The Simplest Way to Get Your First Sale [ARCHIVED from 2015]

[slantlab]

Newbies and Old Timers face the same problem when they roll out a new gig on Fiverr. HOW DO I GET MY FIRST SALE? Newcomers always think it will be so much easier once you level up or you’re a TRS, but I’ve got news for you, getting sales for new gigs is tough no matter what.

Trust me, I have a featured gig and I still have periods with slow or no sales. Some of this is due to Fiverr’s rapid expansion and an influx of competition. Some of it is just the cyclical nature of sales. I have months where I pull in $1500 and months where I make $400. I have tried all sales tricks too: forums, websites, linkedin, a private site, but most of the time unless people have experienced Fiverr they are unlikely to click on some phantom link in a back alley of the internet.

On Building Gigs:

I have had ideas for gigs that I thought would be sure fire successes. I designed my gig, posted awesome samples, did up a video and then I watched them languish in limbo for WEEKS! Then I have had gigs that I did up just for fun (my vector trace gig) and BOOM they take off (no video, basic samples). Sometimes Fiverr sales logic doesn’t make any sense at all.

Okay, okay, I know you’re waiting for the secret to getting your first sale. One more small thing and then on to the juicy part. Please for the love of Jebus, spell check, grammar check, and format your gig!!! I come across so many gigs that have inexplicable errors (proofreading gigs are my favorite for these). Use Fiverr’s format tools too. It takes a little time and can be twitchy, but it WILL make your gig standout from the people who don’t.

HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOO!

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THE BIG SECRET: The easiest way to get your first sale is to sell to a friend or family member. This may sound like a cheat, but let me put it this way…

If you can’t sell your gig to someone you know how do you expect to sell it to a stranger?

1.) Can you sell your gig to a friend? If not, why?

2.) Can you sell your gig where you work? If not, why?

3.) Can you sell your gig to a small business in your town? If not, why?

Those three questions will get you three sales. And with each sale (hopefully) comes a great review.

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The FRIENDS and FAMILY METHOD actually delivers a twofold return. You get your first sale, but MORE IMPORTANTLY you get the chance to run through the process of delivering your gig in a low pressure environment (depending on the quality of the friend). A $5 gig should not take you three hours to deliver. It should take 30 minutes or less. After Fiverr’s commision that’s $8 an hour. For some that’s good. For me it’s not. The point is that you should not be working for pennies (unless you dig that kind of thing).

Value your time, value your service, and buyers will value you.

A CAUTIONARY TALE:

Sales can be a double edged sword too. A year ago or so I saw a guy start up a gig redoing resumes. It was a cool gig and he had no trouble making sales. And that turned into a big problem. At one point he had 80 some orders in his queue. He hadn’t adjusted his delivery times, his prices, or his extras. The gig collapsed under its own success. And it trashed his seller score too, so he literally had no option but to open up another account.

It was painful and humbling to watch.

That’s it for now,

SlantLab signing off.

[timmck]

Hey thanks for the advice. It was Well Put.

[taverr]

Another Zombie thread. LOL.

[nichole92]

Isn’t this against Fiverr TOC. I read that on another post someone bought a gig for another newbie and they both got Fiverr warning and some account inquiries.

[chrisstarkey88]

Why is the only way to get your first sale through a friend or family member? I mean seems to me that a gig with no sales is simply new.I never knew that Fiverr existed until about three months ago.So I offer gigs that seem easy or really good at.I don’t understand why nobody wants to be your first customer.Why don’t people give them a chance? The new seller could be good at what he does and only recently heard about Fiverr.

[paavanj]

Learn Something New From Here… Thank You

[janedavies]

I believe social media is best to get sale, in starting days I target Facebook related groups and advertise my service, it help me to get some regular buyers also.

[fonthaunt]

Fiverr sellers cannot offer gigs to buy gigs or purchase gigs to give a review with no real delivery. People in the same house should not buy from one another as it looks suspicious. A friend, family member or local business can buy a gig as long as it’s a real transaction with a real service delivered.