If you’ve been wondering how to make ends meet on one income, please read on for my honest review of the freelancer site Fiverr.
If your family is like mine, living on one income can be tough. Each month is eked out by the grace of God and you always wish there was just a tiny bit more money in the bank for extras.
A latte here. A new shirt there. A nice dinner out just for fun.
But necessities first. I get it, I really do. Which is why I started selling my services as a proofreader online to bring in just a little extra for those extras.
Have you been considering your own side hustle?
If you’ve got a virtual service to sell, consider Fiverr as a way to make a little income from home. Here’s my experience with the site, and the pros and cons of selling there.
If you’ve never heard of Fiverr before, it is a site that specializes in connecting buyers and sellers of a multitude of skills and gigs (their word for jobs) at the base price of $5.
I first discovered Fiverr as a buyer. I knew the kind of logo I wanted for this blog, but had a small (nonexistent) budget for it and zero design skills. So, I hired someone on Fiverr to take my hand-drawn design and turn it into a graphic.
That person suddenly became too busy and cancelled my order. Bummer. I tried another and had better luck, receiving a decent logo for the price and within 24 hours. There were revisions included in the gig, which I took advantage of by asking for a few color tweaks. But no response.
You could say that my experiences as a buyer set me up to provide certain services as a seller that I might not have been sensitive to had I not been on the other side of the transaction.
A few months after I quit my job and found out baby number five was on the way, I opened up a seller account on Fiverr. It was easy to do and only required some basic bio information.
I read over some other proofreading gigs to see what they were offering, how much, and what extras. I offered 50% more words proofread than the most popular gigs to increase my chances of getting business since, as a newbie, I’d have no reviews or ratings to entice clients.
Let me just say, it was slow going at the start.
I had two orders in six months. Two.
I’d practically forgotten about the account when suddenly I started getting orders. They came in more and more consistently, with repeat clients and good ratings and reviews bolstering my popularity.
At one point, within days of my husband breaking his foot and being out of work, I was inundated with orders to the point that I was working 12-hour days to keep up. (Who says God doesn’t provide?)
I was editing books and dissertations for hundreds of dollars. I was receiving huge tips and dealing with really interesting content. It was fast-paced, and I have to admit, I thrived at times on the hectic rush of meeting deadline after deadline.
Though after three months of my side hustle being full-time, I was glad to scale back when he went back to work and took over the bread winning.
But I’ve continued working for Fiverr, as well as expanded my proofreading to clients that I work with directly, but would never have partnered with if not for Fiverr. (I’m even one online magazine’s official copy editor!)
But like any job, there are downsides.
To reach new clients and build your portfolio, you need to be available… all the time. I’ve created custom orders for querying clients after hearing my phone buzz at 2am. I’ve nursed a baby in one arm while working on my laptop with the other.
Avoiding being “offline” helps people find your gig, but I believe it also helps your ranking in Fiverr’s search results. Being on the 20th page isn’t going to garner much attention.
You also can’t avoid certain clients. I continue to work for one that hires me monthly and makes me groan every time. He is rude, demanding, and always asks for more than he pays for. Explaining the limitations of his purchase is the most irritating aspect of our interactions, but I’ve heard horror stories from other sellers.
At times, the work people ask for requires more time than $5 should pay for. But, at least in my case, I’m selling a service, not the amount of time and effort I expend. Sometimes I’m adding two commas to a perfect-written, 100-word PR piece; other times, I’m translating a 1500-word, grammatical nightmare that takes hours—both pay me $5.
Or rather, $4. Fiverr takes 20% of your profit. That’s another (big) con of this job.
So, to recap, here’s some pros and cons of Fiverr:
PROS: Easy money (mostly), safe payment by PayPal, flexible, can work in your pjs, exposed to interesting content, and allows you to do what you like.
CONS: Cheap labor, unpleasant and unavoidable clients, high fees, intrudes into your off-time, and can be stressful with multiple deadlines (typically, there is a 24-hour turnaround, unless otherwise stated).
If you’re considering a side hustle and looking for a reliable, well-established company, Fiverr is a good choice. It’s easy to set up an account, and once you’re established, there’s plenty of work.
If you decide to sell your services, bear in mind that the rules of customer service still apply, even as a virtual freelancer. Be polite, efficient, on time, and accurate. You never know when a single gig could turn into a long-term business arrangement.
I wish you luck on your search for a side income and hope this helps open up some options for you!
Do you have any personal experience with Fiverr? What side hustles have you tried? I’d love to hear your ideas and stories in the comments!
Looking for ways that your family can save money? Try these posts:
How Changing Your Spending Habits Can Save You Money
Just found your blog today. This was a very well written and helpful article. Thank you! I’d love a follow up post for Fiverr tips! Just started there myself.
I’m so glad you found my blog. Thank you for reading 🙂 I may write a follow-up, but my suggestion would be to check out Fiverr’s community forum. So many questions are answered there, and I always found it to be very helpful. Good luck!