Why Your Sales Continue to Decline

[realtorwriter]

Remember the time when hard work paid off on Fiverr? That is no longer the case. The mutual partnership and open line of communication that once existed between Fiverr and the seller has vanished. And, although it is blatantly obvious that the company has always had “favorites”, that is not the purpose of this discussion. The purpose to this discussion is to identify why so many sellers are seeing such a huge dip in sales.



As Fiverr continues to grow, they will need to seek other avenues of expansion. Think of it like how we advance via “Fiverr Levels”. In the beginning stages, the quickest way to Level One was to incorporate the original fee. To get to Level two, sellers were then nickeled and dimed these additional/ miscellaneous fees which included percentage of the total sale. Now, to become a Top Rated Seller Fiverr has to make the biggest shift, yet, which includes the implementation of Paid Advertising – with a goal of eventually taking the company Public.



The recent shift in Fiverr’s algorithm has upset many of their hardest working sellers including Level 1, Level 2, and even some Top Rated Seller’s who’ve taken a hit in monthly income. When I read that sellers who once averaged $7,000 in previous years are “hoping” to rake in at least $1,000 in a year when the company is at it’s peak in terms of customer acquisition, I am befuddled. That is preposterous! Personally, I don’t think Paid Advertising is a bad thing. In fact, I’m in favor of it 100%, if executed strategically.



But, don’t even think about trying to contact customer support for answers. I will happily supply you with a can as valuable (if not more) than the responses they will give you.



There was a point where I would have fallen on my sword for Fiverr. Today, I’d rather use that sword to poke my eyes out. The lack of interest and care from this company is beyond frustrating.



But hey, what do I know? I’m just a regular guy fueled by passion…

[careerplus]

Would you mind having a look at my profile?

[david388]

Hi @realtorwriter,



From the tone of your post, it sounds like you’re very upset with things here. Yes, Fiverr’s Customer Support can sometimes be a bit frustrating to deal with. But as a Seller here, it’s important for you - and all of us - to use setbacks and lulls as ways to become more innovative, rather than becoming bitter and pointing a finger at the platform.



In your case, I can already see a handful of ways your profile and Gig should be edited to yield better improvement. Your gigs are writing-based, for instance, but a cursory glance shows a few awkward sentence constructions and other issues with syntax that might give Buyers reason to take pause.



Again - fluctuations in traffic may be partly out of our control here, but building a compelling case to convert the traffic we DO see into actual sales is up to us - not the Fiverr platform.

[realtorwriter]

@david388 if you think I need help with my profile, then you misunderstood my message. I am not doing bad at all. in fact, I’m doing better than most reps according to my start date, net income, and customer experience.



Also, if you feel that the tone of my message is inappropriate then you obviously do not engage in other threads on this forum. In no way am I pointing fingers. I am pointing out legitimate issues and concerns that Fiverr sellers are experiencing – on a day to day basis.



Look, I’m all for solutions, but what you have provided does not solve the bigger picture, nor does it even relate to my initial argument. You started talking about what’s wrong with my page and traffic and all this other crap.



My conversion rate was at 5% at one point. I’m not worried about me. I’m speaking on behalf of the Fiverr community and stating the obvious.



Other than poking my own eyes out, please show me where my message was anything shy of professional… And, I am not. upset. I am passionately unhappy with the way recent events have been handled.



Again, I’m all for solutions. How do you go about fixing the current issue with customer service, and how do sellers get answers to their declining sales? If you’re saying I’m wrong, prove me wrong. We’re here to help each other out and we all want to learn so that we can be equipped for the marketplace.



Best,



Mario

[tsweezey]

Well, for me, with the exception of a week long string of orders, our Fiverr business dropped off dramatically a couple of months ago. And it quite literally did so overnight. We have one gig right now that’s doing okay, but the rest have tanked for some time now.



At this point, we are executing what we already had planned as far as new gigs, outside promotion, etc. It should take another month of executing what we had in our marketing plan. Beyond that, we’ll just keep servicing our existing customer, welcome any new customers, and hope that someday, the orders return. But, we no longer have any plans to incorporate Fiverr into our future marketing plans.



For example, we have a training series we are developing regarding the fundamentals of creating a successful online presence. That training will be now be offered at Udemy now, and not Fiverr.



For what it’s worth, I did a test over a weekend where I offered to basically “give away” some of my gigs. I just wanted to see if anyone was looking. Nadda, zip, zilch. Nobody was looking.



Now that there are competitive gigs listed on my gig page, I no longer feel as though it’s appropriate to drive traffic to Fiverr. Not if it has the chance of bleeding out to another provider. Of course, with fiverr taking 20% already (I’m okay with that), I’m super reluctant to pay for any advertising, just to have that potentially bleed as well. Hopefully, if they decide to offer advertising, they’ll drop the competitive placement of others on the gig for which you are advertising 🙂



And finally… I have no idea what external triggers might affect my earnings. By that I mean, perhaps Fiverr has cut it’s advertising and we are seeing the affect. Or perhaps they’ve lost a bump as it related to their PR efforts.



