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.

Being Available All the Time

Every now and then, both on Fiverr and outside of it, I see the idea that a freelancer should be available all the time. I even see some Fiverr sellers claiming to be available 24/7, and I see suggestions on how to be on at all times (basically, utilize the Fiverr app so that you can take Fiverr with you even in the bathroom, and set the alarm to alert you (and possibly wake you up) whenever you get a new message or order).

The thing is, biology exists, and it has some rules. Health has some rules, too. If you are running a team, then yes, it's possible to organize the members so that someone is always available. But if you're one person, with no team behind you? Then you need to sleep, otherwise you'll ruin your health. Perhaps you also have a full-time job, and will lose it if you check your phone and answer Fiverr messages during work. Not to mention that you might also have a family, friends, and life outside of your freelancing work, whether it's on Fiverr or somewhere else.

This isn't to say that you can just chill at your favorite pub, and only work (or answer messages) when you feel like it, if you feel like it, and if the stars are right. Successful freelancers work a lot, communicate well enough, and are available reasonably often.

Reasonably. When you're sleeping, you're sleeping. When you're taking your kid to the hospital or spending some quality time with your friends and family, that's what you're doing, not answering a message sent by someone with no time management skills who must have this done three weeks ago.

But won't you lose some clients that way?

You certainly will.

You will lose a small number of clients who have an urgent task through no fault of their own (an accident happened, something came up, there was a natural disaster and ruined months or years of their work, an entire team of highly-skilled people suddenly died... You get the picture). If the service you offer is time-sensitive, then you'll also lose some clients because they needed something done while you were sleeping.

You'll also lose a bunch of clients who don't know how to manage their time, or who accepted to work for people who don't know how to do things on time. You'll lose clients who would message you every five minutes, asking you when they'll get their work done. And, surprisingly often, you'll lose clients who want it done yesterday, but are not willing to pay for the extra fast delivery.

In other words, by not being available 24/7, if you offer good work and valuable service, you will mostly lose the problem clients. The ones you'd prefer to avoid anyway.

The Perks of $5 Orders

When you first think of it, doing something for only $5 might seem like a terrible idea. Your work is worth much more! What can you buy for $5, anyway? What's the point?

The thing is, $5 is just the beginning. The starting price. You offer an actual useful service, yes, otherwise nobody would be interested in buying, but you also offer something that you can do without too much effort. Then you can do another one, and another, thus proving yourself, and becoming able to offer upgrades and more expensive (but still a bang for the buck) stuff. And in the process, you learn a few things, and see for yourself that doing (at least some) stuff for $5 can be useful.

1. You get practice. With the starting price of $5, many people are willing to take a risk with a new seller (new to the platform, or new to them). You get to use your skills, become better at what you do, and also become faster, meaning that you spend less and less time on a single order. And, because you become better, you're more likely to attract buyers.

2. Saying 'no' becomes easy (or easier). Would you turn down a $1,000 job, even if you're not certain how to do it, or if you don't like it, or if you feel uncomfortable about it? It's much easier to turn down a $5 job you don't like, or feel uncomfortable about, or would need too much time to do. It's just $5, you're not losing all that much, anyway. And once you start saying 'no', you learn that it's not that hard, and you become more comfortable with the idea, and more confident about what you want and don't want to do. You stop being scared of refusing work you feel uncomfortable about for any reason (you don't like that type of work, the buyer seems fishy...), even if it's for far more than $5. You start feeling better and more confident, and that definitely shows and attracts the kind of buyers you want to work with.

3. It becomes easier to experiment. Have an idea about something that you could offer, but are not sure how that's going to work? Will you like it? Will it become too much? Will you hate it? Will it attract exactly the type of buyers you don't have the slightest wish to work with? Try it out, and see whether you're getting sales and whether you enjoy it! If it works out, great! And if it doesn't? It's $5 stuff, no biggie, you'll try out something else. With $5 gigs, you not only lose the fear of saying 'no' (something that can be quite difficult if you have family to feed), you lose the fear of trying out new things and experimenting, too. As a result, you learn new things, you become better at them, you can offer a wider variety of services at a higher quality while avoiding the stuff that you don't want to do – and with hard work, it can only lead to success.

Getting practice. Losing the fear of saying 'no' and the fear of experimenting. Learning new things, and becoming better at what you do. And all of it for $5 at the time.

Not bad. Not bad at all. And it's just the beginning – at any time in your life.