Fiverr Community Forum

The HOW? Feels unresolved

Your Fiverr Experience
#1

Here is little background, before I chat around the enigma that has been frustrating me and forcing me to give up.
My mother, ever since I was 2( we are Pakistanis) spoke in English with me, she was an enthusiast into bringing intellect through me at an early age. She made me watch Blue Clue and Barney, she made me dream of being an astronaut ( not a very thought of thing here) she did everything she could to muster up my interest in literary side and building my intellect through general knowledge. As long as I remember Ive been speaking reading, thinking feeling and now English like Urdu has become a part of me. Both languages play pivotal role in me being a writer!
I have been writing journals and diaries since grade 4. I have been on forums when I was in 6 grade that was Enid Blyton Society, I have been reading and writing ever since then. And now with exams ending i thought of putting myself out on fiverr, like i did on wattpad. I worked as a proffessional editing and writing intern at a science magazine, I volunteered for programme on leadership.

Here comes the enigmatic part, that has been haunting me for as long as i joined up here. See, I completed a course, I read all the articles and even the forum posts on fiverr.
What i just cant link up, cannot think of, cannot find a solution to or just been able to find an answer is. Most posts, were about new sellers who got a request or had one or two buys, for me thats still pretty far as to where I am starting.

See, i just started out havent got a single request and no buys obviously, how will i ever attract a buyer into purchasing my article( please dont tell me the other stuff about making it interesting and althose techniques because no matter how interesting i appear to be, why would a buyer trust a completely new seller if he hasnt got a single sell, why would someone experiment with their money when they could get the same work in the same amount from a seller who has sold his work ) For me this is beyond bewilderment, the question is why? and how will it ever workout? This is a integral part for fiverr workers to stay here, and on this particular stuff there is no such guideline to follow or workout, if i havent got a single buyer request where I will and how will i get them, and why will a new buyer( despite me being maybe better than existing sellers) will risk it all? Is there this feeling in buyers, to risk it out and if they do why do they do so?
How does a completely new seller with ofcourse no, standing professionally on fiverr and no buyer requests ( and all the bla blas about interesting and intriguing media and titles) ever get an order? and why. And please the suggestion about promoting yourself on social media ( doesnt workout for most people) here because if my social media was so effective I’d rather be working through my links then on fiverr. So this never works out that way for a completely new seller, i wonder how to find an answer to why a buyer trusts a new seller being their first customer.

8 Likes
#2

People do try new sellers, especially if their gigs look good and any offers they send (eg. on the BR page) seem good. But for writing gigs buyers are probably much more likely to check the writing in the gig description and FAQ sections a lot more closely, so it’s probably worth double checking everything written there. Also having a couple of gigs instead of just one gig can help I think. It also depends how much competition there is for those gig topics.

6 Likes
#3

You could shift from resume writing - that I see like a mined field, too many variables involved - to proofreading or article writing. Maybe you can find your audience there. This said, a bit of initial luck may help. I get the critique to the promotesocialmediablah, but the actual advice means “build an online identity”, so people can trust you.

9 Likes
#4

“Love to do whatever i can, i love singing and making videos”.

The above is copied from your profile description. The i’s need to be a capital I.

You have also made the same mistake in your post above.

12 Likes
#5

Every seller starts off as a newbie with zero sales and reviews. Not long ago, I was in the same position that you are currently in. If other new sellers are able to succeed on Fiverr, so can you (provided you have the required skills, of course)! :blush:

It’s time you throw self-doubt out the window and focus on improving your skills and persevering until you succeed/achieve the results you’re aiming for.

Proofreading? Hmm :thinking: I am not so sure about that. Imo, the OP might be better at writing articles. :smiley:

8 Likes
#6

I skillfully craft data you provide me for your resume, ( or an old resume) into impactful sentences and attention grabbing style, that illustrate exactly how you want your employer or respective companies to picture you.

I’m afraid your own sentences aren’t impactful, and your own prose isn’t written in an attention-grabbing style.

If you’re unable to demonstrate your ability to do something, chances are people won’t hire you to do it.

11 Likes
#7

You are still not getting my question, look I haven’t got a single buy. Where will the first buy ever come from? And why will that first buyer want to be my first buyer when he knows there hasnt been a single sell?

I will obviously try to improve and add more other kinds of gigs related to, writing but for now thats my first question.

