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Some Harsh Truths About A Myth


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Let’s play this game.
Please let me know if this sounds too familiar?

[scene 1]
W : Can you draw me a picture?
Me : Yes sure, let me know what you need and I’ll give you a quote.
W( totally shocked out of wits) : (Gasp) YOU WANT MONEY??? I THOUGHT YOU LOVED DRAWING???


[scene 2]
X : Can you fix my car?
Me : Sure let me check what’s wrong and I’ll tell you the price.
X( Utter disbelief) : YOU WANT MONEY???


[scene 3]
Y : I need a website done.
Me : Sure the full stack service will cost you around $600 approx. depending on the context.
Y( False teeth and real intentions falling out of mouth) : I can’t believe you’d ever charge me for this! Anyway, I can let you do it for exposure.


[scene 4]
Z: A’ight I need a cake that will feed a 100 people plus I need 4 dozen custom cupcakes.
Me : Okay, so how much are you looking to spend?
Z( feeling generous) : No more than $30.
Me : Only Betty Crocker can save you now.


If any one of this seems familiar to you, I feel sorry for you. I know the feeling.
“How dare you try and support yourself with something you love and are good at, right? Shame on You!”

I’ve faced this a zillion times when I had my own business, and I’m facing the same kind of thing here at Fiverr as well.

Infact I was recently contacted by someone who wanted me to do something for him for one fourth of the price in return for good comments. All I could do was politely refuse him, since I know I won’t be needing good comments as a bribe. I know how good I am, and I can gather proper reviews all by myself, thank you very much!

Again there was this lady at Fiverr who wanted me to work for “exposure”. To be frank, the unbelievable guts in these people make me laugh inside. Unfortunately ,these strategies do work on a few gullible people.

EXPOSURE is an urban myth. If you are one of those just starting out, please know this: Exposure is what someone else promises to lure you to give your work for free. It may be in the form of anything, music, illustrations, goods and services etc.
“Out there” is what you decide to do, either because you know it is good, or hope so, or test if it will work. And then you end up miserably disappointed.

I can count in the fingers of one foot the total number of my works I have ever sold from “exposure” i.e. NIL, I had to learn the hard way back then, just like any other budding artist.

If you are on your way, and if you are reading this, please, DON’T DO IT. I agree it might be of some value if the conditions such as time, location, and market condition, and the people, are right, but the chances are one in a thousand. In short, if by any miniscule chance it is not a scam, it might definitely be of a negligible value.

People start growing noses once you start asking them for payment. What I reply when people tell me “But You’ll Get Exposure!” is “People die of exposure. I don’t need it.”

And then when they can’t win with you, they end up saying things like "“Your drawings aren’t that good anyways. Find a real career!
It’s exactly like men who get rejected by women after an unsuccessful episode of wooing end up saying “You’re ugly anyways, I deserve much better!

Trust me, the grapes are never sour. You and your work are awesome. Believe in yourself.
If you ever have even a second thought for not having taken up that job for exposure, know this: you did the right thing. Have some self respect. You will do fine all by yourself.

Finally, to quote the Joker:

8ffaf8d93fa3bb4b504eab2ef4b9f69d.jpg.778f7bf3a02f956d504c39592f126df0.jpg

~ Regards,
The Velocigraphtor

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Let’s play this game.

Please let me know if this sounds too familiar?

[scene 1]

W : Can you draw me a picture?

Me : Yes sure, let me know what you need and I’ll give you a quote.

W( totally shocked out of wits) : (Gasp) YOU WANT MONEY??? I THOUGHT YOU LOVED DRAWING???


[scene 2]

X : Can you fix my car?

Me : Sure let me check what’s wrong and I’ll tell you the price.

X( Utter disbelief) : YOU WANT MONEY???


[scene 3]

Y : I need a website done.

Me : Sure the full stack service will cost you around $600 approx. depending on the context.

Y( False teeth and real intentions falling out of mouth) : I can’t believe you’d ever charge me for this! Anyway, I can let you do it for exposure.


[scene 4]

Z: A’ight I need a cake that will feed a 100 people plus I need 4 dozen custom cupcakes.

Me : Okay, so how much are you looking to spend?

