My experiment with making extra money on Fiverr is going very well indeed. I never expected to get as many orders as I have and I’m going to update you with what’s been going on.
You might enjoy my first post about starting my Fiverr journey which you can read here:
How I Made $614.40 in My First Month on Fiverr
Upgraded to Level 1 Seller Status
Firstly, this was a nice target to hit fairly early on, but annoyingly I had to wait a month from actually achieving the target criteria for being promoted.
Let me explain why.
In order to progress to the next level seller status there are a series of targets you must hit or maintain to be accepted into the next tier, otherwise you will remain at that seller level until the next account review.
These account reviews happen monthly, on the 15th of each month.
The criteria I had to achieve in order gain promotion were as follows:
• Complete at least 60 days as an active Seller on Fiverr
• Complete at least 10 individual orders (all time)
• Earn at least $400
• Maintain a 4.8 star rating over the course of 60 days
• 90% Response rate over the course of 60 days
• 90% Order completion over the course of 60 days
• 90% On-time Delivery over the course of 60 days
• Avoiding receiving warnings over the course of 30 days
I hit all of these targets bar one just before the 2nd of my reviews since I had joined Fiverr as a seller. So I could not progress.
Which one let me down?
Selling seniority.
That’s right. Things had been going so well that I forgot you had to actually be present on the platform 60 days before you could get to the next level.
Annoying.
I reached out to the Fiverr support team(since I was literally 2 days short of 60) and they came back to me surprisingly promptly to say that the reviews were automatic and that there was nothing they could do about it since I hadn’t met all the requirements.
So once I fulfilled the requirements a few days later I was left waiting for the best part of a month waiting for that promotion.
Adding Video to the Gig Description
Now this is something I was avoiding, probably unnecessarily, but I was petrified of going on camera.
I’m one of those people who cannot stand watching themselves back, or hearing their own voice.
It’s like dragging fingernails down an old chalkboard.
I find it horrendous.
However, I eventually plucked up the courage to do it and posted it onto my gig.
Now Fiverr constantly rolls out this line, “Adding a video to your gig increases conversions by 200%”, hence me facing my fears and actually putting one together and editing it terribly using iMovie.
Well, what a load of nonsense that stat is.
In fact, after adding my video, my gig impressions, views and conversions DECREASED!
It’s like my gig had turned into a ghost town, apart from my repeat clients. It took a while for “new” customers to return and my conversion rates are exactly the same as they were before.
It could be that this statistic is skewed by gigs where providing video is the service itself and therefore videos may increase conversions by 1000% or more.
Or maybe people prefer the mystique of not knowing who their writer is when they order on Fiverr?
Who knows.
Anyway I’ve left the video up just in case it does miraculously spikes views or conversions, but I find that highly unlikely.
Fiverr’s Algorithm: How I Got It Wrong
This was a biggie for me in terms of increasing the amount of orders I received which is obviously crucial if you are to succeed in making extra money on Fiverr.
I had read in some forum somewhere that increasing the number of orders in your queue signals to Fiverr that your gig is in demand and therefore you would climb up the rankings for your keywords.
And this may well be true.
However, what I think (from experience) is more important is the speed of delivery.
The delivery of my normal gigs is 3 days which meant there were times when my queue was STACKED that I was only just being able to deliver them in time.
However, once I had ploughed through that glut, I was able to turn around blogs for clients within the day and suddenly my enquiries took off.
It was as if when I clicked “Deliver Now” a beacon had been lit somewhere letting Fiverr know that I was ready for the next order. Within an hour of finishing I would either have another order or an enquiry into my inbox.
So if you are looking to increase your orders DELIVER FAST!
I now drop whatever I am doing for a Fiverr order and the orders keep on rolling in nicely, I very rarely have a day when I don’t have one come in, which is awesome, but annoying on weekends.
The Importance of Repeat Fiverr Customers
I have also come to discover that Fiverr’s algorithm is highly cyclical.
You get your time at the top of the rankings and then you drop like a stone while other new sellers get their time to shine for a while and then you slowly make your way your way back up Fiverr’s rankings.
It is crucial during these periods that you have built up a network of repeat clients to see you through these down periods.
Without them you are going to be tearing your hair out at the lack of orders when it’s your turn to stand at the back of the line.
These orders also help you get back to the front of the line quicker. Again, the quicker you turn around orders the better your order rate from new customers (in my experience).
Vacation Mode: How Does It Affect Your Fiverr Gig Ranking?
I had the joy of taking my first holiday since taking on the Fiverr platform and I was terrified that I was going to comeback to a ghost town.
So much so that I left my messages turned on so I could talk to possible new clients whilst I was away. This landed me work for when I returned which was made it a worthwhile endeavour.
What’s more, because I had more free time (naturally, I was holiday) my response actually improved, which again seemed to help my gig.
So what about my stats? Have they tanked?
According to the stats going on vacation hasn’t negatively affected my views, impressions or conversions.
However, when I used to search for myself to see where my Fiverr gig was ranking I was usually on the first page or the beginning of my second for my target keywords depending on the popularity of each one.
Now I can’t find myself on any keyword.
And I mean ANYWHERE.
I got 10 pages deep into the search results and gave up at that point.
Yet my orders have come through at a similar (if ever so slightly slower) rate and like I said my stats haven’t really changed. Hmmm. Strange.
I guess we shall see what effect it has in the longer term as I get back into the swing of things…
Future Fiverr Goals
I can now say I have hit all of the necessary criteria to become a level 2 seller (the highest automatic level) I just need a few hundred more dollars to meet the earnings threshold which I very close to.
Annoyingly again I am going to be just short of achieving that in time for December 15th 2018 and I will have to wait until January 15th 2019.
But I am still over the moon to go from nothing at September 15th 2018 to the highest level just four months later.
If I get lucky I may get a “Top Rated Seller” badge which would really help promote my gig and drive sales but I am always conscious that there is only so much I can take on.
I have to balance my social media clients (my main business), this blog, matched betting, and any other new shiny side hustle that I may try my hand at in 2019.
Luckily I had become very quick at writing and can knock out 1,000 words an hour. Which is great for both Fiverr and this blog when I have very limited time to create posts!
Hire Me
If for some weird reason you enjoy my writing and feel that I could help you with your and your company’s blog content then you can always visit my profile on Fiverr and order my gig, or message me first if you want to clarify anything, I usually get back to people within an hour on there.
Or if you have something slightly different you may want to work together on then send me an email on hello (at) advantagedlife (dot) co (dot) uk and I’ll get back you promptly.
Sorry I have to write it out like that, it’s just to prevent scraping software picking up my email and blasting me with spam!
I’ll update you all again in 2019 with my Fiverr progress when hopefully I will be a level 2 seller!
