Fiverr.com may have been around for a while now, but it seems that while people know it exists, they still ask “how does Fiverr work?”
Lucky for you, I have some experience using the platform – both as a buyer and as a seller. So with this, I’m in a position to offer some insight as to how you stand to benefit whether you choose to sell or buy gigs on Fiverr.
Initially, I used Fiverr as a buyer. Then I stepped up my game and created my own gigs.Click To TweetBack in 2013, I needed help submitting a press release for my first book, so I found someone who did the work at a reasonable price.
He did a great job. It took a lot of pressure off of me. From there, I noticed he had another gig making short videos out of written content, so I hired him to make my Exercise Safety book trailer – which I was able to upload onto Youtube to help promote the book.
Since this process went so well, I went on to hire other freelancers for additional projects. I then became inspired to develop some of my own gigs – which allowed me to earn a few bucks helping others with their projects.
I met some great people along the way. And while my gigs are paused at this time (I’ve been busy with other projects), they’re still on Fiverr and I can resume them if I choose to.
How Fiverr Can Benefit You as a Seller (or a Buyer)
Recently, I’ve created content talking about career change, making money from crafts, divorcing your toxic boss and what to do if you hate your job. Many of you loathe what you do for a living, so I decided it was time to do whatever I could to inspire you to find work you love.
So I say, think about what you truly want to do with your life and take the necessary steps to get the ball rolling.
In other words, start doing!
And when it comes to doing, Fiverr can help you get started.
How Does Fiverr Work?
I’m going to show you how you can use Fiverr as a buyer and as a seller. I’ll share the pros and cons to keep things authentic, even though all of this will be based on my personal opinion and experiences.
For starters, you should know that starting and maintaining an account with Fiverr is always free! No fees to join whatsoever.
Buying on Fiverr
Pros:
- It’s pretty easy to find quality freelancers for projects.
- Many gigs can cost just $5.
- There’s a wide variety of services available in graphic design, content writing, resume building, video creation and editing, website design, audio services and so much more.
- Easy communication with sellers (even before you purchase a gig) through Fiverr’s free messaging service.
- Preview the finished work and request changes & edits before accepting your completed project if necessary.
- You may cancel a gig and request a refund if you need to (but I’d recommend purchasing wisely to begin with if possible to avoid that).
- Easily save your favorite sellers and their gigs to your dashboard for future projects.
- The prices can be customizable based on specific needs if the seller agrees.
- Available to use from pcs and mobile apps.
- Plenty of reviews available when searching for your perfect freelancer.
- Many of the sellers add portfolios of their work – so you can browse before you buy.
- The messaging system gives you an average response time for the seller you want to communicate with.
- Tipping is available if desired.
- Refer friends for perks and benefits.
- Help and support/customer service.
- Your purchased gigs stay in your dashboard for future reference.
Now for the cons:
- While several gigs can be $5, they can easily go up well into the hundreds depending on the gig you want.
- Five dollar gigs used to be $5, but recently, Fiverr started charging a $2 service fee, so the lowest priced gig now costs $7.
- Help and support/ customer service does NOT provide a phone number…so you have to submit a ticket.
- Like any freelancer hiring platform, some sellers may not be reliable or ethical (although the ones I’ve used were).
- Sometimes, you get what you pay for (not all $5 + gigs are as high quality as you’d like them to be).
I love that I can keep track of the gigs I’ve purchased over the years. From as far back as 2013, they’re still in my dashboard – along with the purchase price, gig name, and the seller.
Here’s a screenshot of the most recent gigs I’ve purchased. While I’m aware that this is kind of personal for me to share, as you can see, the pricing was more than fair (and the work was excellent).
I did say I was going to be authentic.
Perhaps you’ve noticed that all of my recent gig purchases are under $20. Though I have paid around $50 and less for more elaborate and involved work, I still felt the cost was more than fair for the value I received.
All in all, I intend to remain a buyer on Fiverr. I’m not sure what my seller’s status will be in the future, but since I have some experience with it, I’ll talk about the pros and cons of selling on Fiverr.
Selling on Fiverr
If you’re looking to start earning some side cash, this is an excellent way to get started.
I’d suggest you think about what you have to offer people and whether there’s a market on Fiverr for you to take part in. I’ll get into that in a minute, but now, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of selling on Fiverr.
Pros
- A no-cost way to start earning some side cash.
- Fiverr has plenty of its own traffic.
- Share your gigs and profile on social media.
- Fiverr handles all financial transactions.
- Easily create a new gig in minutes.
- As you continue to sell successfully, your seller’s level increases – making you look trusted and reliable.
- Easy to track goals and progress from the dashboard.
- Built-in analytics.