So for those of you who think that this is just related to level 1’s and 2’s… think again. But alas, it might rebound just as quickly. I hope so. It’s a terrific marketplace.

[belengarcia]

The percentage of sellers that also post on the forums is so small that I don’t think there’s anything obvious to state, only by reading some complaints. People usually complain when they sell less, and don’t do so when they sell more.

Maybe Fiverr isn’t looking for a solution because there’s no problem to solve.

[landongrace]

@david388 has contributed alot to the forum and on behave of the Fiverr community, I am thankful for the value he adds here. You do have to take each small piece of the puzzle to arrive at a big picture. Traffic is not static. Competition is not static. What buyers want is not static. So why do we expect our static offer to deliver sales long term through the changes in the environment. I looked at traffic earlier today and Fiverr is still ranking about 300 overall. E-lance is about at 600. Why does Domino’s Pizza change it’s recipe after 20 years? The environment changes.



I have not experienced any difficulty with CS.

The site is quirky sometimes, but early on the site would crash and be down for hours. I use to go ahead a predownload the items I needed for jobs so that I could work through the blackouts. I think the site has worked quite well over the last year. Whenever there is an issue, I just send a message to CS and they have resolved it each time, well within a day.



I think providing services that naturally have repeat orders is the key. That way we are not relying on a large amount of new clients each month. Not relying on search algorithms.

[david388]

Reply to @landongrace: thanks for your kind words, Landon! 🙂

[david388]

Reply to @belengarcia: without inviting any more personal criticism here, I’ll simply say that I agree wholeheartedly with you!



Venting on the forum a little bit can be cathartic and a great way to blow off some steam. In general however, when my sales hit a lull here, I try to take my downtime to re-strategize and come up with new ideas to improve sales. So far, this has led to a positive outcome every time I’ve had to regroup.



What @tsweezey has pointed out here is also really wonderful advice, for any freelancer. It’s absolutely critical to have a plan B (and a plan C and D), and to know what your thresholds are for executing each of these game plans. Doing so will not only help catch vulnerabilities before they become problems, but can also be a great way to ensure a smooth flow of business, rather than constant peaks and valleys.

[realtorwriter]

@landongrace There is a difference between sucking up and identifying a clear solution. I consider you a vacuum. Put aside the nonsense for a second and really think about this discussion.



There are multiple TRS’s who are experiencing the same growing issues. My first paragraph talks about Fiverr Favorites. That would be you. You don’t even consider the other side of the coin. You just take what Fiverr says at face value. You don’t question the validity, ask appropriate questions, consider other sellers. You just see ME! I’m doing well so the system must be working…



That’s more deadly than an honest disagreement. What value comes from always agreeing with someone? It’s a fair argument and we all love Fiverr as a platform that’s why we’re here.



However, you cannot disregard the facts. The numbers tell us the whole story. Customer Service has become nothing more than canned filled responses and orders have shifted based on optimization. The average person does not understand optimization and they should not have to suffer.



Or should they?

[david388]

Reply to @realtorwriter: @landongrace is anything but a "vacuum."



You just wrote that he doesn’t consider other sellers and only sees himself, but you are completely mistaken. Not only is Landon trying to offer some meaningful tips here, but he’s given tremendously valuable advice to me and many other Sellers on the Forum - advice that has allowed me to generate revenues that I never would have imagined to be possible.



Many of us have tried to offer our own guidance and advice out of an honest desire to help you. It’s up to you to ignore our suggestions, but treating us disrespectfully is really not okay.

[realtorwriter]

@david388 You’re right. Everything is perfect on Fiverr.

[landongrace]

Threads always get hijacked by “dirty links”. Everybody wash their hands!

[tsweezey]

@david388 - As a surgical resident, I’m wondering when you’ll be posting elective procedures for $5? Seriously, thank you for everything you’ve done to integrate my services into scope. Much appreciated.



@landongrace - Yep, David is a class act, and frankly with more folks like him who act as advocates for the marketplace, the buyers and sellers, the better.



@realtorwriter - I don’t think that there’s anyone here that thinks Fiverr is perfect. Personally, our little family business loses thousands of dollar each month as a result of recent changes. I have vented, tried working with support, but alas… it is what it is. It’s not like I have a vote to cast or anything.



All I can do is accept that Fiverr is on a different path than I am. I can walk away, or continue to enjoy what limited business I do receive. With that said, I won’t make a further investment in marketing or championing Fiverr (beyond what we’ve already committed to do this quarter).



I suspect many of us are feeling understandably bitter about the sad reality of having too many eggs in this basket. I know I do at times. Now it’s just a case of maintaining sanity, while trying to protect our own interests. To some degree, it feels like Fiverr just broke up with me 😦

[realtorwriter]

@landongrace lol, never fails.



@tsweezey Mark my words, Fiver Paid ads will launch, and when it does, investment = results. Right now they are in the testing phase, next will be beta, then it will launch to the public.