Z( feeling generous) : No more than $30.

Me : Only Betty Crocker can save you now.


If any one of this seems familiar to you, I feel sorry for you. I know the feeling.

“How dare you try and support yourself with something you love and are good at, right? Shame on You!”

I’ve faced this a zillion times when I had my own business, and I’m facing the same kind of thing here at Fiverr as well.

Infact I was recently contacted by someone who wanted me to do something for him for one fourth of the price in return for good comments. All I could do was politely refuse him, since I know I won’t be needing good comments as a bribe. I know how good I am, and I can gather proper reviews all by myself, thank you very much!

Again there was this lady at Fiverr who wanted me to work for “exposure”. To be frank, the unbelievable guts in these people make me laugh inside. Unfortunately ,these strategies do work on a few gullible people.

EXPOSURE is an urban myth. If you are one of those just starting out, please know this: Exposure is what someone else promises to lure you to give your work for free. It may be in the form of anything, music, illustrations, goods and services etc.

“Out there” is what you decide to do, either because you know it is good, or hope so, or test if it will work. And then you end up miserably disappointed.

I can count in the fingers of one foot the total number of my works I have ever sold from “exposure” i.e. NIL, I had to learn the hard way back then, just like any other budding artist.

If you are on your way, and if you are reading this, please, DON’T DO IT. I agree it might be of some value if the conditions such as time, location, and market condition, and the people, are right, but the chances are one in a thousand. In short, if by any miniscule chance it is not a scam, it might definitely be of a negligible value.

People start growing noses once you start asking them for payment. What I reply when people tell me “But You’ll Get Exposure!” is “People die of exposure. I don’t need it.”

And then when they can’t win with you, they end up saying things like "“Your drawings aren’t that good anyways. Find a real career!

It’s exactly like men who get rejected by women after an unsuccessful episode of wooing end up saying “You’re ugly anyways, I deserve much better!

Trust me, the grapes are never sour. You and your work are awesome. Believe in yourself.

If you ever have even a second thought for not having taken up that job for exposure, know this: you did the right thing. Have some self respect. You will do fine all by yourself.

Finally, to quote the Joker:

~ Regards,

The Velocigraphtor

I hate it when some people think that, just because some people love what they do it means they shouldn´t get paid. Helloooo, the perfect job is when you do what you love and you get paid.

Have some self respect. You will do fine all by yourself.

The Joker in the meme is right, ˝If you´re good at something, never do it for free˝. Well, unless you want to do it for a charity purpose, but that´s another scene, another place, another story.

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I hate it when some people think that, just because some people love what they do it means they shouldn´t get paid. Helloooo, the perfect job is when you do what you love and you get paid.

Have some self respect. You will do fine all by yourself.

The Joker in the meme is right, ˝If you´re good at something, never do it for free˝. Well, unless you want to do it for a charity purpose, but that´s another scene, another place, another story.

the perfect job is when you do what you love and you get paid.

True @fitrigwrites4u

I’ve literally have people hurl abuses at me just because I wouldn’t provide my service to them free of cost in the name of a pseudo-exposing racket.

What I am doing has value. What wrong am I doing buy charging for it?

Ofcourse it’s okay if you want to gift someone your creation, or a charity. Other than that, it is unfair and should be avoided at all cost!

I believe it serves as an acid test phase every budding artist has to go through at some phase, which ends up strengthening their morales and awareness at later points.

The scope of this post is to make them aware beforehand so they don’t have to go through that acid test phase, but directly skip to something that’ll benefit them for a long time to come 🙂

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the perfect job is when you do what you love and you get paid.

True @fitrigwrites4u

I’ve literally have people hurl abuses at me just because I wouldn’t provide my service to them free of cost in the name of a pseudo-exposing racket.

What I am doing has value. What wrong am I doing buy charging for it?

Ofcourse it’s okay if you want to gift someone your creation, or a charity. Other than that, it is unfair and should be avoided at all cost!

I believe it serves as an acid test phase every budding artist has to go through at some phase, which ends up strengthening their morales and awareness at later points.

The scope of this post is to make them aware beforehand so they don’t have to go through that acid test phase, but directly skip to something that’ll benefit them for a long time to come 🙂

What I am doing has value. What wrong am I doing buy charging for it?

