Why I Use Fiverr(.com) as a Freelancer

Why I Use Fiverr(.com) as a Freelancer

Why I Use Fiverr(.com)

Becoming a Freelance graphic and web designer is a dream of mine. Although, I’m also a little skeptical about the whole freelance career. Here are a few reasons I started using Fiverr.

 

Getting Started on Fiverr

When I first signed up for Fiverr, I wasn’t really sure how it worked. How was I supposed to rely on people finding me, when there are thousands of other graphic designers on there. After the first week of signing up, I stopped using it.

At the time, there were many other sites to use: freelancer.com and upwork.com were two of my favourites. I made two clients on each site in the first month of using them, before it went very quiet. I did like the fact that I could apply for jobs, as many as 10 per day, without having to pay. Of course you have to pay the hosts a % of the money you make. Which in reality is a couple of cents to a few dollars, depending on the job, of course.

After a while, I was tired of applying for all these jobs and never hearing back. Plus, I had a few scams happen to me while using both Freelancer and Upwork. Luckily, I didn’t fall for them, although, this really turned me off of the whole freelancing game for a while. A month ago, I decided I would try using Fiverr again. I decided to read all I could on how to use Fiverr efficiently. I learned quite alot, in fact, I decided I would share my insights with you all!

 

It’s Easy to Use, Once you Know How to Use It!

Like I said earlier, when I first signed up for Fiverr, I had no clue how to use it! I thought you just made a profile and that was it. I was very wrong, and this is why I wasn’t getting any customers! Here are a few ways to seek out clients and get customers attention.

#1: Add Gigs

By adding Gigs, you are showing potential clients what you know how to do, how much it will cost them and more. Go to Selling > Gigs.

Why I use Fiverr

Why I use Fiverr

Now that your in your Gigs, click on Create a New Gig. Also note the Different options you have. You can turn on Vacation Mode, so that customers know you are away (this is good for keeping your stats up). You also have an option to Accept Custom Offers. Basically this allows customers to ask you to work on design gigs other than the gigs you have listed.

Why I use Fiverr

Next, you’ll want to create your gig. It is pretty simple to do this, but it does take about 10 minutes to create each gig. Make sure you don’t add any web page links, otherwise your gig will not be accepted. There is also a short video to show you how to create a great gig, if needed.

Why I use Fiverr

#2: Check Out the Buyer Request

Customers can create Buyer Requests, to let creatives know what they want. Creatives can then big on the project (similar to Freelancer or Upwork). You can view Buyer Requests by going to Selling > Buyer Requests.

Why I use Fiverr

Why I use Fiverr

 

The next window you will see is a list of buyer requests in your creative domain. You can send 10 bids per day on Buyer Requests. Which is a decent amount, considering you won’t want to apply for all of them. The Buyer Requests look something like this (see below).

Why I use Fiverr

 

Hope this helps you all in becoming freelancers on Fiverr. Let me know if there’s anything else you need me to cover and I’ll send you a reply. Or send me an email and I’ll answer you that way!

 

 

 

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9 Ways to Become a Better Known Freelancer

9 Ways to Become a Better Known Freelancer

9 Ways to Become a Better Known Freelancer

 

#1: Social media is your friend

Being a freelancer means you need to start networking. You won’t gain clients by hiding at your cottage with no wifi connection. Do you have people on your Facebook account that you don’t remember how you met? I think we all do. This isn’t always a bad thing and I’ll explain why!

If you set up a company page for your freelancing business, then you should invite all of your facebook friends to like this page, including the friends you don’t really consider friends. Why you ask? The more friends that like your page, the more their friends will see. This means they will potentially like your page also. Now that they liked your page they see your updates. Now, if you’re lucky, they will ask you for help on a project, which means $$ for you.

The more social media platforms you have and the more you post about your freelancing, the more potential clients you can gain. This means you should post about projects you’re working on, customer satisfaction, and more. Be sure to add photos to Instagram, posts to Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Behance and even updates on twitter and other social media sites.


#2: Business Cards aren’t in the past

Leave your business cards at the hair salon or barber, at the grocery store and even at the shopping mall. You may get no contacts, but you could gain many contacts as well. Remember to always keep your business cards in a card holder, because there is nothing worse than giving a potential client a ripped or bent business card, it doesn’t look professional at all. It is worth the $7 investment, believe me!


#3: Freelancing websites

There are some really great freelancing websites out there. Some include: Freelancer, Upwork, Localsolo and many more. Most of these sites let you sort through listings by verified payments and other options. Be sure to check off verified payment because there is nothing worse than doing 20 hours of work only to get scammed and not paid. There are thousands of freelancers using these sites, so don’t be discouraged if you aren’t getting chosen right away, just keep applying and eventually you will be picked! Once you get one contract, many more will come your way.


