I have heard of Fiverr when looking for freelance sites, but dismissed it at first. I was already on Elance, which looked like the best site for freelancers, with the most serious buyers. Even on Elance, I've noticed a bunch of buyers who treated it like a content mill and offered $1 for 500 words. Fiverr seemed like yet another place where freelancers worked for spare change.
However, a freelance writer in a LinkedIn group mentioned that $5 was for beginners, and that she, as a Top Rated Seller, could earn up to $125 per assignment. And in Writing For Money by Stephen G. Davies I found not just a recommendation for Fiverr, but a very useful advice, something like: Don't write more than 300 words, it's $5.
I decided to give it a try.
I created my first gig, and got my first order the very next day. I was lucky, in a way; there was a buyer who needed texts for his website about pets, and it looks like he was checking out all the pet gigs on Fiverr. I completed it, got 5 stars, and for about a week, that was it.
I've used the time to browse the forum, learn as much as I could about Fiverr, and also to check out other gigs and see what else I could offer. I created the gig for About Us pages, figuring that people with websites could use it, and another one, for video scripts (I'm a script writer by trade, so that was something I could easily do). Thanks to my first gig, I was already a 5 star seller, and so, a week after the first order, the second one came. This one was for the About Us page, and it was the first such page I have ever written for a client.
It was scary. It was exciting. The client loved it, and immediately ordered another one. He was very nice in his reviews, too. And I was... Wow. I did it. I actually did it. And it was good.
The next day, I got another order. The day after that, another one. And so it began. I got promoted to Level 1, and then to Level 2.
My cat gigs didn't get many orders, but they made me stand out among other writers who did About Us pages and video scripts. People noticed them in the forum. Buyers noticed them. And some of them ordered animal related About Us pages from me because they figured me for an animal lover (correct). Some others may have noticed my minimalist lifestyle gig, which also serves more to set me apart than to bring me direct income. By seeing those gigs, some buyers get a better idea about me, and an impression that I would understand them and help them. And I do.
While most of my work is written for small businesses, a considerable amount is done for charities and the underrepresented, and that makes me happy. I like working with them. I like helping them to get noticed, to express themselves about the good things, the important things they're doing. And the most common comment I get from them is: She really understood what our website is about. That makes me smile. That makes me feel proud. Just as buyers who return a few months later with a new task make me feel proud of myself. I did well, they remembered me, and they want me to work for them once again.
And so, here I am, 5 months after I started on Fiverr, and doing... Well, sometimes doing good, sometimes not as good as I'd like, but overall, I like it. I enjoy it. I love the small, quick jobs, and exploring new things, and experimenting, and writing for a living. And Fiverr offers the possibility for all that.
Would I recommend Fiverr to others? Yes. I already did. Find something you like doing and can do in 5 minutes, or 15 minutes, or half an hour, and offer it. Be respectful to customers, offer good service, and have fun.
Definitely have fun. If you do, sooner or later, it will work.
