The buzz on the Fiverr marketplace
In the past, you may have heard about Fiverr’s marketplace for services — for a starting fee of $5, and never tried it. Using these services is pretty easy. You sign up, find a “gig” that you like for $5, pay your fee through Paypal (or Payoneer), and then get your requested “gig.”
“Gigs,” by the way, is Fiverr’s term for tasks and services offered by its marketplace.
Fiverr has been earning a lot of national and media buzz for some of the more “silly” gigs such as having a short video promotion done by a Fiverr speaking like an old time preacher or this guy will write your message on a slice of bread and then eat it as a promotion. Or there’s this offering of writing your name in tennis balls at a tennis court.
These offerings are just a few of Fiverr’s host of fun but silly stuff. But don’t let these examples fool you, as Fiverr is quite an honest-to-God legitimate and serious business — and its net worth of $18 million proves it.
So, what is Fiverr?
In reality, Fiverr — which was founded in 2009 — fills a services niche that has long been underdeveloped. It is known among online marketers as a place to get help with small tasks and little jobs done for a fixed amount. Fiverr was established for such business intention.
For instance, if you have a new product, a service, or a website to promote, then you can seek social media sites like Twitter, one of the most popular and powerful avenues for online marketing. For example, for a fixed $5 with TwitterKings on Fiverr you can get your message posted out to tens of thousands of their followers. This ensures you better visibility, and thus bigger traffic, that could surely translate into more sales than if you tweeted on your own Twitter account.
Not all of the gigs on Fiverr are that silly though. Fiverr provides one-shot services such as blog writing, video editing, language translation services, quick graphics editing, quick marketing, and promotional services, Illustration services, photography, virtual assistance, and so much more.
The great thing about Fiverr is that it is a great place to find gigs that you are truly passionate about.
For the merchants or sellers — called “fiverrs,” — Fiverr is the perfect avenue to promote their gigs in a creative and “out-of-the-box” fashion for a quick buck. If you are a small-time entrepreneur or a business owner who wants cheap, quick, and most importantly, a low-risk transaction Fiverr might be the perfect marketplace
If you are interested, try a few fiverrs to get the services you need. Along the way, you may find good fiverrs as well as bad ones. But once you find a few good ones they will likely become a regular part of your vendor network for small, quick tasks or “gigs.”
As a small-time business person, Fiverr could also give you a chance to get some creative ideas to market your business or even supplement it in ways that you may not have imagined or considered before. For instance, if you need to have scripted testimonials for your products and services on your YouTube channel, there are many good Fiverr gigs to consider. Or if you can’t quite update your blog or need to boost it with solid listings, there are also great writing-related jobs to find on Fiverr.
A few important tips on using Fiverr:
- Carefully consider the ratings of a fiverr account is a must, as they will be an indication of their past successes. Buyers are encouraged to rate “gigs” after they are complete and these ratings can be very helpful for those performing the tasks.
- The country location of a fiverr account is also an important thing to take into consideration.
- Look at the buyers’ feedback of fiverr’s gigs. You will spot solid fiverrs out there who have positive buyers’ responses and maybe a few negatives. But be sure to read down a few of them – sometimes there are gems in the data about how the fiverr really performs their service.
- After you purchase a gig, it may require you to provide some more input such as instructions or links, etc., as many other fiverr gigs would. Be sure to provide explicit details to ensure the gig is successful for both you and the one doing the work.
- Don’t forget that fiverrs must let you know the time of delivery. If they aren’t delivering promptly and on time, you have the right to cancel the order.
- You also must consider the levels of any fiverr. There are fiverr levels that can be met – you might examine those fiverrs who have reached a certain level. However, you can also find some gems as well for new or maybe not as popular trending fiverrs.
Conclusion
If you haven’t heard or tried Fiverr, it’s time to do yourself a favor and have a look around on the site. There, you will find various and interesting gigs that may prove useful. Why don’t you give it a shot? It is cost-effective and low on risk. Who knows, it may probably give you a positive impact on your business. You may even get many fun (albeit silly) ideas to make money on the side.
UPDATE: During 2018, Fiverr reinvented itself. Sellers are now allowed to charge as much as $500 for services which include animation, graphics and design, music and audio work, and programming. While you can still find services for $5, it is important to be aware that there are many with prices over that.