#4: Always have your portfolio ready

There’s nothing worse than getting asked to apply for a freelance job in a first-come-first-served basis when you need to submit a portfolio and you have nothing ready. My advice: use an online portfolio site, like Behance or even a WordPress.com website that you update on a weekly or monthly basis. This is one of my downfalls as well, usually blaming it on the lack of time I have. But you can always make time for 30 minutes in your week to work on it.

11082016-freelancing

#5: Be social

Seriously! Go out with your friends, join a soccer team, a social club like a book club or a yacht club, and meet new people. Tell them what you do, most people will say “oh I could use a graphic designer / interior designer / fill in the blank“. This is the best time to pull out your crisp business card and show them your contact information and website link. They won’t all end up calling you back. Although, I definitely got a few freelance jobs with this and even my full-time job by handing people a clean business card.


#6: Hire a web developer or design a website yourself

You will look much more professional if you have your own website. If you aren’t good with web design, then hire someone. There is nothing worse than an ugly, poorly designed or poorly organized website when you are trying to promote yourself. Most people won’t even go past the homepage if your website is not attractive, especially if you are a designer or stylist of any sort!


#7: Dress appropriately

Okay, maybe you won’t always be able to look your best, but even if you’re going to the grocery store try to make sure you look presentable. You never know who you’ll run into or when you’ll meet a potential client. You know the saying, “Dress like you’re going to run into your worst enemy.”, well it’s true. Even if you’re going to your kids soccer game, I’m not saying wear a dress-suit, just a clean pair of jeans and a nice shirt (no stains or tears). Most people won’t leave their house unless they look presentable anyways.


#8: Write down your goals

This is not for anyone else to see, it is just for you. After you are done writing your goals, put it up on the wall or somewhere on your desk, in your agenda, anywhere you will see it everyday. Your goals may change, that’s okay, modify them if need be, but make sure you know what your goals are. The only way to achieve your goals is to know what they are. This way you will know what steps you’ll need to take to achieve them. This should probably be #1, because it is so important.


#9: Be yourself, but never forget the clients vision

You may have a signature style, but your clients should always come first. This includes their wants and needs for the project. Never let your personality overshadow the client’s goal. If they want something fresh and modern, but you prefer using classic fonts and colours, put your preferences aside. Give them 3 designs, maybe one of them is more you and explain why this will work, but don’t forget about the other 2 designs. Remember, you only make money if the client is happy!

So with these steps you’ll be on your way to having an overbooked schedule! Good luck and happy freelancing!

Here are a few more ways to get a better work/ life balance

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Using Social Media to Get Known

Using Social Media to Get Known

Using Social Media to Get Known

If you are becoming a freelancer, you’ll need to start growing your client base. Now, it is easier than ever to do this, thanks to social media platforms. To gain clients, word of mouth is a great way to advertise yourself, and it’s free! To gain many clients though, without paying for advertising, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest and more are great options.

Facebook

Since becoming a freelancer, I have created a Facebook Page for my Graphic Design business (KEELYBURNS DESIGN) and just recently, I have started a Facebook Page for this blog (KeelyBurns Blog). I have already gotten some great feedback since creating my blog page on Saturday! I am looking forward to even more likes and followers in the coming weeks.

 

Pinterest

Another great social media platform is Pinterest. I can’t explain how well Pinterest works in spreading blog posts and projects I have worked on. The best way to get a large following is to join groups on Pinterest so that you can post your work in those groups and get a larger viewer count. This works almost as well as advertising if you are in enough groups.

LinkedIn

If you haven’t joined LinkedIn yet, now’s the time, you can do some serious networking on there. You can follow some really interesting people who post lots of inspiring articles. For example, I follow people like Richard Branson. He has a lot of great posts for entrepreneurs and people wanting to become an entrepreneur.

Behance

If you are a graphic designer, photographer or any other creative, behance is a great platform to join. You can post your projects to create a portfolio and you can follow other creatives to get inspired. It is also a great way to show clients your portfolio if you don’t have your own website.

Instagram

Instagram is a great way to show off designs and photos, especially if you have a lot of followers. Having many followers is key. The best way to do this, is to follow people who are interested in the same things you post. When you follow someone, most of the time they will check out your account and they may follow you back. Every once in a while you can clean out your followers so that you don’t have a bunch of people you’re following that aren’t following you back. Although, if some people you are following share interesting posts, don’t unfollow them just because they aren’t following you.

Alright girls and boys, that’s all I have to share for now. Stay tuned for more insights!

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When you sign-up for our blog's newsletter we will send you
our trending posts, ideas and freebies.
We will also send you our tips and tricks of the quarter.