- There are several ways to redeem your earnings – Paypal, bank account, Paypal gift card or use your earnings for your own purchases.
- No minimum threshold to redeem earnings.
- Upsell to your buyers with customizable upgrades and additions.
- Your related gigs show up for buyers.
- Option to cancel a gig if necessary (but I wouldn’t suggest doing this often).
- Communicate with prospective buyers before agreeing to do the job.
- Buyers rate you – and you can rate them as well.
- Pause your gigs and/or go on vacation mode.
- Selling on Fiverr can be a stepping stone for growth.
- Meet new people and form relationships.
- Receive tips!
So as you can see, there are a ton of benefits to selling on Fiverr. However, there are a few disadvantages.
Cons:
- Fiverr takes 20% of EVERY transaction. That also includes your tips.
- It costs (usually $1) to redeem your earnings unless you keep them there to use for purchasing gigs.
- There is no customer service number, so if you have an issue, you have to submit a ticket.
- They started charging a $2 service fee for buyers – and you don’t get any of that.
- You cannot even type the word “email” when messaging a buyer or it’ll threaten to flag it.
- Sometimes people purchase your gig and you realize it won’t be a good fit, so you can cancel, but it can mess with your seller status.
- You may charge $5 for a gig that the buyer wants repeated revisions to.
- Depending on the gig, there might be a lot of competition.
- Price point depends on the market.
- Seller status/level decreases with inactivity.
Is Buying on Fiverr a Wise Investment?
I’ll answer this question with an enthusiastic YES!!!
I can’t speak highly enough about the work I’ve received from (most of) these fantastic and talented freelancers.
I’ve had book covers made (both ebook and physical print formats), ebook and paperback interior formatting, book blurbs, author bios and so much more.
The ebook covers, book blurbs and depending on length, the ebook formatting were all only $5. The physical book covers and interior formatting cost about $10-$15, but it was still worth it.
In fact, my last 3 book covers were all created on Fiverr (along with the ebook formatting and book blurbs).
How Does Fiverr Work – Is Selling Worth It?
Selling on Fiverr can lead to great things. Some buyers will be so happy with your work that they’ll become regular clients. In this case, you may start with $5 gigs, but they might ask you to do something more elaborate that they’d be willing to pay hundreds for.
My first gig on Fiverr consisted of writing blog comments. I charged $5 for anywhere from 1-3 comments at a minimum of 50 words – and the cost went up from there. I had several repeat buyers over time.
I’ll show you what the gig looks like (I un-paused it to grab the screenshots for you).
Yes, I’m cool like that.
The first image shows the initial impression. I created an image, title and of course, by bio is there as well. It seems 42 people saved my gig. Not bad considering that I never spent time promoting it and there was a lot of competition.
The next image shows you how, as a seller, you can create packages for buyers. It isn’t mandatory to do this, but I wanted to give people options and provide value for higher price points. You’ll notice how each package shows you what you get and how it compares to the other packages.
Next, you’ll see my description. I discussed why the buyer would need my gig, what I had to offer and what I would not provide. I loved that I could personalize my gig and explain my restrictions. This was my way of trying to let buyers know, in advance, whether or not they should purchase my gig. This prevented unnecessary and unwanted cancellations and refunds.
Lastly, I’ll share some of the reviews I received (and my replies). The bottom two are actually from the same (repeat) buyer. I blacked out their names to respect their privacy.
Other Gigs
I also had a gig writing apology letters. I priced a 250-word letter at $5 and added customization for additional earnings.
For example, if they wanted a longer letter, it was $5 more. If they needed it fast, that also cost an extra $5.
Eventually, I worked my way up to 80+ 5-star reviews and became a level 2 seller (even though I’m level one now due to inactivity).
Sometimes these $5 gigs would result in a $20 sale. They'd leave a 5-star review for me and come back for additional work. #howdoesfiverrworkClick To TweetThe apology letter gig was pretty cool for a while. While mine was the top gig in that market for some time, eventually someone else came along and offered a longer letter for the same price. I knew I wasn’t about to compete with that because writing letters is a lot of work.
Especially when each one is unique and personal.
But I enjoyed the gig while I had it, received stellar 5-star reviews and met some awesome people along the way.
Besides, sometimes they came back to tip me or hire me for additional gig work. Hearing how I made a difference in their lives by solving their problems warmed my heart. That was the biggest gift of all.
I was also able to use my earnings to fund the gigs I purchased for my own projects. So all in all, Fiverr really became an asset.
I’m thrilled that I’d made the decision to create gigs on Fiverr. I may reactivate them or start some new ones in the future, – and it’s cool to know I can resume this at any time.
Is Fiverr Worth it as a Buyer?
Again, I say absolutely YES!
