Fiverr

THIS POST IS NOT SPONSORED

If you are getting started with your business it is easy to say that you want to do it all by yourself.  I say do not resist outside help and I will explain that in a moment.  For right now, I want to talk to you about a little service called Fiverr.

Photo by Sarah Pflug © 2019

First off, this is not a sponsored post because I have a love/hate relationship with the service.  Yes, I have posted some ads on it, I have not gained any revenue from it, but I keep it in the back of my mind. Confusing, right? Again, it will be all explained along the way.

What is Fiverr?

Fiverr is a task service.  It is a place for artists like me to list jobs they will do for $5, hence the name, Fiverr.  In addition to listing $5 gigs that we will do, we can also list bigger jobs for a lot higher.  For example, I am listed on the site as a freelance writer and a freelance graphic designer.  My products are not small in price.  I usually start at $10, not $5, with my highest package deal being $100.  So far I have not received anyone wanting my services since 2016.  At that time, I listed that I will do resumes, and I did one resume for a person, who paid $4.  Resume writing itself is worth more than $4, but that is why Fiverr is so cheap.

I have seen listings where a person will, “sing happy birthday in the resistor's favorite character for $5.  Voice impersonators make more than $5. 

Even though I am still on Fiverr, I have problems with it, and here are my top reasons for anyone to not make it your main source of income.

1. Cheap. 

They are cheap as I said.  They are cheap and the sequesters are cheap.  Cheap can be good or bad.  Good in if you are starting out in business, sometimes, you do not have a lot of money to spend.  If you are in the United States, depending on your state, you will be shelling out some money for registering your business, getting a business license, opening a business checking and Savings accounts, and hiring people to run your business.  You do not have a lot of money to create stunning advertisements, and purchasing software from companies such as Adobe and Microsoft, which can get a bit pricey.  You also do not have the time.  When you look at a listing on a site like Fiverr, paying $5 is like buying a candy bar.  It is a drop in your budget, which you can afford.  You go for the basic package, a little more if you can spare the change.

Likewise, If you are that person who puts up a listing, $5 is all you will get paid most of the time.  Yes, $5 does add up, but tell that to your utility companies.  If you do not go pro with your listings (a whole different animal than regular Fiverr), you may be eating Ramen noodles for the next month.

I am lucky that Fiverr is not the only place where I list my work. Plus, how do you think they make money on the website?  Yes, from what you earn.

2. Everyone is on Fiverr

When I mean everyone, I am talking Foreigners as well. You are not just seeing someone from the United States, Canada, or Mexico, I am talking someone from India, Saudi Arabia, England, France and Nigeria to name a few.  Fiverr does not discriminate, which is a good thing if you are from that country, but I wish that they would separate the countries. I do not like competing for your hard-earned dollars if you are the other countries I mentioned, I have to do that with my own country, which is in the US. 

Not only that, sometimes they tell you that they are from the United States, and they are really from Russia.

With that in mind, you do have to watch who your clients are.  This did not happen to me on Fiverr, but another popular website for gigs called Freelancer, which I will talk about in more detail at another time.  One of freelancer for potential customers is for them not to contact freelancers outside the site. The person who asked me to open several accounts for him did.  I ended the relationship because he wanted me to send the money to Nigeria.  I did, so I would get the stolen money out of my account.  This can also happen on Fiverr.

My recommendations for this stream of income:

Go with caution.  You never know.  This could work if you are not looking for a huge amount of payback from it (income).  It is also helpful if you are not familiar with having clients.  In other words, if you are new to freelancing.

However, as I said before, buyer beware, seller beware.  There are a lot of people out there who may not be what your ideal client should be. 

Most business people who come to Fiverr are getting started for the first time.  They do not have a ton of money, and if you can get them a simple graphic design, such as basic business card, print off no more than 50 cards is worth the $5.  If they want more, this is where you would give them your website if you have one.  Once there, the client can see more of your products, and they may not have to purchase on Fiverr.  If they still want the $5 product, at least they know what is out there on your site.  Now you have a repeat customer.

