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20 Not-So-Obvious Fiverr Tips for Buyers (Learned First-Hand While Working on WordPress Projects)

While doing my research, I found lots of tips online about selling on Fiverr® but far less info about how to get the most out of your experience as a buyer. So, because I’ve been playing around with Fiverr quite a lot lately, I thought I’d fill this void and put up a list of some of my top Fiverr tips – from a buyer’s perspective – to help both buyers and sellers work together better (you’re welcome, Fiverr)!

Attention, data says: one in three entrepreneurs in the US has turned to freelancers for coding help last year (see chart below).

(Charts by Visualizer Lite.)

WordPress, in particular, is well represented on platforms like Fiverr, UpWork, and PeoplePerHour to name a few.

How well represented?

If you search for “WordPress customization” on Fiverr there will be more than 6,800+ results (called Gigs®) to choose from.

Fiverr has been around since 2010, it’s one of the go-to platforms for graphic design on a budget and it recently launched an option for listing premium services (fiverr.com/pro). In the attempt to bring more qualified professionals on board, there’s been a shift in their marketing now focusing on building a community of doers. So it’s definitely one of THE freelance platforms to try if you’re looking to build/tweak a WordPress site.

If you decide you want to give Fiverr a go, here are 20 Fiverr tips to make the best of your experience:

1. Don’t use multiple accounts

Fiverr only allows one active account per user and any (caught) attempts to cheat this will result in disabling all related accounts. You can read more about this in their Terms of Service (in short, it’s a way for them to protect users against fraud and abuse).

Think well before you choose your Fiverr username because once registered, you cannot change it.

2. Save your favorites

 

Sometimes searching Fiverr is like searching for the proverbial needle in the haystack. And when you do find the right service (or, as is often the case, another interesting service in your quest to find the right service), you want to make sure you don’t forget what it is.

To avoid that, save them for later to a separate collection, just like you do on Pinterest.

Fiverr Favorites list
 

3. Always contact the seller before buying

The cool thing about Fiverr is that it allows buyers and sellers to message each other before an order is placed. Even if you’ve found the right gig that matches your requirements, don’t rush into hitting that Order button.

 
 

Near the seller’s profile, you will see a Contact me button that pops up into a contact window where you can briefly describe what you’re looking for. This will give you the opportunity to see the seller’s reply and learn a bit about them. Getting different answers will help you make a better choice in selecting the winning seller.

Fiverr message seller option
 

4. Use a secret word

When posting a request, make sure to add a secret word in the project description, asking sellers to mention it when making an offer to your request.

You’d be surprised to see that almost 50% of the orders will miss it. This will help you weed out people that haven’t actually read the request, and go with the most motivated ones.

Fiverr service request

5. Don’t leave bad ratings unless it’s unavoidable

Instead, message the seller and explain why you are not happy with the results. Because ratings are very important to sellers, it’s likely they will offer to fix your issue without any additional fee.

It’s better to give sellers a chance to repair things before leaving them a bad rating. Most sellers will appreciate this and will try to help. Even if there might be a small delay, it’s still a win-win.

6. Use some best practices to get faster results

If you are looking for a fast fix, you will need to pay attention to a couple of things. Besides going after Fiverr sellers that have a good response and delivery time, there are other Fiverr tips to pay attention to:

  • After posting a request to the seller community, your project details will go into a review stage. This happens because Fiverr needs to check if your project is compliant with their TOS, meaning that it will take a couple of hours to get your request approved. If you want to get things rolling fast, better submit that request ASAP.
  • For a fast reply to your request, look for sellers that are marked Online. To see this, look for the Online icon in the upper-right corner of a seller’s profile.
  • The minimum delivery time on Fiverr is one day, and a complex project might require several days to complete. The sellers will specify this in the gig’s delivery time. To get it done faster, you can either buy an Extra (more on this in tip #13) or message the seller and ask if they’re available to deliver faster for some extra money added to the gig.

