifice a big part of the small character limit instead of putting more key terms/an enticing short description.

I agree, that separation in the page is critical considering we have like, what, 10-15 seconds of the customers attention span? I can definitely see how that’s affecting it as well.

In regards to adding it in the description, I’ve experimented a bit with placements/wording/etc. I am at the top end of the word count which I’ve had to go in and edit so many times. It’s hard to give your brand a voice and also include the valuable info for the gig. I used to lead with a note about reading the FAQ/description, but didn’t see much of a help from that. However, it may be time for me to revisit that and see if it can at least give me a little relief lol.

I actually have a huge problem with people not even reading the package information. Like the best I can even guess is that they saw my gig image and messaged me directly without a cursory glance? (How long is your turnaround? How many revisions do I get? What is this price?) All things literally answered in the package part of my gig lol.

Thanks so much for the suggestions and I’ll need to go back and review what info is critical in my description and what can be removed 🙂

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I agree, that separation in the page is critical considering we have like, what, 10-15 seconds of the customers attention span? I can definitely see how that’s affecting it as well.

In regards to adding it in the description, I’ve experimented a bit with placements/wording/etc. I am at the top end of the word count which I’ve had to go in and edit so many times. It’s hard to give your brand a voice and also include the valuable info for the gig. I used to lead with a note about reading the FAQ/description, but didn’t see much of a help from that. However, it may be time for me to revisit that and see if it can at least give me a little relief lol.

I actually have a huge problem with people not even reading the package information. Like the best I can even guess is that they saw my gig image and messaged me directly without a cursory glance? (How long is your turnaround? How many revisions do I get? What is this price?) All things literally answered in the package part of my gig lol.

Thanks so much for the suggestions and I’ll need to go back and review what info is critical in my description and what can be removed 🙂

I find that most people who message me have not seen my gigs. I’m not sure how they even found me. They ask for things that are not about my gigs at all.

Up until a few months ago I could see they were messaging me directly from my gigs since I could see the gig thumbnail next to their message.

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I agree, that separation in the page is critical considering we have like, what, 10-15 seconds of the customers attention span? I can definitely see how that’s affecting it as well.

In regards to adding it in the description, I’ve experimented a bit with placements/wording/etc. I am at the top end of the word count which I’ve had to go in and edit so many times. It’s hard to give your brand a voice and also include the valuable info for the gig. I used to lead with a note about reading the FAQ/description, but didn’t see much of a help from that. However, it may be time for me to revisit that and see if it can at least give me a little relief lol.

I actually have a huge problem with people not even reading the package information. Like the best I can even guess is that they saw my gig image and messaged me directly without a cursory glance? (How long is your turnaround? How many revisions do I get? What is this price?) All things literally answered in the package part of my gig lol.

Thanks so much for the suggestions and I’ll need to go back and review what info is critical in my description and what can be removed 🙂

I actually have a huge problem with people not even reading the package information.

Some of them can’t be bothered to read the entire title, and order something that you don’t offer. 😝

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I find that most people who message me have not seen my gigs. I’m not sure how they even found me. They ask for things that are not about my gigs at all.

Up until a few months ago I could see they were messaging me directly from my gigs since I could see the gig thumbnail next to their message.

@misscrystal I had that same issue during the summer last year. I honestly have no idea what was going on or why it was happening. I got to a point where I had to label them spam because responding didn’t really make much sense.

@catwriter no lie though! lol.

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I have buyer asking me several times if I am fluent in English and can have a proper conversation. Even though I answer, they will ask the same question again. I have taken English test provided by Fiverr so that question is kind of useless to ask for several times.

I agree that a lot of people don’t read what sellers are selling. I recreate not design out of nothing. When someone asks me to provide with design concept in revisions it’s quite frustrating. If I could provide unique designs I would have stated in my gig “I provide 100% unique designs”.

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I have buyer asking me several times if I am fluent in English and can have a proper conversation. Even though I answer, they will ask the same question again. I have taken English test provided by Fiverr so that question is kind of useless to ask for several times.

I agree that a lot of people don’t read what sellers are selling. I recreate not design out of nothing. When someone asks me to provide with design concept in revisions it’s quite frustrating. If I could provide unique designs I would have stated in my gig “I provide 100% unique designs”.

@pyonarts I get this every once in a while as well. I know people can technically lie on their profile, but if you’ve taken the test to provide your fluency, there shouldn’t be any questions. It’s almost like they’re calling you a liar which is uncomfortable.

@misscrystal I get that same thing! It baffles me - how did you even find the means to contact me and yet bypass ALL this information? I know you can read because you read the “message this seller” button lol.

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I feel your pain! I get multiple messages per day with simple questions that I believe are clearly answered in my gig description. I tend to think that shorter descriptions are better than longer ones. Some people see large chunks of writing and their eyes glaze over. Things like bold, highlight, bulleted lists are more easily understood, I think.

Of course, I still have people sending messages about basic things, so maybe I’m completely wrong. I do wonder why some contact me with apparently no idea what I actually do (and it’s not that complicated).

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I feel your pain! I get multiple messages per day with simple questions that I believe are clearly answered in my gig description. I tend to think that shorter descriptions are better than longer ones. Some people see large chunks of writing and their eyes glaze over. Things like bold, highlight, bulleted lists are more easily understood, I think.

Of course, I still have people sending messages about basic things, so maybe I’m completely wrong. I do wonder why some contact me with apparently no idea what I actually do (and it’s not that complicated).

