Wondering how to make money on Fiverr?
Fiverr is an online platform where you can list all sorts of digital services. Your gigs start at $5, but you have the option to increase that.
It might not seem like much, but making money $5 at a time can add up.
Many people start using Fiverr as a side gig. With 78% of employees surviving paycheck to paycheck, that extra side income can be beneficial.
It’s also possible to work up to making a full-time income working online. But it’s also easy to get frustrated if you don’t know what you’re doing.
We’ve put together 15 tips for optimizing your earnings on Fiverr.
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1. Optimize Your Username and Profile
When you start on Fiverr, you want lots of people to find you. The more people who discover you, the more potential clients you have. That helps you build your portfolio and start earning quickly.
One way to do this is by including a keyword in your username that describes your services.
You only get one shot at creating your username, so think about it carefully before you create your account. If you want to change your username, you’ll need to close your account and create a new one.
Your profile is another chance to attract potential clients.
Choose a professional-quality photo that helps brand your page to show your style or personality.
Write a catchy description that highlights what you do and why you’re qualified. This is your time to show your personality and distinguish yourself from the other sellers.
2. Find Your Niche
Setting yourself apart on Fiverr is easier when you have a niche.
If you write blog posts, do you specialize in a certain topic?
Maybe you’re an expert at writing about alternative medicine. Perhaps you specialize in rustic-style wedding invitation design. Or maybe you’re an expert at creating infographics for small businesses.
Notice that each is more specialized than just saying you offer blog writing, invitation design, or graphic design. That doesn’t mean you have to limit yourself to just one thing, but having a specialty can help you draw in more customers.
Not sure what niche to choose?
Start by choosing the category on Fiverr where you’ll place your gig.
Say you choose Articles & Blogs. That’s the category, but it’s not your niche. Think about how you can narrow that down to something more specific and catchy to the right type of client.
3. Create Gigs
Your gig is where you sell your services to potential customers. Creating gig descriptions that describe specifically what you offer while attracting your ideal customer is important.
Your description should set you apart from other freelancers offering services on Fiverr. Look at similar gigs on the site to see what’s available. Then, think about how you can create an even better gig.
Make your description easy to read by using short paragraphs and bulleted lists when it makes sense.
Include an eye-catching photo that relates to the service and sets you apart. Stock images don’t really grab attention. Use your own photo for the best results.
Quality images grab attention, make you more memorable, and build brand identity. These are all things that benefit you in your gig listings.
4. Offer Related Services
If $5 gigs seem too small, think about how you can break up your services into smaller chunks. Then, create related services to encourage each customer to by more.
If your service is setting up a social media profile, individual services might be creating a cover image, writing a profile description, optimizing tags, writing captions, and creating a template for posts.
Someone who’s setting up an account might choose to buy all of the services. It’s easier to have you do all parts of the project.
5. Create Packages
Another way to upsell buyers is to create packages. The different levels might encourage your buyers to spend a little more to get a more premium option.
You can create up to three packages for each gig.
You might create a basic, standard, and premium version of your service, for example. Each level should offer a little more than the previous one with an increased price to match.
If your service is creating blog topic ideas, your basic package could be a list of 10 blog topics. The standard package could be 10 topics plus keywords for each. The premium package might include the 10 topics, keywords, and an outline for each article.
People are often tempted by the higher packages. It makes their lives easier when they go for the higher packages.
6. Use Keywords
Incorporating keywords throughout your Fiverr profile and gig listings helps people find you.
Think about the specific services you offer. What would people search if they wanted that service?
Use that thought process to create a list of keywords.
Add a primary keyword into your gig title. Include keywords in the description.
The catch is that you don’t just want to shove keywords in wherever possible. They should make sense and flow well with what you’re writing.
7. Level Up
Fiverr uses a leveling system, which affects your options and your visibility.
You’ll start out as a new seller. You can move up to level one, level two, and top rated seller.
Each level has different requirements, including the length of time on the platform, number of gigs performed, and the amount earned.
For example, to reach level one, you need to be active for 60 days, do 10 orders, and earn $400. You also have to maintain good stats, including a 4.7 star rating and have a 90% response rate, order completion, and on-time delivery.
In other words, you can’t just do a lot of work and move up. You have to maintain your quality as you work.
When you level up, you can offer more gig extras at higher rates. You also gain access to sending custom orders.
Those additional options help you earn more on each order, so you can increase your Fiverr earnings.
8. Take Advantage of Metadata and Search Tags
Each gig allows you to create metadata and search tags. This is your chance to differentiate yourself and insert more keywords into your listings.
