Do you have a fun, creative talent that you feel you haven’t been able to benefit from?
Are you an expert at the kazoo? Are you a great doodler who hasn’t taken the ill-advised step to becoming a street caricature artist? Have you been told more than once that you have a baseball announcer’s voice?
If you have a hidden talent or hobby, then I have a sure-fire way for you to start making money from it right away.
I’m talking about www.Fiverr.com.
What’s Fiverr.com?
Fiverr.com is a website that allows you to advertise almost any service (legal, of course!), that includes short videos, songs, voice-overs, kazoo solos, etc., for $5. To quote the website itself, here’s how you can make it work for you, the seller:
1. Settle on a gig you are willing to offer.
2. Advertise that gig on Fiverr.com.
3. Wait for the orders to start coming in.
4. 48 hours after you’ve delivered the work, you can withdraw $4 to your PayPal account. (Fiverr.com charges $1 commission, similar to other online job services.)
So What Services Can I Sell?
Like I said, virtually anything can be advertised and bought on Fiverr.com. Just this morning, I looked at the top featured services, and they include – but are not limited to – drawing a Manga-style character for web icons, recording a professional voice-over, creating a positive review video, and proofreading and editing a text of up to 500 words.
You may think to yourself that the range of services seems huge, and you certainly have a few bags of tricks that you can put to use here… but is it worth it for $4?
The answer is yes, absolutely.
Do a little math. Say you’re an amateur graphic designer who, while not exactly in the same caliber of talent as the artists at Pixar Studios, can design charming and simple logos. These logos may take you 15 or 20 minutes to create from the bottom up.
If you create, say, 10 of these a week in your spare time, you’re looking at an extra $160 a month in your pocket for something you may do in your spare time anyway. And as you delve deeper into Fiverr.com, you’ll see this is a very conservative number.
The Unique Angle to Exploit Fiverr.com
While it’s true you won’t necessarily become rich using Fiverr.com, although some have,, you can use it immediately to start making extra income using skills you already possess.
And it will get your name and your brand out there. Take my example of logo design. Say you design a logo for a small, up-and-coming company and in a few months time that company really takes off.
Well, you were there from the beginning… and you’re free to promote the fact that you designed their logo. Pretty soon, the demand for your design work will increase and so will your profits.
The other thing to keep in mind when selling your work on Fiverr.com is not to extend yourself too far or work too much. Remember, your clients will be paying $5 per deliverable, and they expect to get what they pay for. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece.
For example, don’t pull an all-nighter trying to create a minute-long video. Keep the projects you’re selling small, professional, and quick to make, and you’ll soon be lining your pockets with short projects that are fun to make and as silly as you wish them to be.
I’ve seen folks on Fiverr.com advertising that they’ll sing you Happy Birthday wearing a Santa Claus outfit… how long do you think that would take? A couple of minutes? Spend an hour or two a day doing those at $4 a pop, and you’re looking at some serious spare change!
The most important thing I can suggest to you is to browse the services people offer on Fiverr.com. You will find virtually every kind of service you can imagine (legal, of course) for sale here. There is no doubt in my mind that you, too, have something worthwhile to offer.
Strategies for Maximizing the Money You Make from Fiverr.com
So you’ve got your service ready to sell and you’ve posted it onto Fiverr.com. How do you create demand and get hired? Not to worry, friends. I have some strategies that will get your ads seen by the most people – and before those of your competitors’.
Tip #1: Become a Top Rated Seller on Fiverr.com
Basically, this means you deliver your service on time, exceed expectations, and conduct all business in a courteous and professional manner.
Respond to queries quickly. Communicate your needs. If you want to become a Top Rated Seller, you need to have a 99% positive feedback rating from all of your customers. Yes, this means going the extra mile, but once you earn that coveted Top Rated banner across your ad, your business will multiply a hundred times over!
Tip #2: Become a Level One or Level Two Seller
This is essentially the same as earning that coveted Top Rated banner. Becoming a Level One seller on Fiverr.com means that you’re getting serious. You’ve had 10 or more sales and things have gone smoothly. Your customers have given you excellent ratings. Level Two Sellers are in the Pro League. They’ve had at least 50 sales in two months with excellent ratings. This means a consistent track record in terms of both sales and quality.
Tip #3: Tag Your Ads Correctly
Without the proper tags associated with your ad, it will not be seen by the folks who want to hire you. Similar to SEO, making sure you have the right tags linked to your ad can mean the difference between a mountain of sales and no sales at all. If your service is graphic design-oriented, make sure you tag it under “design”, “art”, “logo”, “header”, “graphic”, so forth. And remember, the more tags, the better!
Tip #4: Getting Those Positive Ratings
As I said in Tips # 1 and 2, getting positive ratings is a huge part of succeeding on Fiverr.com. So how do you do it? After all, it’s a well-known fact that folks are much more likely to go to the trouble of leaving a negative comment when they’re not satisfied than they are to leave a positive comment when they are satisfied. That’s why I suggest that when you deliver your product, no matter what it is, send a courteous and professional note along the lines of, “I’ve completed your order! I would truly appreciate it if you could take a moment and leave me a positive review.” You’d be surprised how nice people will be if you approach them politely.
Tip #5: Use Twitter!
As I’ve already outlined in a previous article, Twitter is a tremendous marketing tool. And with a little creativity it can turn your Fiverr.com business into a serious business. Tweet messages like, “Check out my logos at YOURLINK #design #smallbusiness #graphics”. All your Twitter followers have to do is click on the link and they’ll be at your Fiverr.com account page, ready to purchase!
Best of luck!
John Hollister
P.S. I’ve just given you all the information you need to start making money using Fiverr.com, but here are a few resources to give you a better footing in this exciting and profitable field.
Resources
http://fiverr.com – Browse the services people advertise on Fiverr.com. I really cannot stress this enough. You will find literally any service (legal, of course) for sale on here.
http://www.buzzblogger.com/fiverr-traffic/ – A cool little article on using Fiverr to drive traffic to your website
http://www.warriorforum.com/main-internet-marketing-discussion-forum/594107-using-fiverr-create-nice-side-income.html
http://forum.fiverr.com/discussion/8376/how-do-successful-sellers-make-so-much-money/p1
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