The Three Stepping Stones to Success on Fiverr
Updated: Aug 26, 2020
I won't waste your time with a lot of preamble on this one. Let me get right down to it. There are three steps buyers take on their way to choosing a seller on Fiverr. Anyone who understands what those steps are will be able to "pave the way" to their gig being chosen by the seller. The buyer nearly always proceeds down the seller path in exactly the same way:
They search for a seller based on what they need done
They take an interest in a few of the sellers who come up in the search
They select one of them to do the job
Correspondingly, then, a successful seller will be someone who excels at:
Being found by the seller
Catching the seller's eye
Capturing the seller's imagination
The three steps are sequential, and none can be missed. If you master all three, you'll succeed on Fiverr. If you master fewer than three, you'll struggle. It's that simple. When people start out on Fiverr, they may do one of those well, possibly two, but few do all three well. In fact, it's probably safe to say that the vast majority of sellers never succeed at all three, or even realize that they must...which is why most Fiverr sellers have only a few sales to their credit. For that reason, anyone who "gets it" and conquers the three steps will have an immediate advantage over most of the other sellers on Fiverr. Let's take the steps one at a time.
1. Being Found
Before anything else can happen, you MUST be found on Fiverr. (meaning, you show up very high, ideally in the first page of results, in Fiverr's search engine). That can seem like a daunting task, since there are literally millions of buyers, and sellers. And that's why it's so important to identify your service in a "nichey" way. I am a voiceover person, but I'm also a male, with a baritone voice, and x number of years of experience, and x many previous sales / 5 star reviews and x many gig likes, and who shares his gig to social media, and who sells at a certain price point (also a factor in on search results), and who understands how crucial gig wording and structure is to being found.
Of the three steps we'll talk about today, the "being found" part is the most intricate, and to a certain degree the most mysterious, especially to newcomers, But after years on the platform, I've learned a lot through just trial and error and observation, and at this point, I have a good amount of it figured out; at least, enough to be effective. That's one of my main roles as The Gig Doctor, in fact: helping Fiverr sellers "get found." Because this is such a diverse subject, I won't attempt to get into it in detail here, but rest assured, there's no magic involved. If you know the right things to do, you CAN be found.
2, Catching the Seller's Eye
Here's an area where the majority of inexperienced sellers really fall down. Let's assume you succeed in being found. Out of thousands who offer something similar, and perhaps hundreds who offer something extremely similar, you're showing up on page one! Bravo! But of course, you're not alone. You're accompanied by a long scrolling page of other sellers. How do you stand out? How do you grab their attention? How do you shout, "look here...here I am!" to the potential buyer? That's where your gig image comes in.
Try a few Fiverr searches, and you'll rapidly be able to tell the difference between the sellers who get this, and the ones who don't. Some gig images are dismally poor. They look amateurish. They convey nothing. There is no branding. They have tiny text nearly impossible to read. They have no personality, nothing that says, "I'm unique. I'm special." Your gig image is an area where you can really move ahead of the others. Consider hiring a fellow Fiverr person (there are many who provide gig image design services inexpensively), or talk to me about it and I can offer some recommendations. But don't neglect this highly important second buyer step. They need need need to NOTICE you! When they do, you've just leapfrogged the majority of other Fiverr sellers!
Let me give you a few of my theories on effective gig image design. First is the face. If you're attractive, leverage that with a nice closeup photo, Just as animals respond to eyes, so do we humans., Bring the eyes in close. Here's a gig image I did for a Fiverr seller named La'Tonya. Notice how influential the eyes are, how they capture attention?
You aren't going to scroll past that gig image and not notice it. That's the goal. Do something special with your gig image.
If you're one of the less photogenic people in the world (the author reluctantly also raises his hand), be realistic: Just as people react to beauty, they also react to the opposite, so don't force the issue. Instead, FACE the issue! Rather than using your photo directly, hire a caricature done. You can get a terrific caricature from one of the talented artists on Fiverr, for a song. They catch attention in a fun way while covering over a multitude of sins, so to speak.
Brand yourself! La'Tonya has a lovely soft, compelling voice, so we branded her as, "Soft, kind, gentle persuasion." I just had the chance to work with Mark McCauley, who probably has the deepest natural voice I've ever heard. When I worked on his branding and gig image, it was clear that we needed to position him as Fiverr's Deepest Voice, and punctuated that with an eye-catching image of a shocked person who couldn't believe what she was hearing. Who wouldn't want to, at least out of curiosity, click and listen to his demo?!
t could be argued, and probably should be argued, that selling price is part of this step too, since it is displayed along with the gig image, If you're way higher than anyone else the buyer will probably move on (unless you have a big boatload of positive reviews).
3, Capturing the Seller's Imagination
After you've been found, and captured their attention, you next need to capture their imagination. That happens with your demo, and your other gig contents. Your buyer needs to see the merit in what you offer, through your demo or portfolio, and to a lesser degree (because I have a feeling not a lot of people take time to read them) through your gig description. They must be impressed with what is represented there, and the way it is presented. They should begin envisioning using you and what their message will be like if you are the one presenting it. Much can be said here, and again, it's more than we can cover in depth, but make sure your samples are brief, poignant, and represent the most impressive work you are honestly capable of producing.
My instinct tells me that, despite being the third step, your demo/portfolio is probably the most important. This is where the rubber meets the road, If people like your work and it is priced affordably, they'll hire you. If they don't, they won't. Do NOT skimp, in either time, or money, on your demo or portfolio.
It's possible to be found occasionally, even willy nilly, receive orders, and slowly your business if people love what they see or hear, and what they receive from you. But if the demo is lousy, even those who just stumble upon you by happenstance will be lost opportunities, never to return. I have always felt my demo was probably the biggest initial factor in being hired, and may still be today. I'll share it here, just for the sake of illustration.
Conquer the "three steps," and you'll be sitting pretty on Fiverr. Follow them up with great communication and customer service, and you'll not only get orders, but win repeat buyers who are back time and time again!
Find out what you can do, LEGITIMATELY, to get ahead on Fiverr. Please hit the Gig Checkup link so we can set up an inexpensive personal consultation and discuss ways to optimize your gig for increased traffic and sales!