As for customer service, here’s an idea for better customer service: hire people who care!



Enjoyed the debate guys. Sometimes you just have to agree to disagree. However, you should never underestimate the power of pawns in great numbers…



Thanks again.



Cc: @david388 @belengarcia

[tsweezey]

Reply to @realtorwriter: I’m not sure exactly where you think I disagree. Perhaps you can share the action for which you are advocating, then we can agree or disagree 🙂



I agree about what’s going to happen with ads… I’ve been pretty vocal on that front. As for CS, if you could only see my tickets! Look, I’ve managed CS folks for many years. It’s possible that many of them are in a bind as well. They are powerless, out of loop and very likely unappreciated. With that said, there is one individual where I’ll just ask them to close the ticket immediately if I see they are assigned… out of a predictable frustration. If I need to place a ticket, I try do so when I don’t think that person is on the schedule. It’s almost comical.



About the pawn thing, well, you pretty much already touched on the dynamic here. It’s about revenue. I would assume that if I’m losing money that there’s a chance that they are as well. But if that were the case, they should have figured it out already. So something else is probably going on, and likely nothing that we’ll ever have control over.



For me, I don’t really get much of an advantage being a TRS. Sure, there are a handful of options available to me, more gigs, etc., but it does me no good if my gigs don’t show up. And yes, my tickets are responded to pretty quickly, but most of the time there’s no resolution. So that’s not really a big plus either.



All this take me right back to the same place. What can I do? Well, I can try to mitigate some of the damage by being creative. I can diversify a bit by not relying or committing to Fiverr, but beyond that, I’m not sure what else I can do. Ideas?

[realtorwriter]

@tsweezey That was not meant for you. I tried to separate the sentences, sorry about that 🙂 we’re def on the same page!

[tsweezey]

Reply to @realtorwriter: No worries… I like the discussion either way 🙂

[misscrystal]

There have been paid advertising sites galore on the internet but do people go to them to make purchases?



Fiverr is unique in what it offers and seems to be a success due to that. I hope it never changes.



Give shoppers what they want—a fair mix of products in their search knowing that they are not just being shown paid advertising.

[fonthaunt]

I’ve noticed a trend recently with forum comments that come off like the author has been on Fiverr for years and has crucial insights. I’m surprised at how many of these are actually written by users who have only been on the site for a short time. I’m not saying that new people can’t contribute very helpful things. I haven’t been here that long either compared to some of the true veteran sellers.



I just wonder about this recent influx of comments/tips and sometimes also downright insults (such as the suggestion by @realtorwriter in this thread that a particularly helpful TRS is just a suck-up.) Tips are good, but observation and learning can also be a good way to spend time.

[Guest pinnacle_lawyer]

I had a slight rise this week, I’m sure we just need to weather the storm.

[realtorwriter]

@fonthaunt been using Fiverr since 2012 but my previous account was deleted by a customer service rep who did not know what he was doing. I still have the email.



You want to discuss observations? Lets discuss observations.



By the looks of your account, you started in 2014.



Where would you like to begin?

[inspiredtony]

glad i got here and everyone has made sound comments ,so far for me it’s been a rough month,my impressions,views and clicks have all dropped . my gigs were removed from search one by one…cs has not replied to my tickets 6 days running

[tsweezey]

Well, keep in mind these guys raised 30 million dollars in funding last August. Probably even more since then. The founders make no bones about hitting the billion dollar mark in a couple of years, and are looking to be another ebay or Amazon.



You might remember that years ago, there was a huge issue over at E-Bay when they started bleeding out their own sellers for the company’s benefit. As such, there was a mass exodus of committed sellers, not to mention some really bad press. There was absolutely no loyalty to the sellers, and after a while, the bad press just normalized and E-bay was never the same… except more profitable.



It’s possible that kind of dynamic is happening here as well. Or, perhaps the contrary… Maybe the 30 million didn’t yield the result they wanted and we are feeling the affect. And of course, our fine friends that run Fiverr are pretty notorious for making changes that aren’t particularly well thought out (some are, some aren’t). We could be seeing a result of a poor decision which might be rectified at any time.



In any case, there’s no way to know what’s going on. The only thing for certain is that they don’t seem to be listening, and we have no obvious way to mitigate the problem. With that said, I hope we start to see threads that are more “okay… what now?” related.



I’ve brought up the idea that it might be cool for many of us to build a project entirely with fiverr talent. It would be press worthy, and be an alternative to the marketing we rely on fiverr to do. I think if we have any salvation here, it’s going to be as a result of these kinds of “results oriented” discussions. Once we realize the marketplace has a limited ability to introduce buyers to sellers, we’d have to get super creative. And of course, for many of us… that time, effort and creativity is better spent outside of fiverr.

[david388]

Reply to @tsweezey: I’d be totally into collaborating on a project - if you need script writing or a violinist, count me in!



And speaking of Ebay, looks like they’re going to be feeling the hurt even more this week. Did you hear they got dumped by Paypal?