Nothing wrong with that. If anyone tries to make you feel it´s wrong, avoid them at all cost. 🙂

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the perfect job is when you do what you love and you get paid.

True @fitrigwrites4u

I’ve literally have people hurl abuses at me just because I wouldn’t provide my service to them free of cost in the name of a pseudo-exposing racket.

What I am doing has value. What wrong am I doing buy charging for it?

Ofcourse it’s okay if you want to gift someone your creation, or a charity. Other than that, it is unfair and should be avoided at all cost!

I believe it serves as an acid test phase every budding artist has to go through at some phase, which ends up strengthening their morales and awareness at later points.

The scope of this post is to make them aware beforehand so they don’t have to go through that acid test phase, but directly skip to something that’ll benefit them for a long time to come 🙂

Nobody asked me to do anything free when I started out. Surprised.

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Nobody asked me to do anything free when I started out. Surprised.

@fitrigwrites4u exactly 🙂 Unfortunately no two buyers are alike. Surprisingly there are quite a few of those free hoarders around.

@writer99025 I envy you brother, since you didn’t have any of such unpleasant experiences. There is no limit to what shamelessness level these people may acquire 🙂

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@fitrigwrites4u exactly 🙂 Unfortunately no two buyers are alike. Surprisingly there are quite a few of those free hoarders around.

@writer99025 I envy you brother, since you didn’t have any of such unpleasant experiences. There is no limit to what shamelessness level these people may acquire 🙂

Yeah, I’ve been very lucky on Fiverr, very few bad experiences. Luck plays a big part, no doubt.

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@fitrigwrites4u exactly 🙂 Unfortunately no two buyers are alike. Surprisingly there are quite a few of those free hoarders around.

@writer99025 I envy you brother, since you didn’t have any of such unpleasant experiences. There is no limit to what shamelessness level these people may acquire 🙂

@velocigraphtor There are many types of buyers. Some are honest, some want discounts, some want freebies, some are nice, some are rude, etc. IMO, those who want to get your service for free are not real buyers, they are just acting buyers (they act as if they want to purchase your service, but in the end they want it for free. And this type of buyers are usually manipulative with the wording they use, to make you feel bad for not giving them a free service. Don´t fall into their trap).

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Let’s play this game.

Please let me know if this sounds too familiar?

[scene 1]

W : Can you draw me a picture?

Me : Yes sure, let me know what you need and I’ll give you a quote.

W( totally shocked out of wits) : (Gasp) YOU WANT MONEY??? I THOUGHT YOU LOVED DRAWING???


[scene 2]

X : Can you fix my car?

Me : Sure let me check what’s wrong and I’ll tell you the price.

X( Utter disbelief) : YOU WANT MONEY???


[scene 3]

Y : I need a website done.

Me : Sure the full stack service will cost you around $600 approx. depending on the context.

Y( False teeth and real intentions falling out of mouth) : I can’t believe you’d ever charge me for this! Anyway, I can let you do it for exposure.


[scene 4]

Z: A’ight I need a cake that will feed a 100 people plus I need 4 dozen custom cupcakes.

Me : Okay, so how much are you looking to spend?

Z( feeling generous) : No more than $30.

Me : Only Betty Crocker can save you now.


If any one of this seems familiar to you, I feel sorry for you. I know the feeling.

“How dare you try and support yourself with something you love and are good at, right? Shame on You!”

I’ve faced this a zillion times when I had my own business, and I’m facing the same kind of thing here at Fiverr as well.

Infact I was recently contacted by someone who wanted me to do something for him for one fourth of the price in return for good comments. All I could do was politely refuse him, since I know I won’t be needing good comments as a bribe. I know how good I am, and I can gather proper reviews all by myself, thank you very much!

Again there was this lady at Fiverr who wanted me to work for “exposure”. To be frank, the unbelievable guts in these people make me laugh inside. Unfortunately ,these strategies do work on a few gullible people.

EXPOSURE is an urban myth. If you are one of those just starting out, please know this: Exposure is what someone else promises to lure you to give your work for free. It may be in the form of anything, music, illustrations, goods and services etc.