1 Like
#8

I definitely agree to improving my skills, but noones able to understand my question. How does the first sell ever happen, how does someone just trust you when you cost the same as many others. ( $5 is a minimum) How did u start off, how does the first buy ever happen and when. I just dont get, how will I have the first sell? And my Question remains, why would a buyer experiment to be the first buyer for a new seller? how did it happen for you? There is no link, no guideline.

1 Like
#9

How do I do it? could you demonstrate it or give me a hint.

1 Like
#10

You are a new seller and are in a struggling period, I understand. But this time will be over and you will get pass through it. New sellers does get buyers requests occasionally but they definitely get the requests. What you have to do is visit the buyers request section every hour. You will definitely see some requests there. Send offers to them, low prices offer, straight to point offer.

This will definitely give you sales. After some time you will see a pattern on when new requests appears in your account, so then you don’t have to go to the fiverr every hour.

You also said you were on forums since you started writing, then I advice you to tell your forum members to visit your profile and share it with other users and make them purchase. Give people bonuses like $5. $10 bonus who gets you customers.

There are many other ways to get sales as a new seller but the success and sales also depends upon what type of services you provide.

You are talking about quitting, life is testing you. Just don’t quit. Try, fail, try again! You know i struggled two times in this same account of mine. First, as a new seller to get sales, then fiverr banned me and they restored my account which leads into cancellations of all of my ongoing orders and gigs removed from fiverr marketplace. I struggled twice, but I still remember telling myself, i know me, i trust myself and I can do it.

And if I can, then you can too! I believe.
I didn’t saw your profile yet but I will definitely update this post once I see it.

2 Likes
#11

I was a new seller with $5 gigs at some point, never used buyer requests, never demanded “advice that works” from people, never complained (much). It just got going for me at some point. Someone bought a gig, told me: “We want it like that thing in your portfolio” and there it was.

The buyers don’t mind “experimenting” with new sellers as long as they like what they’re selling. And as long as it’s very clear what is being sold.

Your gig title is difficult to read. A lot of big words. The preview image doesn’t grab attention (and also contains a reference people may not get).

The biggest problem of all is that you’re selling writing services in English while being not from an English-speaking country. And don’t get me wrong, your English can be amazing but it’s still a hard sell. I’m not looking for a person from the US if I need some text in Russian, for instance. I’m not saying it’s impossible but it’s a hard(er) sell.

It’s good that you’re setting up challenging goals for yourself but if you’re interested in getting sales, I’d consider putting up a 2nd gig that is not related (or semi-related) to writing. Formatting or something like that, just to see how it goes. Some people may come for the formatting gig and buy your writing gig as well.

7 Likes
#12

I guess you are very very wrong, in your perception of being a native, an extremely wrong perception because here as we deal it being a second language its more emersed into us, we write better than many writers out there in the world because we learn it more than our own language( which isnt neccesarily the best thing) but we do. And I know for sure, that I often am distinguished as a better writer amongst natives because here English is taught more vigorously. As we suffered through colonial era.Yes I do have alot of mistakes, i definitely need to improve but that definitely has nothing to do with my english skill in general.

Everyone is just telling me they got a gig, but noone is just answering my question. How long does it take, how do you get the first gig, and why do people experiment with a new seller.

1 Like
#13

Thankyou so much. I am glad you have kind words to offer, but I wonder how long will it take? to get one single gig

2 Likes
#14

I believe that people actually did answer your question :wink:

On how did they get first sale.

And on why people experimenting with new sellers:

There is no one uniform answer on your question that you are looking to receive. Everybody had their own experience and as other mentioned:

  1. “How do you get your first gig”
    Some people just create an attractive gig and wait for people to notice, some go to buyer requests
  2. “How long does it take”
    No one will answer this. For some people it takes 2 days for some people months. All depends on you.
  3. “Why do people experiment with a new seller”
    Because they see something that they really like that others don’t offer. It can be anything starting from prices and finishing with content, pictures, designs etc.
8 Likes
#15

I got my first sale within 3 hours of being on the platform. It just happened, there is no magic to it. If people like what you sell, they will buy it. There is no precise answer.

The third question of “why” – if you search the forum, there is a post “Why I gave new seller a chance” (or something like this). It’s an interesting read from a buyer’s perspective.

You don’t need to convince me whether you are a good writer or not. I’m not a native speaker myself, nor am I looking to buy any writing services. You’re interested in getting sales and I’m telling you that this might be one of the factors that gets in the way. Because we have this:

image

It’s a filter and buyers use it. You need to convince them, not me.