If you’ve been on the fence about finally getting serious about your projects, I say it’s time to start doing.
You can’t afford to wait when it comes to creating your dream career. You really have to take action…and if money is tight, at least you now know you can hire some great people at reasonable prices to take some of the load off of you.
I paid a lot more to have my exercise safety book properly formatted and edited – not on Fiverr. The cover design also cost a lot more. This was back in 2012 when Fiverr didn’t have as many sellers as they do now. These days, for cover design and formatting, I wouldn’t even think to look elsewhere. The same goes for video book trailers, book blurbs and so much more.
Get Busy DOING!
The way I see it, you have a choice. Keep doing what you’ve been doing – hoping things will change on their own…
…or take charge of your well-being.
Your life is up to you.
I know it’s risky to make changes. Believe me, creating a new career consists of a lot of work, trial & error and “failures.” But given what I, along with others, have experienced – relying on your employers or corporate companies to take care of you may not work out as well as you’d like.
I prefer to be in charge of my decisions, my time and my environment. When you have a job, that isn’t always so easy.
Maybe you need to hang onto your job for a while. Or perhaps you love it so much you’d never dream of doing anything else.
That’s fine. But regardless, it can’t hurt to have a backup plan. You probably have something to offer…and maybe it’s time you considered that.
If you need (a/an):
- resume
- cover letter
- logo
- graphic design
- video
- audio/voice-over
- book editing/formatting
- cover design
- blog or article comments
- apology/thank you or follow up letter
- programming and tech help
- and an abundance of other services…
…find a freelancer (or become one) and take action now.
Click the button below and sign up for your free account!
In Closing
I hope this answers the question “how does Fiverr work?” I also hope you’re inspired to take action – whether to buy gigs to bring your projects to life – or sell them to make some extra cash.
If you want to start selling your services but are short on skills, then you can always learn new skills online. You can find out more about that in this post.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on what you’ve read. Feel free to leave a comment below. I’ll be sure to respond.
** Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links of products or services that I use and recommend. If you choose to try a product through any of these links, I’ll get a small commission at no cost to you. **
Ashish says
Hey Dana
I used to be a seller on Fiverr back in 2013 and then I made a little mistake of not putting the holiday mode on. I was away for some time and the people got infuriated and gave me bad ratings. Everything fell through. I was thinking of creating a new profile and maybe I will do that.
Thank you.
Keep up the good work
Dana says
Hey Ashish,
Oh no! I can totally see overlooking that detail. It’s a shame that an honest mistake could be so costly after the amount time and work it took to build something up. I’m sorry that happened to you.
We all make mistakes and learn from them. I’ve certainly made my share of them. As a result, I’ve become more mindful and responsible.
If you’re considering starting over, I think it’s a great idea. Let me know how it goes.
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Vineet Saxena says
Hey Dana,
I have purchased a few gigs for myself on Fiverr and you are right that they can easily go above $50. In fact, a very few gigs are still priced at $5. But it is a great B2B platform where you can get your job done and make a few bucks while doing the same for the others too.I also signed up as a freelancer and created gig but I ll be honest in saying that I didn’t get any order. Good to see that your gigs sold. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for sharing this with us.
A very happy new year to you.
Dana says
Hey Vineet,
Happy new year to you too!
Great comment.
You’re right – the gigs certainly can and do go above $5. I’ve still gotten great gigs for the $5, but things are increasing. I’m very happy with the book covers I had made – and they were so inexpensive.
It just depends on the type of work you’re buying or selling. Some gigs can be done rather quickly and if sold in volume, can lead to a great income source and even full-time work. But if the project is more complicated and time-consuming, it really should cost more.
I’m sorry your gig didn’t sell. I don’t know what you were offering, but maybe it just needed some tweaking or perhaps some more time?
Mine didn’t sell right away either. It took time.
Thanks so much for stopping by. I truly appreciate your input 🙂
Mitch Mitchell says
Thanks for writing this. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about signing up, but I haven’t the time to check it out better. I’m also looking at both sides, buyer & seller, so this was perfect timing. This is part of my 2019 goal for extra income; I hope I do it. 🙂
Dana says
Hey Mitch!
It’s good to see you. Been a while. How have you been?
I’m glad you got something out of this. I’ve been using Fiverr for years – both as a buyer and seller. I’ve been happy (for the most part – I did mention some cons) and I think it’s an excellent place for freelancers to find help for their projects – or create some additional income.
I didn’t really expect much when I created my gigs, but orders came in.
If you do sign up, I wish you luck. I’ve read your writing, so if you’re thinking of doing something with that, I’m sure your buyers will be pleased.
Let me know how it goes. Thanks for stopping by 🙂