Writing | Freelancing

I’ve Written 150 Articles On Fiverr: Here Are The Shadiest Things I Was Asked For

Tough times call for desperate measures

3 years ago, I was down in the dumps. $40,000 in debt with no job to pay it.

Don’t worry, there’s a happy ending.

At rock bottom, I discovered something pretty special — writing. My freelancing journey began in the back alleys of the internet.

On a little website called Fiverr.

It’s where I cut my teeth before cutting ties with the freelancing altogether.

Fiver was good to me – but I’ll never go back

Fiverr provided me with a path. It showed me that I could get paid for my writing – even if was just $5.

In my first year, I wrote 150 articles. I would do practically anything for a few bucks and a 5-star rating.

But, I’ve since deactivated my gigs – for good.

Remove the 3 AM pings and confusing replies and I still wouldn’t go back. I’m much happier doing what I’m doing now.

Creating content my way.

I’m grateful for Fiverr. If nothing else, it gave me a mixed bag of experiences to pull from. Here are 10 of my wildest, wackiest, and shadiest requests.

Reviews — so many reviews

Whilst conducting research for this article, I blew the dust off my old Fiverr inbox. I was shocked at how many of the requests were to write reviews.

Amazon, Trustpilot, Yelp, Tripadvisor, Google, Yelp, Better Business Bureau, the list goes on.

I was even offered $100 USD to write a negative review about a buyer’s contractor/realtor – I’m still not sure which it was.

Did I take any of these gigs?

I’ll admit it. I did.

When you’re first starting out, it’s hard to pass up the opportunity for a shiny gold star.

Although I always did my best to write authentic reviews. I never pretended to be anyone else and never lied.

College papers

One of my “favourite” requests came from a panicked young person just after 9 PM on a Sunday. I quote,

“Can you do 10 pages assignment in 12 hours? please?”

Their final assignment was due at 10 AM the next day and they hadn’t started.

As a rule, I never wrote homework assignments. Although some of the offers were pretty hard to pass up.

BIN database provider

If you’re thinking, “What the heck is a BIN database”… then same.

This was my first leap from $10 articles to triple digits. I wrote 3 articles for $250 and am mildly proud to say that they still rank in the top 3 Google results under the search term “BIN number database provider”.

This taught me a valuable lesson — no more accounting/banking articles. Ever.

The client from hell

Manufactured homes were a very hot niche in 2019 — I’m kidding, obviously.

Fiverr introduced me to many recurring clients, some of which I loved working with.

Unfortunately, this was not one of them.

My first recurring client was a very persuasive low-baller. The mobile home realtor sensed my eagerness and took full advantage.

He paid $10 per 1,000 words and had me upload the work to WordPress with detailed SEO (headings, images, you name it).

He would also call for impromptu team meetings where myself and another poor writer had to sit and listen to him list all the “errors” we made.

Errors like adjusting “Wall types” to “Wall Types” as per his SEO expert — probably also hired on Fiverr.

I still cringe at the thought of picking up my phone to see a message from him. “Ring ring” meant time for a meeting.

In the end, I’m happy I went through this experience as it taught me the importance of boundaries. Yet, I can’t say I’m completely rid of resentment toward the trailer salesman.

“Pretend to be me”

One of the oddest yet most intriguing requests came from a “successful six-figure web programmer” from Belgium.

The gig was essentially to be a virtual assistant.

The buyer wanted me to respond to emails, speak to clients on the phone, and conduct video meetings. ‘Easy enough’, I thought.

Plus he was offering $2,000 per month, so I was intrigued.

But the buyer was adamant that I pretended to be him. Yes, like during video calls. Imagine me, knowing nothing about web programming, updating clients on the ins and outs of their website code.

I respectfully declined I can’t say I didn’t consider it.

“Can you write for the Huffington post?”

One buyer asked me if I could write an article for the Huffington Post. Their budget was $20 and needed the writing to be of “professional fashion only reserved for the Huffington post.”

Inexperienced and self-conscious, I apologized but confessed I wasn’t confident my article would be accepted by the editors.

Today, I’d say, “If I could write for the Huffington post whenever I wanted, do you think I’d be selling gigs on Fiverr for $20?”

“Can you write bad reviews about my realtor?”

I referenced this gig earlier. Bad reviews were a recurring theme on Fiverr.

I had requests to write bad reviews for a moving company, beauty salon, even a wedding ceremony (I can’t imagine what the story was there).

But one request that stood out was from a buyer, politely asking:

“Would you have any interest in writing a blog post in regards to a very bad experience that I had with a general contractor/Realtor?”

They then proceeded to send me a 726-word paragraph (I counted) detailing their entire experience.

I’m not sure what they needed me for. Maybe just to vent?

The phonetic YouTuber

ONE of the MOST INTERESTING yet TRIVIAL gig requests was one that I ACTUALLY accepted.

One pleasant entrepreneur asked me to write scripts for his new YouTube channel. I really enjoyed this gig and he became a recurring client.

The trivial part was that he already knew what he wanted to say, he just wanted help speaking like a YouTuber.

He wanted me to write phonetically.

He sent me some examples of videos he liked and asked me to capitalize the words that he should emphasize. So, I did.

I WROTE SCRIPTS, as if SOMEONE, was speaking them…(pause 1,2). It was ACTUALLY, a lot of fun.

“Billy Eyelash and who?”

This gig was the beginning of the end for my time at Fiverr. I still feel slightly bad about it.

On Fiverr, you can select add-ons for your gigs.

For example, “For an extra $10, I will complete the article in 24 hours instead of 3 days.” I added this to my gig, asking buyers to message me before purchasing. Not everyone did.

The night before leaving for a road trip, my phone buzzed. A gig notification.

“Shoot, I forgot to pause my gig”, I thought. No biggie, I’ll stop at a coffee shop and get started tomorrow.

The Buyer Requirements read “2,400-word Comparative article persuading readers to advocate for Billie Eilish and Louis the Child.” It was followed by a two-page list of requirements including links and topics to cover.

24 hours – time’s ‘a’ tickin’.

It was the only time I ever cancelled a gig and told the buyer I couldn’t complete the order.

I was at the end of my rope.

This sealed the deal: flesh-lights

I finally decided that the juice just wasn’t worth the squeeze after being forced to write a comparative review on flesh-lights.

For the record, it did not come from firsthand experience.

On Fiverr, your Seller Rating is determined by a number of factors. One of which, is your cancellation percentage.

I had already cancelled one order that month and couldn’t afford another.

So, when a buyer purchased my gig for “1, 1,000-word article or review on any topic” I was cornered.

The review involved extensive research on a series of flesh-light brands and customers’ experiences. Gulp.

I completed the gig and prayed to the heavens that they wouldn’t put my name on the review.

I then swiftly took down my gig. That was it for me.

It’s goodbye for me (not see you later)

Fiverr is home to many awesome and creative individuals. It’s also full of get-rich-quick vagabonds and drifters.

I must say that amongst the low-ball offers and confusing replies, I met many great buyers. I gained lots of experience and most importantly, confidence.

I’ll always be grateful for a gentleman with the username “Spoilmypooch”, who gave me my first gig and 5-star review.

Every few months I consider reactivating my account (simply to get free stuff).

But, then I think, “Nah.”

If you’d like to pick up a few stories of your own, you can sign up for Fiverr here. Yes, it’s an affiliate link — godspeed.