PS I’m definitely not wrong about non-natives writing Russian, I’ve read (and edited) those writings. :slight_smile:

5 Likes
#16

I think that we answered to your question and is up to you to understand the answers.

The problem of writing in English and be interesting, convincing and all, is not just a matter of grammar and formal rules, that are anyway key elements. The same can be said for the comprehension of an English speaker, or in general of someone that has a Western culture. It mostly depends by the cultural background, that is a soup made of a whole of references, social conventions, catchphrases, tropes, elements taken from TV shows, books, adverts, newspaper articles and behaviours that no one learned at school because they have just been absorbed along the years.

5 Likes
#17

There’s an issue if you need to ask how to do it if what you’re selling is about words.
You’re basically asking us for a formula but there isn’t any one formula. How/why someone gets their first sale is based on an eclectic mix of who they are, what they offer, what their background is, what they have read, their experience, whether they are and come across as genuine, whom they target, if they have the linguistic prowess to make potential buyers trust them, …

There are so many variables.
For instance, you say you “See, I completed a course, I read all the articles and even the forum posts on fiverr.” Well, that’s great, and I mean it - many people who come here and ask for sales recipes, haven’t even done as much, and that you have, is probably the reason people even care to reply to your post - but it simply might not be enough to succeed in a saturated market.
You may need to do more, relevant, courses, you might need to read good books about marketing and business, you might need to honestly assess your own abilities and whom you can help with them, find out who your potential customers could be and market yourself/your gigs to them, maybe change the direction you are going into, …

Let’s, for one moment, assume that perhaps your English is great but not good enough for the kind of clients you’d like to attract (in our example, small business owners), in which case you have three possibilites - find something else that you can already do at a level that your target customers would pay for, or improve your English to the level needed to convince those buyers, or try to attract a different kind of customers who might be okay with the level of English that you can provide. If you’d choose the latter route, you’re probably looking at resellers/outsourcers whose own English isn’t so good they can judge yours, and/or people who don’t really care about quality (as in perfect grammar, spelling, etc.) but want to order in bulk, and cheaply. Then you need to tailor your offers and pricing structure, etc. around those.

Now let’s assume that your English is already at a level that the clients you’d like to attract would pay for, then you need to align everything to attract this kind of clients. They might expect a professional looking gig image, they might not even look at a $5 gig, etc.

You see, this post already is quite long and it only scratches the very outer layer of the surface. Nobody can really tell you the how for you, as it’s an amalgamate of things, and partly very personal, linked to “the foundations” a seller brings here, their personality, and so on. You need to find out the how and why, and your own path. Forum posts, books, courses, of course, will help you but you need to identify and extract and mix to end up with your very own how and why.

Another thing, for many sellers it’s a process of trial and error. Try out different approaches, don’t be afraid to edit your gig/s and try something different if it doesn’t seem to work.

And then, lastly but probably not even the least important thing - there’s luck. Some people simply are lucky and get their first sale right after signing up, kind of being at the right place at the right time, maybe a reseller being in dire need because their own deadline is approaching, Fiverr shuffling your gig to exactly where someone interested in your offerings is looking at, …

If this isn’t enough of a how for you, sorry, I still hope that it might give you some impetus, what I want to tell you in either case is, you’re young, you have much time ahead of you,

never give up. If something doesn’t work, try a different approach, or try a different thing, but never give up. :slight_smile:

10 Likes
#18

My question has been partly answered still needs some more clues to it.
Anyways I am not convincing anyone, all I am trying to convey is your perception is pretty wrong, you have no idea how people who lived under colonialism of British are now and were back then, we are equally familiar with your social,cultural conventions as you would be. Because we literally live in two places, we use all the elements normally spoken of use in. I can remember reading and watching BBC, when I was barely 4. So when it comes to English and that too, for countries like Pakistan who lived under British Raj, there is no native and non native thing. We have absorbed the British Culture, like no other country could because of how it has impacted us and lived inside of us. I wish you could understand, this.

1 Like
#19

There is no formula but there must be a guideline, that could help.
See, my question is, what Ive seen is most sellers have very similar rates and gigs and their reviews. How do people start, differentiating between a new seller who hasnt sold and other similar sellers who have and that too at same prices.

Its just very frustrating, I am not getting how things will workout. It doesnt seem possible.

1 Like
#20

It’s going to be one of those posts where everyone offers some polite criticism and cautious suggestions of perhaps trying a different approach only to get “no, you are all wrong” and “this is not what I want to hear” in return, isn’t it?

18 Likes