Fiverr extra fast delivery

  • For fast handling a project, keep an eye on the number of revisions included in a gig (listed in the Order Details section). Some sellers don’t have this specified, though it’s unlikely they will risk getting a bad review for refusing to make an additional revision.
  • Use the Fiverr mobile app to communicate instantly with the seller (more on this in tip #18).

7. Do a trial run before requesting a bigger project

If you have a big project coming up (with a value of $100+), you’ll often be better off commissioning a small project first to gauge a seller’s quality.

To do this, I suggest doing a small trial order with 2-3 sellers. This way, you’ll have a better chance to get the bigger project running without unwanted surprises.

8. Earn money with the referral program

 
 

No budget to work on Fiverr? You can start earning some. Instead of recommending Fiverr to your friends and getting 20% (i.e. $5 for $25 project) for each new sign up, you can enroll in their affiliate program, and receive up to $150.

For first-time buyers (new registered users) getting WordPress gigs, the Fiverr affiliate program pays you $40. By recommending the service on your site/blog you could start earning some big money that you can either cash out or use it to buy some gigs on your own.

Fiverr Affiliate WordPress
 

9. Ignore the “Top offers” from Fiverr email

After placing a request, offers will start pouring in. And Fiverr will announce this by sending you an email with a selected list of “top offers”.

Fiverr email gig recommendations

Here’s one of my top Fiverr tips: Don’t rush into getting those “selected” offers. Fiverr picks them randomly, choosing the first level 1-2 sellers that reply to your request. The two offers I got did not mention the secret word and they were certainly not the most interesting ones I’ve received.

Remember – an automated email is never going to be as good as your human eye!

10. Negotiate

I don’t recommend to always negotiate on the price – going after the smallest price is not really ethical. But before requesting an offer, take a few moments to think about what budget you’re comfortable with.

Next, when posting the request, leave the budget field blank. If the offers come back overpriced, you can push back and say that you can’t afford that much. In most cases, sellers will be flexible and offer you a better deal.

You may also be interested in:

11. Set limited user access and make backups

Most Fiverr sellers do ask for the login details to your site (if the gig involves any direct WordPress work, that is). This is a common practice as it helps them better understand the requests and thus deliver quicker. To be on the safe side, better create a separate account with limited access and no admin privileges. WordPress user roles can help you accomplish this.

Also, before implementing any changes, make sure to backup your site and data.

12. Watch out for “complete/full setup website” gigs

Some gigs promise to deliver a fully set up site. To do so, sellers sometimes pick up a pirated theme or use plugins that aren’t genuine. Not only will pirated themes/plugins not receive updates and fixes from their authors, but they will often contain malware to boot!

To stay clean, make sure you ask the sellers if they own a license for these products and for how long they will be valid. Some themes are sold with a lifetime license while others are subscription based (which means you will need to pay a recurring fee to keep them up to date).

13. Buy extras/add-ons

Level one sellers and up are allowed to upgrade their gigs with extras/add-ons. Those are listed in the gig description and sometimes they will appear only in the payment stage.

 
 

The extra services can buy you a faster delivery, an additional revision, or something related to your site (security check, site optimization etc.).

When considering the upgrade, have in mind the final price and if you would have paid this amount for the gig sans the extra. If your answer is yes and the extra is something you need, just go and get it!

Fiverr extras
 

14. Build relationships

This one is my favorite of all fiverr tips. If you’ve already tried Fiverr and found a seller that did a good job, don’t go looking for a different one. Be considerate and stick with the person that helped you in the first place.

Otherwise, you may only be wasting time. If the seller is busy, or cannot do the job, ask them to recommend someone. It’s similar to how things work in real life, you know. 🙂

15. Don’t try to game the system

This is perhaps one of the key Fiverr tips for you to remember…

Many have tried to escape Fiverr’s commission by hooking up with a seller outside the platform. While it’s not impossible, you better not go that way.

