Why I quit Fiverr

Welp, I touted Fiverr as one of the few freelancing sites I would suggest using in an earlier post ... mostly for its ease of use and "getting into the game."

I now retract that suggestion. 

Here's what I said originally:

"Fiverr is different [from oDesk and Elance]. It's more like a shopping site. You offer something for $5 (called a "gig") and people can buy it. For example, I have gigs for 500 words of editing, 50 words of copy writing, and some other fun things I've tried over time ... like providing feedback on online dating profiles. The best thing about this site is that the jobs come to you. No searching, no cover letters. The worst thing about this site, and this actually angers me, is that it takes 20%. So not only do you often end up working too hard for $5, but then you only get $4. Then you transfer it to PayPal and lose another small percentage. It should really be called Three-point-ninety-two-err. 

You might be wondering why I still use this site. Well, it's great to have tiny jobs that fill in the cracks. If I can ever drop a site because I'm just that busy, Fiverr will go first. I honestly think it's highway robbery for them to take 20%. I do pause my gigs pretty often when other work is keeping me busy (it's super-easy to do) ... but when I'm not, it's nice to have those little jobs."

For a little context, in about a year I've made $1000 on Fiverr overall, meaning I've made $200 for Fiverr. That's a lot in the context of these small gigs and most of it was within a few months. I had earned a Level 2 rating, which is a bigger deal than it sounds like. The only thing higher is Top Seller, which is decided by Fiverr staff on a one-by-one basis.

So first, I noticed a dramatic drop in my Fiverr jobs lately. No logical reason. I don't know what they changed and I didn't worry about it much because $3.92! Life goes on. I left my gigs up for what few small jobs might trickle in.

Recently I got one of those random and infrequent jobs, not for editing like I used to get DAILY, but through my gig for help with online dating profiles. The client wanted help with texting a girl. Yes, I know ... not exactly one of my typical clients, but I felt for him and I tried to help. He kept saying that Fiverr messages were not that convenient for real-time chatting, so multiple times I offered my Skype username. I know this is against Fiverr policy, so I said "S kype," which keeps the little warning from popping up.

I think because I did it like three times (he kept ignoring me), I got flagged. Notice I was not trying to make money outside of the site, but just do my job more easily. I got multiple emails saying my account was flagged. The next day I got emails that my Level 2 status had been removed, and then my Level 1. I had no activity on Fiverr during this time, just emails trickling in from them berating me for trying to use the best tool to do my work.

I also love that they try to say the policy is "to keep our community safe." Um, shenanigans ... it's because you don't want people skipping out on giving you your 20%. At least be honest about that.

Okay, despite all of that, it's Fiverr's prerogative to set its own policies and percentage takes. I know that. I chose to continue working with the company until now, and that's on me. I also think it might just be a bad place for freelancing, but perhaps not other things (like, oh, offering to sing a personalized Christmas carol in your underwear on video for $5). I'm just saying that going forward, here's a full list of reasons I will no longer user Fiverr:

• High percentage take (20% is well above industry norm and just ridiculous).
• Payment is slow. Most typically it takes two weeks to receive payment after a three-day period before order is considered "complete" (client can mark it complete sooner, but most don't bother), and then 11 days for payment to "clear." Enjoying floating my money, eh? Of course you then have to withdraw to PayPal, so if you want it in your BANK, that's another three business days.
• Being hard-nosed about not letting people chat outside of Fiverr. Until they have a fast and easy chat tool, that's not reasonable.
• Giving PayPal as the only reasonable option for withdrawing money, which then results in additional fees. Elance and oDesk charge their 10% or less fee and then send money directly to my bank for FREE.
• People can order gigs and you have no way of saying "No" without going through a cancelation process, which dings you. So Rando Brando can order my editing gig for $5 then ask me to write him 500 original words (minimum $25) and ... no easy way out.
• No way to cancel your account online. That's just ... annoying.

So, Fiverr, enjoy that $200 I made for you with little effort on your part, but the party is over. You know, that party in my wallet that you crashed and I didn't kick you out at first but now I am. That one. Buh-bye.

Winning Repeat Clients - Tip #2: Give Them Something Extra

Last month I posted tip #1 on this topic. It may sound trite, but communication is key. You can't get away from it. Now, onto today's tip:

My little gift to you ...

Give Them Something Extra

Your ultimate goal in a service industry is to provide value for your customers. If you make yourself more valuable than the next guy, clients will come back. Giving something extra not only adds value, but it also communicates that you care about your clients and are invested in their needs.

I'm going to cover two common ways that I give a little something extra in the context of editing clients (as opposed to writing clients):

1. Provide a bit of coaching
2. Find a small way to go beyond the scope of the work

Coaching
Most writers make the same mistakes over and over and simply taking the time to provide a bit of coaching can really make you stand out. As with any feedback, you need to be careful with its delivery. A few things to avoid ...

Be careful not to bombard them. If the client is consistently making eight different mistakes, pick two to share with them. No one wants to read a long list of things they did wrong from a stranger. Plus, it's not likely they can even take in eight corrections and be expected to really improve on them. Pick two, explain them well, and move on.

Be careful how you word it. Again, you don't want to upset anyone. In general, avoid any sentence that starts with "You," because it could come across as an accusation. Here's an option for wording:

"I noticed a couple things that pop up in your writing and 

wanted to explain why I changed them the way that I did."