Once you are established in your niche, cut ties with Fiverr, but not before setting up your website, and not before you have gained some traffic and customers.

This is the same thing that I would recommend for Etsy, but I will get to that website as well.

Tips and Tricks (the new name for Takeaway):

In the meantime, proceed to Fiverr with caution. I cannot say it fast enough that if you want to go for it, OK, but it would be a little simpler if you open a website in either Blogger or WordPress, set your prices, and promoting your service or craft.  You will at least have all your money (until the IRS comes a-knocking), and you can screen your clients (there is a right way and a wrong way).  I would even go with Wix.

Be safe, work your business every day, even if you are checking emails, and God Bless You.

Understanding yourself as a writer

(c) 2015 public domain image

Topics. Research. Content.  Deadlines. Payment.  These are all things that make up a post, an article, a story, or a document.  They may even summon a poem or two.  One thing for sure, it should be interesting, educate, and bring a call to action (even if it was stupid to begin with).  
These are all the things I have been contemplating with since I started MDN Creates (now called P.Lynne Designs) in January 2009. Is it interesting? Do I educate enough in my posts? Finally, do I bring a call to action?  I always feel that there is something missing in my posts.  In fact, I can be my own worst critic.  Now that I have 5 (soon to be 4) blogs, I have to be extra careful with things, such as:  Have I covered (this topic) before, and if so, when?  How much do I actually know about a topic before diving in?  Is it interesting enough to invite comments from readers, who may have the same interest in the topic?  
I call these type of questions, teaching moment questions.  I have been writing a lot lately about teachable moments:  Recouping after an accident, learning how to follow up, and how to deal with mothers when you are not a mother yourself.  There is one more teachable moment that I feel I need to teach you, and that is not known and understand yourself as a writer.  This lesson goes beyond topics, goes deeper than researching your subject, providing great content, and dealing with deadlines and how you are being paid.   I can’t tell you how many times I have failed on a post, by trying to get my point across to my readers, only to not know who I am as a writer, and if the topic I wanted to cover was interesting enough for me. There is also knowing your audience, but I will cover that in a later post. I can tell the difference.  My failed thought process goes like this:
I come up with a subject.  I love it in the very beginning, and I type feverishly to get my point across at first, then about midway through the process, I stop.   I start pacing, I find other things to do, and then I close the document, thinking that I could just pick it up in the next few hours or the next day.  If I happen to think about it a little the next time I open the word document, I may go to Google first to research it, but that rarely happens.  Then I finally forget about it, and the post is in my “potential post” folder.   The only way I get back to it is when I finally succumb to the idea of just deleting the file. That is one example on how to understand yourself as a writer and that is your work ethic and how you move on from a failed writing gig for yourself.  
Another way is when you start accepting writing assignments to write for others.  Know what niches or topics you will accept as a writer.  As a blogger, you pretty much know what your blog is all about, but this for when someone as you to submit a post or article for their blog or website.  For me, I will not write for or about the occult (Wicca, Pagan religion), anything that does harm to a person unless it is a teachable moment, adult subjects (again it has to be a teachable moment), speak badly about another race, gender, or religion, and anything that speak bad and horrible things about God.   All other subjects are at my discretion.  Sometimes I may not accept a gig because I do not know enough about the subject to give a good, solid document for the client.  I am also constantly learning that the subject matter is not about what I want as a writer, but what my client wants for a document.  For that reason, I often do Ghost Writing.  
So get to know yourself as a writer, all of it.  Take the time to spell your terms and rates out to your new client.  If they want to work with you, that is great, congrats, if not, move on.  There are plenty of people who need writers, and what I love about this industry is the reward after you are finished with the project, which is priceless, but the monetary rewards help pay the bills.  

The Truth About Rates and freelancing.

Oh boy, I am tackling a tough writing subject today.   The next few posts, I will attempt to tackle the subject of freelancing.  Not only am I a freelance writer, but a freelance artist and designer.  I design the following:

·         Scrapbooks-both using the commercial albums that are out there, and making mini books, journals, and folios, as well as art journals.

