What To Do When Fiverr Mania Strikes
Fiverr Mania: It Happens To Everyone.... But You CAN Control It!
It might take a day or two for you to get your first order on Fiverr. But if you're doing it right - if you're providing a quality product or service and you're delivering on time - it won't take long for Fiverr Mania to set in.
What is Fiverr Mania?
Fiverr Mania is a condition that effects Fiverr buyers and sellers. Fiverr buyers realize that only a small percentage of the gigs they find are actually going to be delivered. And an even smaller percentage will be worth more than 5 bucks. Consequently, when they find one - when they find yours - they buy as many as Fiverr will allow and sometimes even create multiple accounts so they can buy even more.
Fiverr Mania affects sellers a little differently. In the beginning you feel a sense of euphoria. Look at all those gig orders pouring in! You're going to be rich!
This feeling quickly turns to panic when you realize you have to deliver 35 Squidoo lenses within the next 24 hours if you want to maintain your 100% rating!
With this lens I'm going to show you about my own experience with Fiverr Mania and how I managed to pull through and survive.
Image credit: Mind Million
How Fiverr Mania Affects The Buyer
Many of the buyers who use Fiverr are looking for marketing tools - articles, promotional videos and link building to name a few. Most of my experience has been with these types of buyers since my gigs involve writing articles and setting up Squidoo lenses. But I do watch the other gigs, too, and the effects of this disease seem to be the same no matter what the buyer is looking for.
In the beginning they'll come to your gig and ask you all kinds of questions before they order, trying to determine if you're going to deliver a quality product.
After you've spent hours, or even days, answering all their questions, these buyers will finally order one of your gigs to test the waters.
Keep in mind, most of these buyers have bought other gigs, too, and they know how crappy the quality can be. They also know that sellers who deliver a quality product don't stick around long because they find more lucrative work. So, if you deliver a quality article or lens or whatever it is you're offering, they're going to order more.
A lot more.
In fact, they will order as many as Fiverr allows. If you're a newbie seller, they can only order one gig at a time from you. When you move up to Level One, I believe that increases to two at a time. And when you hit Level 2, buyers can order up to 8 gigs at a time from you.
Now here's where Fiverr Mania kicks in. These buyers, in their haste to get your awesome articles or lenses or what have you, will create multiple accounts and order even more gigs. I have, in the past, had 2 buyers who each ordered 16 Squidoo lenses from me on the same day.
Those 16 lenses would have been a stretch on a good day but I already had 8 other buyers in line before them. Which meant I had 20 lenses due one day and 20 the next. With orders already in line ahead of those it was impossible to start work early so I could deliver on time.
Even more important: It's impossible to create 20 quality Squidoo lenses in one day! But buyers don't think about stuff like that. They just want to take advantage of your offer before it disappears!!
Do NOT Buy In To This...
Before they order, many of these afflicted buyers will ask you to do MORE than you offer in your gig, with the promise of HUGE amounts of business if you 'Do a good job.'
Do NOT Buy In To This! They're lying! It's a symptom of the disease!
Buyers afflicted with Fiverr Mania automatically assume that all sellers are happy to work for peanuts and that we're all gullible idiots. They're just trying to see how much they can get for 5 bucks.
Tell them to take a hike!
How Fiverr Mania Affects You, The Seller
As a new Fiverr seller you're just happy to see that first order show up on your dashboard. You take your time creating whatever it is you're offering because.... well, you have plenty of time. You only have that one order to work on and you want it to be perfect so the buyer will leave you good feedback.
But those Fiverr buyers see that feedback - which is a good thing. But it's also what fuels their fever. Once you start getting even 2 or 3 comments and good feedback responses showing on your gig, the buyers start getting heart palpitations.
You, on the other hand, are initially filled with glee!
Trust me. It doesn't take long before you have 2 or 3 new orders showing up every morning when you log in to Fiverr.
And it doesn't take long after that for you to log in and see 20 new orders! IN. ONE. DAY.
What you need to remember is - all of the orders that come in on the same day will also have to be delivered on the same day. If your lead time is 7 days, those 20 orders you get on Monday will have to be delivered the following Monday, the 20 orders you get on Tuesday will have to be delivered the following Tuesday, and so on.
It won't be long before you start to panic. How can you keep up this pace?!
And that's when Fiverr Mania hits you. You're thinking, "OMG! What have I gotten myself into?! And how do I get out of this mess?!"
Why You Need To Work Through The Fever
How Fiverr's Rating System Works
As with any other site that offers a Feedback or rating system, Fiverr's system is important for you, the seller. Maintaining a rating in the mid 90's or higher means your gig will appear more often in random searches and it also gives buyers a sense of confidence. That confident feeling means a lot - especially on Fiverr - and buyers will be more willing to place that first order with you.
