5 Pro Tips on Launching Your Freelance Career on Fiverr

Global online marketplace, Fiverr, is a great place for marketers to put their entrepreneurial spirit and creative talents to the test to build a successful side hustle. If strategically executed and managed, crushing gigs even has the opportunity to evolve into a full time career. 

Take the Bootstrap team for example. When we decided to transform our lifestyle to prioritize travel, we set out to craft a freelancing career that would allow us to work from anywhere in the world. Within a couple of months, we’d made nearly $20,000 on our Fiverr gigs alone. 

While signing up, launching your first gig, and landing a few initial sales may come easy, it takes true flexibility and diligence to create something sustainable. After reflecting on the launch of what became a full-time business, the Bootstrap team took some time to jot down their top takeaways. 

Start Wide

Fiverr is a massive marketplace, offering a wide spectrum of services ranging from logo design to astrological readings. No matter your niche, odds are there’s someone who is willing to pay for your services. 

Before starting out as a Seller on Fiverr, jot down potential gig ideas you’ve been considering. Ask yourself questions like – how long will it take me to complete this? Can I craft meaningful variations that allow me to build three distinct packages? Do I have examples of similar work I’ve created in past that I can use to build an initial portfolio? Most importantly – seriously contemplate if this gig has the potential to bring you joy. Do you find the work fulfilling? Is there a fun factor to it? Because if it’s a hit - you’ll be doing it over and over again. 

From there, review your list and plan to launch three to five gigs to start. If executed well, chances are at least one out of the bunch will stick. 

Research the Competition 

Once you have a solid idea of the gigs you plan to launch with, it’s time to research the competition. Take it gig by gig and get a sense of how many other Sellers are offering similar services. 

For example, certain niches, like logo design, are relatively over saturated, with many qualified Sellers offering a variety of packages, meaning it may be hard to make any impact as an entry level seller. On the flipside, if when staking out the competition for your brilliant gig idea, there are no search results, you may have picked something that nobody is shopping for. 

In our experience, the sweet spot for a lucrative gig is one that has 5-10 other prominent sellers, proving demand but providing enough wiggle room for you to build your prominence in the space. Once you’ve found it, it’s helpful to deep dive into those competitors’ gigs and take note of how they articulate themselves in the title, how they craft their descriptions, and what they offer in each of their packages. Get inspired, take notes - and get ready to one-up the competition. 

Write the Perfect Pitch

Now that you’ve identified the gigs that you are going to launch with and have aggregated your favorite pieces from top performing competitors, it’s time to write kickass gig titles & descriptions, and craft packages that sell. In our experience, it is the gig description that separates a gig from the rest. When it comes to pitching value, less is more. Be clear, concise, and emphasize results. Our formula for winning descriptions reads like this:

HOOK: Start with a singular hook that starts with the problem that you are solving, and closes with a reassurance that you are the Seller destined to find a solution. For example: “Struggling to piece together your e-commerce website? Stress no longer - I am here to build you a website that attracts, informs and converts leads with ease!” 

SHORT BIO: Following your confident self-promo, give strangers an idea of why you are fit for the job. Outline your passion for the job at hand, qualifying work experience and technical expertise. 

THE PROCESS: Remember that Fiverr Buyers get a very small window into who you are as a professional. It’s your job to set expectations and walk them through what they can expect when teaming up with you – and it’s something that most Buyers fail to consider. You can summarize your approach in a paragraph, numbered list, or visualize it in one of the thumbnail photos below the gig tile. Taking the time to complete this step also helps you stay organized and enables you to deliver predictable outputs. 

Launch Low, Over-Deliver & Over-Communicate

At this point - you are ready to pull the trigger and you’re likely daydreaming about dollar signs. You’ve seen how much top competitors are charging, know how much you typically charge or have made in previous jobs, and are already ready to throw in the towel at your 9-5 to take this full-time. 

Not so fast. Yes, you deserve to be paid adequately, and need this side-hustle to be lucrative and worth your time – but exercising patience when pricing your gig can make or break it’s success. The secret to building  a sustainable gig is launching low. If you start with low prices, there is opportunity to over-deliver, impress, and rack up five star reviews which will secure credibility and increase your authority in search rankings. Increase prices slowly over-time, and if executed perfectly, you’ll be a Top Seller in no time. 

Pro Tip: Communicating back and forth through Fiverr’s messaging platform can be exhausting. Crafting auto responses to frequently asked questions helps save time (and sanity), and secure more sales. 

Take Notes & Pivot As Necessary

While slaying deliveries and finding your groove, reflect and pivot as you go. Eliminate gigs that bring you more pain than profits. Take note of what elements of a gig take the least amount of time and scale those. Adjust prices to match time invested and your standing as a Seller. 

Lastly, be your own advocate. An online marketplace has its pros and cons, and one of the downsides is that people find it a lot easier to undercut, spam and disrespect others through a screen. Don’t stand for that cowardice – remain polite – but keep in mind that you are a deserving, desirable professional and that authenticity is the true key to success in a digital exchange.