My gig description is made up of mostly bullet points because I agree, seeing paragraphs of info hurts my eyes and I’m lazy. I have like a 3 sentence intro (because I’m still trying to inject some personality into my business lol) and then a huge breakdown of the packages, gig extras, etc.

The FAQ I may need to review and see if I can combine some questions? The character limit is so low on that one that it really makes it difficult. I wish there was a higher cap on the number of questions you can have. There are so many questions I get asked frequently that I can’t include because of it.

I wish there was a magical fix to make people read! lol.

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There are some buyers who contact a bunch of sellers with the same list of questions; they consider it a waste of time to read so many gig descriptions, and just want stuff spelled out for them.

I tend to tell them that I’m not a good match for their needs. I mean, if they can’t be bothered to read my gig description, they might not read my questions, either (or answer them properly).

What annoys me more than those buyers are sellers (who want to buy from me) who ask about, say, price and delivery time, even though they know exactly where in the gig to find that information.

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There are some buyers who contact a bunch of sellers with the same list of questions; they consider it a waste of time to read so many gig descriptions, and just want stuff spelled out for them.

I tend to tell them that I’m not a good match for their needs. I mean, if they can’t be bothered to read my gig description, they might not read my questions, either (or answer them properly).

What annoys me more than those buyers are sellers (who want to buy from me) who ask about, say, price and delivery time, even though they know exactly where in the gig to find that information.

Great minds think alike - I have a standard response I send to clients when I get that “vibe” from them about how I won’t be a good fit for their needs. I used to work it differently, but found a lot of customers would get combative, which was super weird? I still get it from time to time and I have to be like “Look, I was really trying to be polite. I just have no interest in working on your project.” Sometimes they need the blunt truth as well.

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So, I’ve been having an issue for a while now where I receive messages from buyers asking questions that are answered either in my gig description or FAQ section. I’ve taken the time to craft a very solid gig page with a plethora of information that has been fine-tuned over the years. Honestly, I could do with more FAQ options/higher word cap because I have to pick and choose what the MOST important information is and that has been difficult.

While one buyer alone is not an issue, I respond to anywhere from 30-50 messages a day (on top of the orders I have to work on) and it’s just not viable for me to respond to multiple requests when the information is readily available on my gig page. Frankly, it gets really frustrating.

I have a set response where I politely ask buyers to read through my gig/FAQ and if they have any additional questions, I’d be happy to answer. Problem is, probably 1 out of 5 customers get an attitude when I do this. I feel they may be think I’m blowing them off? But again, I only have so much time in a day.

Has anyone seen any success with something particular they do to get clients to read their gig pages more thoroughly? Bonus if it’s BEFORE they even contact you, lol. I feel like a huge obstacle is that a lot of clients order via the mobile app and it’s not extremely evident that there are sections to the gig page with more information. But at this point, I’m really desperate for something that can cut down the unnecessary messaging.

While one buyer alone is not an issue, I respond to anywhere from 30-50 messages a day (on top of the orders I have to work on) and it’s just not viable for me to respond to multiple requests when the information is readily available on my gig page.

Maybe Fiverr should have provide a template type response option, if a button is pressed, customised depending on the buyer’s message.

Until then, maybe an app could be created that would generate a template like response customised to what the buyer is asking, but taking relevant info from a gig page (if it knows what gig is being asked about - eg. if that info could be pasted in if available. If not it could state the answers for different gigs (if the answers are different)).

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While one buyer alone is not an issue, I respond to anywhere from 30-50 messages a day (on top of the orders I have to work on) and it’s just not viable for me to respond to multiple requests when the information is readily available on my gig page.

Maybe Fiverr should have provide a template type response option, if a button is pressed, customised depending on the buyer’s message.

Until then, maybe an app could be created that would generate a template like response customised to what the buyer is asking, but taking relevant info from a gig page (if it knows what gig is being asked about - eg. if that info could be pasted in if available. If not it could state the answers for different gigs (if the answers are different)).

Isn’t that what quick responses are for? I mean, you have to compose them yourself, but still …

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Isn’t that what quick responses are for? I mean, you have to compose them yourself, but still …

But quick responses don’t take any notice of what the sender said. My idea would.

With quick responses the seller has to pick the right one and may take longer to pick the right one.

With my idea the app would pick the best response to the buyer’s message.

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But quick responses don’t take any notice of what the sender said. My idea would.

With quick responses the seller has to pick the right one and may take longer to pick the right one.

With my idea the app would pick the best response to the buyer’s message.

Well, you know, you could compose several of your own to choose from …

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Well, you know, you could compose several of your own to choose from …

And what if there were 30 or more responses that you could give depending on the message you receive? Or more if there were multiple questions in the message? How much time is it going to take the seller to pick the right responses in those cases? Plus it it would need the ability to easily keep those responses up to date with what is in the gigs/gig packages.

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And what if there were 30 or more responses that you could give depending on the message you receive? Or more if there were multiple questions in the message? How much time is it going to take the seller to pick the right responses in those cases? Plus it it would need the ability to easily keep those responses up to date with what is in the gigs/gig packages.

No point in having Fiverr write the responses either, in that case …

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No point in having Fiverr write the responses either, in that case …

Well the point is an app could do all that (generate the responses) a lot faster (especially when there are many messages with standard responses - eg. 30 to 50 messages per day), saving the seller from having to manually pick the best responses or type the best response. Or maybe a browser plugin could be faster.

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