Fiverr also takes your rating into consideration when it's time to look at making you a Level 2 seller. You want to get to at least Level 2 so you can add extras to your gigs and make more money.
Every time a buyers orders one of your gigs a clock starts ticking. If you don't deliver on time, the buyer has the option of cancelling. If the buyer does not cancel, you have a few days left to deliver - even though the clock now says you're late. After a set amount of time, Fiverr's system automatically cancels the gig. You need to avoid this! When this happens, your rating will drop!
Now that you know why you need to work through this dilemma, let's take a look at to get through it and what you can do to avoid it in the future!
Set Limits In Writing
You can edit your gig listing any time you like. I've edited mine several times in one day. Why? Because buyers keep trying to outsmart me!
You only have 450 characters for your gig description and it's hard to get everything in there. You have another 450 or so where you can ask the buyer for more information. Use every single character if you have to!
Set limits. In your description tell them exactly what you'll do. That means you're going to have to put some thought into it. If you're only willing to write 450 words for five bucks, then state that clearly. Otherwise, some unscrupulous buyer can give you a Thumbs Down if he doesn't get a 1000 word article.
Are you willing to write about anything or are certain topics off limits? For example, my first gig guaranteed their article would pass Ezine Articles editors and get published. BUT - it had to be a topic that was acceptable under their publishing guidelines. If I hadn't included that disclaimer I'd still be sitting here trying to get that PLR article past their editors!
As time goes on you'll get buyers trying all kinds of little tricks. If you can, change up your gig description or your request for more information. If not, use the Cancellation Request button that I talk about next!
TIP: Maybe it's time to take a look at what you're offering in your gig. In the beginning, offering a bunch of little, extra features was fine. You had plenty of time for that. But maybe it's time to think about streamlining your offer. Start taking out one or two of the 'little extras' you're offering so you can complete gigs faster.
You'll never be able to anticipate all of the roadblocks buyers are going to put in your path. So read on to find out what you can do when unexpected problems occur.
You can change your lead time whenever you want, too. And you can also suspend your gigs.
If you notice yourself getting behind, or you need a few days off, just push out your lead time or suspend your gig for a few days. For each day you get zero bookings that means a day that you won't have any orders you need to deliver.
Don't Be Afraid To Cancel A Gig
You are going to have buyers who try to push the limits. It's just a fact of Fiverr. So be prepared.
I've had buyers insist that Squidoo will allow their Viagra lens or that Ezine articles will allow an article about the benefits of using PLR content. I know they're nuts, but they insist that I take their order. And if I don't it could result in a Thumbs Down somewhere along the line which would affect my rating.
I've also had buyers who give me nothing to go on - just a topic. 'Write an article about horses.' 'Build a lens about shoes.' There's no way to know what these people want and you're just asking for a Thumbs Down if you do this without more information.
Sometimes I get buyers who ask me to write about topics that I know I just can't write about. For example, I'm no good at writing about diesel engines or how computers work.
Sometimes I just have too many orders in one day or I have a personal emergency come up that keeps me from being able to deliver on time.
Anytime something comes up that will prevent me from delivering a quality product, on time, that meets all of the promises I made in my gig, I use the "Got Problems? Request Cancellation" button at the bottom of the gig.
This is the best way to communicate problems with your buyer because the powers that be at Fiverr can see what's being said.
For example, I might request a cancellation and tell the buyer I can't guarantee his lens will stay published because it's a topic that Squidoo doesn't allow. I'm not turning down his order (which might get me a thumbs down). I'm just letting him know that I can't guarantee it and giving him the opportunity to either cancel or change his topic.
I might also use this cancellation request if I'm behind on orders. I'll explain to the buyer that I'm running behind and if he'd like to cancel I completely understand. Most buyers are happy you communicate with them and they're willing to wait.
In any case, when you use this cancellation option, if the buyer does choose to cancel, it doesn't affect your rating at all. This is the best 'pill' for Fiverr Mania I've found yet!
Communicating on Fiverr is crucial. Anytime you have a question for the buyer, ask it. Do NOT try to read a buyer's mind. If you don't deliver what they 'think' they want, they can give you a Thumbs Down and hurt your rating.
If something happens and you end up with a cancellation because the buyer didn't respond in time for you to deliver the order, then you have everything in writing. File a Support Ticket with Fiverr and they'll remove that cancellation and restore your rating.
Do You Need More Information About My Fiverr Journey?
If you haven't already done so, I encourage you to read my other lenses about my Fiverr Experience so you can see more about the whole process. Especially if you like this lens you're reading now.
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