Be specific. People are most likely to understand your suggestion and actually learn from it if you provide a specific example from their writing. Copy and paste the applicable sentence from the document you edited, then show what you changed and why.

Going Beyond
Ever heard the phrase, "under promise and over deliver"? It's truly a great way to keep clients happy. Finding yourself on the wrong side of what was expected can really rub someone the wrong way, even if you did a great job. Doing a little extra can help keep you on the right side of expectations.

I tend to find these opportunities without looking for them. For example, say I've been tasked with proofreading a document (and am only being paid a proofreading rate), but then I find an opportunity to completely reword a couple sentences in a way that I really think adds value. Most likely the writer in me will want to make these changes anyway.

Some things to consider here ... if a client only asks you to proofread, he may really only want you to proofread. Be careful with new clients. If you want to err on the side of caution, you can include only true proofreading in the document, but then suggest the reword as a comment in the document or in an email. This gives the client the option of using your suggestion, but still gives him a proofread version of the original just in case.

Okay, obvious perk to going beyond is that you're likely to have a happy client. Less obvious perk is that you're showing your client what you can do beyond proofreading. Next time maybe she will hire you for true editing. So you've just solidified a new client and also laid the groundwork for an increased rate ... just by doing something your itchy little writer fingers probably enjoyed anyway.

That's it for today! Any thoughts on these ways to give a little extra? Have you tried other tactics? Let me know below!

A freelancer's vacation: not so free?

Clearly not writing

I just returned from my first vacation as a freelancer. While I was away I learned a lot about my new "free" life.

I've always been really, really good at taking vacations. In my nine years as an IT Consultant, I never once had trouble forgetting about work and knowing that things would move along just fine without me. I actually find it a bit funny when people think they HAVE to check in on work if their jobs are similar to any of my consulting projects ... you know, when the worst thing that can happen for example is that those requirements don't get written by the arbitrary due date that only exists so that the Project Manager can say we have a goal, GASP!

Of course, for the sake of my coworkers, I did my best to leave things in a good state when I closed down my work PC on that last day before taking off (ew, bad flash backs of pre-Mac days), but whatever was done was done, and whatever wasn't would be handled by someone else or waiting for me when I got back. The world most certainly would not cease to exist.

Unsolicited advice from me: When you believe you are always needed at work and that you have to do everything you are asked, people will expect you to always be there and do everything you are asked. No one ever expected this of me because I didn't let them. One of my "secrets" to work-life balance.

Vacationing as a freelancer was very different. First, if I don't work, I don't get paid. Compare that to four weeks paid vacation, which I enjoyed for nine straight years--and always managed to use up each and every year (implied unsolicited advice #2!). As you might imagine, I can't really afford a two-week, unpaid vacation at this point in my adventure. Second, I work alone (mostly). No one to auto-forward my work emails to in my absence for things to be handled for me.

So, I expected to work some over my time away, to make a little money and keep projects moving, but two things got in the way. One, the distractions of family and my completely adorable two-month old niece who has stolen my heart.

Wouldn't you be distracted??

Two, unexpected connectivity issues during week #2. This is what it boiled down to:

• During Week #1 (full connectivity), I got much less done than I planned/wanted. This created more of a backlog of the things that "had" to get done for Week #2, and just created a general feeling of unrest/stress heading into Week #2.

• During Week #2 (very limited connectivity), I got almost nothing done. Every time we went into town I felt like I had to work first and felt rushed to finish whatever I felt "needed" to get done so that I could enjoy time in town with my family. I basically felt at least a little stressed about work until I got to the Denver airport on my way home and was able to catch up. 

This is what I learned:

I care too much about my clients! I left corporate America largely because I didn't care about telecom or cable or collections, so even if I liked some of the people, I didn't care about the end goal of my ultimate client (the big, bad corporation)--but I do care about my writing and editing clients and their end goals. Most of them are passionately pursuing something creative and depending on my help. This is one of the best parts of my job, but it complicates my vacations. That's why I need to ...

1. Plan better for time away, just like I would have at my old job. Tie up loose ends. Tell everyone I can think of (clients) that I will be gone and lean towards assuming I WON'T be available rather than I will be ... even if I think I will be. 



Excuse me cow, I need to get to town for internet access.

2. Put up an auto-reply on email. Would have helped my stress levels immensely to have an automated and professional explanation of my time away. I'm still kinda shocked at myself for not doing this in the first place.
3. Turn down work heading into a vacation. It's okay, I will still have money to eat (I think). Plus, my clients may depend on me, but I'm also not the only writer/editor out there. Again, the world will not end without me! They can find other help as needed, but they deserve advanced notice so they can plan.
4. Plan for enjoyable work on vacation. I did spend a good bit of vacation time editing a novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. Editing is my sweet spot and how I got into this mess in the first place. If I'm going to work on vacation, I should try to plan such that it's work I really like. That way when I get back, I have more time to catch up on everything else.

So, my free(lancing) life is not so free when it comes to vacation. Of course you give up some freedoms when you say goodbye to a high salary, paid vacations, full benefits, and on and on ... but I'll trade those freedoms any day for the flexibility and the joy that I get from freelancing. D'aww.