Sharing your contact details (email, Skype or Facebook usernames, phone number) or asking for the seller’s email is not allowed on Fiverr. Do not accept or indulge in such activities that may result in getting your account banned.

Recovering a banned account is almost impossible.

From the platform’s Terms of Service (link):

(…) any violations to Fiverr’s Terms of Service is cause for permanent suspension of all accounts.

Like this guy:

See video

16. Reach out to Fiverr support

If Fiverr’s buyer knowledgebase wasn’t helpful and you need some human support, you can reach out to their Customer Support service (via ZenDesk). However, the fastest way to get in touch is through the official Fiverr Twitter account.

  • Response time on Twitter: 30 minutes
  • Response time on email: 2.45 hours

Contacting Fiverr Support worked pretty well. So for emergencies, they will have you covered, which is always reassuring.

17. Use the Fiverr App

Android Fiverr

Make yourself available by using Fiverr’s free mobile apps for Android and iOS. This will make it easier to reply fast to messages and also browse gigs while on the road and build your list of Favorites.

Android Fiverr App

iOS Fiverr App

18. Leave a tip for good work

After the project is delivered, Fiverr will ping you for a review. You may choose to skip it, and after three days it will go away. But reviews are like gold to sellers, so try to find a couple of minutes to leave a personalized one.

Next, you will have an option to leave an extra tip for the seller. This is not mandatory, but it is a nice way to say thanks and help the seller with some extra money. Especially if you were satisfied and you think you might work again together, a small tip is always welcome! (FYI; tips are also charged commission by Fiverr with 20%, so the seller will get less.)

19. Join the Fiverr community

The official Fiverr Forum is a good place to engage with people using Fiverr, although few buyers actually do. You can place a question in the Tips for Buyers and the Tips for Sellers categories or just browse the FAQs.

There is also a Fiverr forum on Quora and a Reddit forum for reaching out to the community, but I have no idea how active they are. If you’ve used Quora or Reddit Fiverr forums, please share your experience in the comments!

20. Be professional

Like any service, Fiverr should be handled professionally. Keep in mind someone’s business may depend on you, so try to:

  • Be patient with communication – you never know what may be causing a delay in response.
  • Fairly value people’s work and, remember, you can always compensate with a tip.
  • Do not use bad language – “Communication on Fiverr should be friendly, constructive, and professional. Fiverr condemns bullying, harassment, and hate speech towards others.”
  • Be reasonable with deadlines and allow the seller enough time to modify and review the work.
  • Do not threaten to cancel or give a bad review.

Any more cool Fiverr tips?

That’s all from me. Following these Fiverr tips when hiring a freelancer will make your overall Fiverr experience better, faster, stronger nicer.

Have you tested Fiverr for any WordPress work of your own? Share your experiences in the comments below.

Don’t forget to join our crash course on speeding up your WordPress site. Learn more below:

BONUS VIDEO: How To Make Money Reviewing Products

Layout and presentation by Karol K.

 
Sabina Ionescu

4 Comments
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Nigel Rawlins
February 1, 2018 6:42 am

Do be careful allowing access to your hosting account too, remember, if you are paying $5 for a job and you value security, you had better know what you are doing. After one job I had 14 other sites on the same server hacked. That doesn’t mean it was fiverr’s fault. I’ve used fiverr a lot and really appreciate the work they do for quick and easy jobs. For important jobs that need a level of security, I would rather pay more through upwork. Be careful there too, as some mis-represent their ability as well.

Sabina Ionescu
February 1, 2018 1:27 pm
Reply to  Nigel Rawlins

I couldn’t agree more. Never give out access to your hosting. If you plan to go a long way with your site, better read some tutorials on how to manage your site’s files and do it yourself. Even if it takes more time to handle things yourself, better be on the safe side. Thanks Nigel for mentioning this!

David Cuff
January 25, 2018 6:46 pm

Thanks for taking the time to test the water and document it for us.

Sabina Ionescu
January 29, 2018 6:13 pm
Reply to  David Cuff

Thanks for dropping by David 🙂

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