Don’t ignore those opportunities. They help buyers find your gigs.
Experimenting with the metadata can help you refine what you use in these fields. Test out different phrases and keywords to see if the response changes.
9. Use the FAQs Section
Another area where you can set yourself apart and grow as a Fiverr seller is with the FAQs section.
Each gig has the option of the FAQs section. This is a place to give buyers all the details they might want.
By completing this section, you set the expectations for your service. This can help create happier customers because they know what they’re getting before they buy.
It’s also a way to give more details if you run out of space in your gig description. Think of it as a continuation of the description.
10. Provide the Best Service
When creating your gigs, make sure you can fully deliver on what you’re promising. Ensure it’s easily attainable so you don’t run the risk of failing.
Make sure everything you produce is exceptional in quality to impress your customers.
When possible, beat what you say you’ll do.
One example is delivering faster than promised. If you set your delivery time for two days, deliver in one day. Your buyer expects to wait two days, so getting the product a day early is unexpected and impressive.
Throughout the process, always provide the best service to your customers. Your ratings matter when it comes to leveling up, so you want everyone to be thrilled with what you provide.
11. Give an Unexpected Extra
You have your set services for prices that make sense. Your customers know what they’re getting.
But one way to impress customers is to give them a little extra that they don’t expect.
These bonuses make customers feel like they’re getting something for free.
The key is to create something that’s useful that you can send to everyone who buys that gig.
Say you write blog posts for customers. You might give them a bonus cheat sheet that shows them how to use the blog post to get more traffic.
If you create custom logos, you might include a guide or video showing how to add the logo to websites, social media profiles, or other areas.
These extras are things you can create once and send to everyone, so it only takes you extra time when you initially create it.
12. Promote Other Places
Optimizing your Fiverr profile and performing great work help you grow within the platform.
But you can increase your Fiverr business by sharing about it elsewhere.
Tell the people you know in real life about your service options. If you know any entrepreneurs, they might benefit from your services.
Share your Fiverr gigs on your social media platforms. This can be especially effective if you have business-related social media accounts.
If you have a blog or website, include information about your Fiverr options there.
13. Be Consistent
It can be frustrating in the beginning when you’re growing your presence of Fiverr.
But consistency is how you’ll find new buyers and make more money on the platform. You won’t start out making six figures on Fiverr, but you can grow steadily when you put in the work.
Head to Fiverr every day to see if you have any messages or potential leads. You don’t want to miss out on a potential gig because you ignore Fiverr for a week.
Work on the smaller gigs consistently to keep your metrics high and grow to the next level.
Provide consistently high quality to all of your buyers. That builds your reputation as a reliable seller. You increase your chances of repeat business from past buyers, and they’re more likely to refer you to other people.
14. Communicate Well
Exceptional customer service is essential on Fiverr. One way to do that is with strong communication.
Respond to messages quickly, so buyers don’t have to wait.
Always keep your communication clear and professional. Buyers are more willing to give you more work and pay a premium price if you’re professional.
Be honest and answer questions directly when buyers have concerns.
If a customer is rude or upset about the work you deliver, keep your emotions out of it.
Keep your communications professional. If you get defensive or make accusations, you’ll escalate the situation. You’ll also virtually guarantee yourself a bad rating from the customer.
Remember that you’re the service provider, so you want to make the customer happy.
15. Work for Good Ratings
The star ratings that clients give you have an impact on future business.
That can be especially important when you’re starting out. One three-star rating can really bring down your average if you only have a few ratings.
Providing the best possible service is important to get good ratings. If you don’t deserve a five-star rating because you produce poor-quality work, you can’t really argue with it.
It’s also important to be honest with yourself before doing a gig. If you don’t think you can successfully deliver what the buyer wants, it’s sometimes better to not do the gig.
Passing up work seems like a bad idea, but if you can’t give the buyer what they want, it could tank your rating. The lower rating can keep you from getting more gigs.
You can take a proactive approach to encourage higher ratings.
When you deliver your product, send a message.
Request that the client comes to you if they’re dissatisfied with anything before they leave a rating. Let them know you’ll do what it takes to make sure they’re happy at no additional charge.
This could encourage a picky client to request a change instead of leaving you a bad rating.
Learn How to Make Money on Fiverr
Figuring out how to make money on Fiverr isn’t always easy. It can take time to build up your income to something substantial.
But you can achieve your Fiverr income goals faster by being strategic about your approach.
Check out our entrepreneur resources for more information and tools.