·         Greeting and note cards

·         Alternative items.  In case you are wondering what that is, most people call it Upcycling.  It is where you decorate something to make it a different piece to function differently or function the same.

Anyway, that is the basics of what I do, but lately, I have been feeling a little stuck.  My Etsy shop has the same old 5 items in it and I have not written for someone in about 2-3 months.   You would think that I have gobs of money in my account.  Nope, ask me later on how I cope.  If you are freelancing, sometimes it is OK to hit a dry spell, right?  Not really.  If you are a writer, a cook, or a crafter, you need to remember that you need to put food on the table.  You have bills to pay, people to entertain (for those with kids), and it would be nice to not work in your jammies every once in a while. 

So how do you earn that extra $1,000 a week, if you still have a job, or if you going at it full time, have the ability to buy at least toothpaste?   Simple, start small.  Sometimes, you have to except projects that pay low or nothing at all, and you need to build from there.  That is what I am tackling for the next few posts and the first one is on the rate you expect your clients to pay you for your services.

I saw this article in Carol Tice’s website, and it is called 113 things you can do to grow your freelance writing-now.  She covers writing, but after looking at this article, I feel that it would apply to any freelance job.   Freelancing, in case you are not familiar with the title, is just a fancy way of saying, self-employed.  You are working for yourself.  You have a time clock, but it is in your head, and you can report to work any time you feel like it.  I do not recommend it, because just like a 9-5 job, the money you earn allows you freedom to do anything you want.  Well not anything, but you get the idea.

With that being said, she gives 3 these tips on rates:

1. Tell your clients your rates are going up.
2. Raise your rates for new clients.
3. Raise your rates every year in the fall, to take effect the following year.

OK, you are probably telling me, “Tricia, that is all well and good, but I am just starting out, and besides that, I am doing a project for Aunt Millie, and I really do not want to charge her.”   I thought the same way, and if you are just starting, I can see why you do not want charge a lot for work at first.  For me, it is ok to do a project for Aunt Millie, the neighbor you have been friends with for 20 years, or your church, but at some point, you cannot do every project at low-no cost.   Again, you have to eat and pay bills.  There is also nothing wrong with bartering either, just as long as it is equal to the amount of services you give a client.

Upon my own research one of the problems that freelancers have is “what is my work worth to my client?”  This means are your skills top notch to the point of charging a rate to begin with?  That is something that you have to ask yourself.   Start by listing your skills.   I will use myself as a guide:

1.       Creative in

a.       Needle crafts

b.      Candle making

c.       Scrapbooking

d.      Card making

e.      Altering items

f.        An eye for detail

g.       Music

h.      Dance

i.         Journal making

j.        Writing

2.       People skills

a.       Good listener

b.      Follows directions well

c.       Investigator

I only listed a few, but note that I did not list just the physical skills, but things that would tell a new client what they need to know about me.   So, the things that you learned in Preschool and Kindergarten do matter.

Next, check out the rates of people who do the same thing.   In the corporate world, it is called checking out the competition.  If you are new to this, you can call to ask questions on how that person charges similar services.   For example, when I started, I checked everyone in custom scrapbooking.  I looked at their websites, and made note of the basic rates.  I looked at the years of experience, comments, and if they charged by the hour or per job.   Most custom scrapbookers and card makers charge by the piece.  Most writers charge per word.  For example:  an 8.5 x 11” scrapbook could run $7.50 per page.  So a 20-page scrapbook, without the fluff (no embellishments) can run about $150 (USD).  An example of a 791 page doc (the point where I typed 791), at $.10(USD) per word, could run a client $79.10.

Last, ask yourself, can I live off charging $150 for a scrapbook and $79.10 for a document, using the same examples?   Probably not, which is a good idea not to quit your day job just yet.  Keep in mind when charging your rates that there is no such thing as an overnight sensation.  You have to build up to the reputation, and that is why Ms. Tice suggest that you change your rates every fall to go into effect by January.  So how do you quit your day job?   Well, that is the next step in this process called freelancing, and the subject of my next post.