Securing My First Fiverr Gig
Breaking into the freelance writing market
I joined Fiverr on a whim one night to keep myself busy. This is not to say I hadn’t previously considered joining, more that the final push came upon me as I sat on my couch in pajamas.
After all, who doesn’t want to be their own boss?
As a current unpaid intern, I searched for many ways to make money in order to afford groceries, my Metro card, and the occasional souvenir postcard at a museum. Freelancing seemed like a no-brainer.
To ease myself into the freelance life, I listed myself as a beta reader. (For those who don’t know, a beta reader is someone who reads through an author’s unpublished manuscript and provides feedback from a reader’s perspective.) I looked at a lot of other postings beforehand and saw how saturated the New Seller market is for beta reading.
In all honesty, I didn’t think anyone would hire me given I had zero reviews. To entice sellers, I set my price to the lowest price possible for 85K word manuscripts. When no one reached out about my gig, I decided to change my tactics. To set myself apart from other New Sellers, I increased my price to $10 to show my services offered something different, hence the higher price.
It worked.
A client reached out to me and asked to learn more about my services. I sent a custom offer, and they accepted.
What now? Out of hundreds of listings, I was chosen. This writer could’ve had friends and families read their work for free; they didn’t have to seek me out at all, but they did. Whatever I wrote on my gig (I did have to refresh my memory since it had been a while) drew a customer in enough they were willing to pay for my services.
The most difficult part was deciding how long it would take to deliver my services. I didn’t want to overcommit myself, but I promised quick turnaround, so I needed to find a happy medium. We settled on an agreed upon timeframe, and I got to work immediately.
Every second of it has been exhilarating. I am finally establishing myself among the New Sellers of Fiverr, all while helping a fellow writer.
If I could give three pieces of advice, it would be this:
- Do your research: I spent a lot of time examining other listings and what was considered “good” before creating my own. A good cover photo and description needed to be crafted in order to even deserve the attention of a client. These things take time and effort.
- Don’t undervalue your services: As a New Seller, it can feel easy to succumb to the sell-your-work-for-cheap-to-draw-customers mindset, but your services are worth more than $5. Even though it is said all experience is good experience, sometimes a good experience rewarded by a decent sum is better.
- Be patient: It took two months, and I think a little luck, for me to get my first client. Know it’s going to take a while before taking off the second you post on any freelance website. In other words: don’t quit your other job(s) just yet.
If you think you’re ready to try out freelancing, I say go for it! The experience has been incredibly rewarding as a side gig, and I think I’ve learned more about myself as a writer through beta reading.
The following is an affiliate link in which I may make a profit.
Should you wish to join Fiverr, feel free to click here and sign up! If you’re already signed up, drop the link to your gigs in the comments, I’d love to check them out.
