Figuring Out What You Want

When choosing what to do on Fiverr (or in life), it's a good idea to figure out what you want, and what it really means. Not what others think that you should want, not what is considered appropriate in your family/neighborhood/city, but what you want, and what it means for you.

Yes, of course, you want to make money. Maybe you just need pocket money, or you need money to pay bills and feed your family and avoid starving to death, or you're trying to supplement your income... Whatever your needs may be, the chances are, if you're on Fiverr, you're trying to earn money, unless you're one of the rare members who need something to do with their time (and even they don't work for free).

But, other than not starving to death, what do you want? What do you want to be? What do you want to do? Sure, you can do a lot of stuff you don't like if you have to, and not just for money; nobody enjoys washing dishes or scrubbing floors or cleaning the toilet, but people who don't want to live in filth do it anyway. However, what's the point of spending day after day, month after month, year after year doing something that you hate? You might manage to pay the bills that way, at least for a while, but your happiness and your health would suffer, and you'd end up hating your life, and possibly hating everyone you feel responsible for.

On the other hand, if you figure out what you want and manage to earn money doing that, there will be no burnout. You will enjoy it. You will work with joy. Not every project or every part of it will be enjoyable, but overall, you'll be happy. Your family will be happier that way, too.

But how do you figure out what it is?

There's no definite answer that I'm aware of, but if you don't have even the slightest idea what it is, it might help if you start thinking about the things you enjoy doing. They don't have to be related to any kind of work in the usual sense; list them anyway. Reading books, watching movies, watching sports, taking long walks, watching clouds, making stuff out of chestnuts... Whatever you like, there are other people who like it, too; and if you really know a lot about it, people will be willing to pay for your knowledge. Book recommendations, movie recommendations, tips and tricks on finding the best route for a walk and what to bring with you, pictures of the clouds changing throughout the day, how to make this or that with nothing but chestnuts and toothpicks... Use your imagination, and then find a place where you can sell it (say, Fiverr), or create one. Or create several.

A very important part of this process is, once you've gotten an idea about what it is that you want, figuring out what it actually means. Say, you want to design clothes. Is it high fashion, and do you want to be famous? Or do you absolutely love the look of joy on your friend's little daughter's face when you tweak a little something on her simple dress, so it looks special and different from anything else?

For me, the real meaning was the difficult part. I knew I wanted to write for a living, but it was only a few years ago that I realized that my name didn't have to be on it. It can be, no problem; I certainly don't mind if my story is published under my name. But it doesn't have to be. I've realized that I honestly don't care if nobody knows that I've written the script for that video, or that I'm the real author of this article or that story. And once I knew that, I could stop trying to do stuff I've read I should do as a writer, and start making money by writing instead.

Is it always perfect? No. Sometimes there are annoying people to deal with (but there's no avoiding them, no matter what you do), and sometimes there are dry spells (which I use to learn, improve, and try new stuff). However, I know why I'm doing what I'm doing, and it's not just because I'm desperate to avoid starvation. I've figured out what I want (write for a living) and what it really means (anonymous is fine, as long as I get paid for it), I have my long-term goals in mind, and it works.

It really works.

Organic Followers Are People!

Every now and then, I notice someone seeking to buy or sell "organic followers" for a Facebook page, Twitter account, Instagram account, or some other social media page/account/whatever.

They sound so mysterious, these organic followers.

Are they like organic food?

Well, strictly speaking, almost all food is organic. If I remember correctly, other than some salts that we need, there's no such thing as inorganic food. Rocks are inorganic, and you better not eat them. Metals are inorganic. Walls of your house are inorganic, unless you're a witch living in a house made of candy.

In other words, organic food doesn't simply mean that your food is organic – if it's edible, it's almost certainly organic – it means that your food is supposed to be super-healthy and safe to eat. It's not really as healthy as those selling it would want you to believe, but it's advertised as such.

Just like organic followers are advertised as safe. They'll follow the account you want them to follow, and stay with it forever.

But what are they, and how do you get them?

If you wish, try to imagine Charlton Heston saying this: "Organic followers are people!"

Wait, what?

That's what the term "organic followers" means. People.

People like your Aunt Amanda, who wanted to be a ballerina when she was a little girl, but is now selling insurance, and hating it.

People like Cousin Molly, who works in retail and wants to get married. Or like your friend Linda, who is working hard to become a nurse because she enjoys helping people; or her sister Megan who is a doctor.

There's also your Uncle Bob, who is a carpenter. And your Mom, a proud housewife and a mother of four. And your Dad, who recently got retired but still wants to work. And this girl you know, who wants to travel the world and become a marine biologist and...

And many others.

People.

People with hopes and dreams, people who desire and get bored and tired and want a lot but have a limited amount of time and energy.

People who are all labeled as "organic followers" and seen as numbers following a social media account.

But why would they? What's in it for them? Why should they care about that social media account? Will it solve one or more of their problems? Will it entertain them? Will it do something useful for them? Who is the person or the company behind that account, anyway, and what does that person or company want from all these people? To help them (how, exactly), or just to sell them stuff that will clutter their space and their lives and do nothing good for them?

When thinking about how to get (and keep) "organic followers", those are the questions that you might want to answer.

Because organic followers are people, not just numbers following a social media account. And they should be treated with respect, and offered something of value. Just the way you'd want your friends and family to be treated.

Work in Progress

Freelancing is, just like everything else (life included), a work in progress. There's always room for improvement: improving skills you apply to do the task, improving your marketing skills, improving the presentation of your offer, to name just a few.

It all applies to Fiverr, too, and that's what I've been doing since I got back from vacation. Obviously, I'm not done yet, nor will I ever be completely done; so far, I've taken a few steps, plan on taking a few more, and keep learning from the more experienced sellers. While I have yet to see the results, it doesn't discourage me, because I'm aware that seeing results of anything takes time.

So, what have I done so far?

I've changed my profile a bit, and added a few skills, as well as my education info (though I'm not sure whether The Faculty of Dramatic Arts from Belgrade, Serbia, is going to mean anything to anyone).

I have created another gig, for whiteboard animation video scripts. I've already written a bunch, and it was covered by my main gig (video scripts in general), but a separate gig might make some things simpler. Or not. I'll see what happens. It might also increase the overall exposure of my gigs (or, again, maybe it won't).

I have switched almost all of my gigs to packages (the only exception is the one for totally custom orders), and I've added an extensive FAQ to the main gig. I was afraid of switching my main gig to the packages system, but, hey, right now I'm getting only a few sales anyway, and I'll have to do it sooner or later. It's best to get it over with. Adding the FAQ has also enabled me to shorten the description of the gig, change it a bit, and add a call to action.

I have altered some gig pictures, and added text to them, mentioning the services offered in the gig.

And the plans?

I have ideas for two more gigs (one for scripts for kinetic typography videos (DONE 3 days after posting this!), and one for inspirational articles), and hopefully I'll create them soon. (If this gave you an idea to offer something similar, go ahead!)

I intend to write a somewhat lengthy questionnaire for those who need a video script, but are not sure what they want. I hope it will help them communicate what they need.

I'm trying to be a bit more active on Twitter, and I'm trying to be a bit more active here on the blog, too.

That's it, for now – but, as the title of an awesome book says, my work is not yet done.