For those not familiar with Fiverr, it’s a web platform where businesses and consumers can sell or buy products/services for $5. As you can probably guess, this is why the site is called “Fiverr.” What has made it a valuable resource for small businesses is the simple fact that they can get work done at an affordable rate. For sellers/workers/freelancers, Fiverr is a place where they are almost assured to find work within a short amount of time. When quantity is the focus, Fiverr holds tremendous potential for both parties.
Despite the lucrative potential for small companies to get their work done cheap, there are some dos and don’ts to be aware of. Especially if you are new to the site, you may find the following pointers to be of particular help in improving your experience on Fiverr.
Do Check the Reviews
Before you jump in and start buying and selling services, do check these Fiverr reviews on Top10 first. They help you to understand the site better so that you can set your expectations and strategies accordingly. At the very least, it will allow you to flatten some of the steeper learning curves because you will also know what NOT to expect.
Do Check the Seller Reviews
As Fiverr is just as much a community as it is a small business platform, it’s easier to find genuinely reputed sellers by simply going through some of their previous Fiverr reviews. Fake reviews are harder to pull off there, without being noticed by the community and the platform admins. In fact, the Top Sellers are handpicked by Fiverr admins after considering their ratings, history of completed work, and active community participation.
Do be Ready to Work Around Communication Gaps
Unless you are exploring the Premium Gigs section (which we will get to later), do be ready to work with foreigners. There will often be a language gap, as well as some other socio-cultural factors that may or may not come into play. The point is that Canadians, Brits, Americans, and freelancers from other developed nations do not usually work at the rate of $5 per gig. Consequently, a lot of the sellers on Fiverr come from several developing nations across the globe.
$5 holds a much higher value in several other sections of the world, so do not assume that your seller will provide you with low-quality work by default, even if communication can at times be difficult. Unless the work requires immaculate use of the English language though, that shouldn’t affect the quality of delivered work. In case your business deals with more delicate work that values quality over quantity, that’s where the Premium Gigs come in.
Don’t Ignore the Premium Gigs
Despite $5/gig being the site’s main motto, that is certainly not Fiverr’s limit either. Premium Gigs are exactly what they sound like, which is to say that you pay more for higher quality and/or quantity per gig. This is where you will find most of the top sellers and quality providers from all nations, including your own. Irrespective of their nationality though, premium sellers will be more experienced and thus, easier to communicate or work with.
For example, if you need some quick work done on the company website, know that Fiverr’s best designers will always be working the premium gigs first. On the other hand, a top seller might only be willing to do a 15-second promotional video for you at $5, but they are far more likely to create a 1-minute video for $10 or $15. It’s a win-win scenario, provided that your business can use the extra work volume of course.
Don’t Trust without Testing
Reputation is everything in business, and especially on Fiverr. However, when you decide to work with a new buyer/seller who doesn’t have a significant reputation yet, don’t trust them without testing them first. Send or receive work in small volumes, in the beginning, to see whether they are both honest and up to the necessary standards. The same goes for payment as well. Do not make or accept big advance payments without securing a trusted relationship with the other party first. Start small and scale from there on like Fiverr suggests. Also, do stay within the site’s monitored transaction system to keep frauds from cheating you of your hard-earned money.
As you might have guessed by now, Fiverr’s potential for small companies is not just limited to the platform’s long list of affordable service providers; it also offers variety. Inconsistency is not a problem here, but a solution for those that know how to work with the idea. With no hard-set minimums or maximums beyond the $5 rule, small businesses can find more value for their money on Fiverr than on any other platform.