“Out there” is what you decide to do, either because you know it is good, or hope so, or test if it will work. And then you end up miserably disappointed.

I can count in the fingers of one foot the total number of my works I have ever sold from “exposure” i.e. NIL, I had to learn the hard way back then, just like any other budding artist.

If you are on your way, and if you are reading this, please, DON’T DO IT. I agree it might be of some value if the conditions such as time, location, and market condition, and the people, are right, but the chances are one in a thousand. In short, if by any miniscule chance it is not a scam, it might definitely be of a negligible value.

People start growing noses once you start asking them for payment. What I reply when people tell me “But You’ll Get Exposure!” is “People die of exposure. I don’t need it.”

And then when they can’t win with you, they end up saying things like "“Your drawings aren’t that good anyways. Find a real career!

It’s exactly like men who get rejected by women after an unsuccessful episode of wooing end up saying “You’re ugly anyways, I deserve much better!

Trust me, the grapes are never sour. You and your work are awesome. Believe in yourself.

If you ever have even a second thought for not having taken up that job for exposure, know this: you did the right thing. Have some self respect. You will do fine all by yourself.

Finally, to quote the Joker:

~ Regards,

The Velocigraphtor

Have some self respect. You will do fine all by yourself.

Very correct. As soon as you get to level 2, double that rate from $5 to $10 and not only will you make more, the idiots you are describing will almost completely vanish. The $5 price is a magnet for them.

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Have some self respect. You will do fine all by yourself.

Very correct. As soon as you get to level 2, double that rate from $5 to $10 and not only will you make more, the idiots you are describing will almost completely vanish. The $5 price is a magnet for them.

Yes that’s something I’m looking forward to. As for now, I’m very close to the L1 margin. Crossing L2 would only mean I start charging the actual value of my service for what it’s worth! For now, it’s all about getting more orders and avoiding such parasites. 🙂

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Yes that’s something I’m looking forward to. As for now, I’m very close to the L1 margin. Crossing L2 would only mean I start charging the actual value of my service for what it’s worth! For now, it’s all about getting more orders and avoiding such parasites. 🙂

I’m very close to the L1 margin.

Yes, grab any deal you can from buyer requests now to get L1, then you can be a bit more picky as you head to L2. you are almost there, good luck.

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I’m very close to the L1 margin.

Yes, grab any deal you can from buyer requests now to get L1, then you can be a bit more picky as you head to L2. you are almost there, good luck.

Thank you so much @newsmike ! A pat in the back at times feels really good 🙂

Yes just one more to go. Too bad my past instincts have started taking a toll and I’ve already started being very picky, which is in turn affecting my order rates. But I don’t mind 🙂 Just need to stay away from “exposure”, as it is 😃

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It happens everywhere, especially in the creative field. Every tattoo artist, photographer a.s.o. can tell you this.

Funny enough, last week I accidentally send a buyer a custom offer with a price tag of $75.000,- instead of $7.500 and was wondering why he didn’t react. 😂

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@velocigraphtor That is a joke! Who are those people? 😠

Oh maybe they are looking for a new photographer who is still trying to build a portfolio? I have heard some photographers would do it for free. Is that true? I don´t know much about photography business.

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Speaking of artist, some people need to remember this quote, ˝Buy art from a living artist. The dead ones don´t need the money.˝

I wonder if even the dead ones had to face the same problem?

Imagine a conversation between a free hoarder and Shakespeare

FH: I cannot payeth thee. Wilt thou worketh for exposure?

William Shakespeare: Of course, right after I showeth thou the way out.

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I wonder if even the dead ones had to face the same problem?

Imagine a conversation between a free hoarder and Shakespeare

FH: I cannot payeth thee. Wilt thou worketh for exposure?

William Shakespeare: Of course, right after I showeth thou the way out.

@velocigraphtor LOL. While I was imagining it, it cracked me up. You are such a bundle of joy. 😂

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I charge even my closest friends and family in case they need a service from me. That’s the nature of the businesses. 🙂

Yes that’s one guru mantra you’ve imparted to me. It’s true, without that strong mindset, its better off doing only charity work without any financial progress in life.

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