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Abstract

are looking to increase your sales, promoting your gig means having a high-star rating with competitive prices to promote. Without that, you may sink instead of swim.Therefore, please keep in mind that I used one of my more popular gigs from the last few months in order to gauge this experiment and not a brand new one. Furthermore, Fiver requires that your gig have a few good ratings or reviews before it qualifies for promotional advertisement.<h1 id="dbec">The cost-per-click system</h1>Fiverr promotes gigs on a cost-per-click basis like most advertisers. Through this system, you are required to choose the amount you would like to spend per click (with a suggested amount that Fiverr gives you to help you stay competitive).You are then more likely to make “impressions” on potential clients. Impressions don’t cost anything, but rather inform you how often your gig shows up on the first few results of a search by clients. More impressions mean more clicks. Then, clicks cost money.My average cost-per-click (CPC) was roughly $.50-$ .70 cents per click. This was based on the Fiverr algorithm suggested prices to set my gig “above the others” and be noticed. You don’t have to pay that much (it stacks up pretty quick) but basically, Fiverr tells you that if you don’t go above the competition, you’re just throwing your money away and are less likely to get orders.<h1 id="a1df">The work and the earnings</h1>Once I set my CPC, I set to work waiting for the gigs to roll in. It didn’t take long, which was a surprise, since I had taken a 6-month hiatus from Fiverr before the experiment started.I was pleasantly surprised by my ROI just a short month later:<figure id="1b31"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*3_8sSZSydUg7ARQim0DPVg.png"><figcaption>Screenshot by author’s Fiver promoted gigs past 30 days</figcaption></figure>What you see above in my results doesn’t even include the jobs that I turned down due to the client being either a little creepy, too vague, or I could tell that we wouldn’t work well together.Having 708 impressions just from promoted gigs was a HUGE improvement to my previous impressions results as well.Now, $200 in one month is nothing to quit your job for, but for that$ 200, I probably only worked about 5–7 total hours of time. For someone with a full-time job, working an extra 5–7 hours a month on weekends or after work to earn extra income on their writing isn’t too shabby.Not to mention

Options

that, after coming off of a 6-month hiatus, I hadn’t expected to get ANY bites. Being away for so long is a surefire way to let your gigs die, but by promoting the proofreading gig, I was able to get 5 lucrative orders.As you can see, as of June 16th to today, July 16th, I’ve spent roughly $16 in promoted gigs (wow, that’s a lot of 16s). My return on that investment, however, was a$ 171.08 profit.<h1 id="51d6">Overall impressions and advice</h1>In an entire month, I only received 5 orders which did lead to about $200 in earnings.Because I earn most of my writing money elsewhere through direct pay clients and businesses, this is merely a way to pay for some groceries, pay off a credit card, or pay for a vet bill for my dog. It isn’t really how I make a living, so it was a nice bonus — in the same way that Medium writers will get a bonus from reader engagement in the partner program.However, for someone who wants to earn their entire living on Fiverr, promoted gigs may or may not be worth the ROI.Remember, most freelancers earn$ 4 on a $5 gig once Fiverr takes its cut, and if you are spending$ 15 in a month of CPC promoted gigs and only get 5 orders, you only make a $5 profit.Because my gigs are more expensive, and I tend to create custom offers for clients which take into account their special requests, most of my jobs turn out to be about$ 30- $60 per order (before the Fiverr cut is taken out).Not to mention I take about 2 days minimum to complete the order to give clients the quality content that they deserve, while other freelancers guarantee a 24-hour turnaround for only a$ 4 income. This is stressful and difficult to achieve for someone who is already working a full-time job.However, if your gigs are already in the 5-star range, are priced reasonably for you to make an actual profit, and you try to say “yes” to most client requests, then promoting gigs might just be the right move for you.I may still pursue this in the future, but I’m taking another Fiverr hiatus. This isn’t a great way to retain clients or returning customers, but it is good for my mental health.Still, it turns out promoting gigs worked for me. Maybe it will work for you too.Shelby is a full-time writer, editor, and blogger. Her blog, <a href="http://sageauthors.com/blog">Sageauthors.com</a> helps writers and authors hone their craft and make money online. When she isn’t writing she is usually at coffee shops or running with her dog, Sage.</article></body>

I Can’t Believe Promoted Gigs Might Actually Work…

Fiverr surprises me once again

As you might know, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with Fiverr for a long time.

I began on Fiverr when I was 19 years old and pursued my freelancing career using their platform. Eventually, I graduated to UpWork and then to sites like Problogger and finally cold/warm-emailing clients and businesses. Even though I left Fiverr behind, I never delete an account if I can help it. You never know if you will need income down the road in a pinch or if you might meet a new lifelong client.

That being said, Fiverr does tend to cut into my more lucrative freelancing these days, and so I tend to be “away from the office” for weeks or even months at a time. But upon taking some time to learn more about the gig industry and to research it for my blog readers, I have decided to look into the validity of promoted gigs, whether they are worth the money, and if they bring in a sustainable ROI (return of investment).

Thus began July’s experiment: do Fiverr promoted gigs actually work?

Well, they might. Here’s why:

The experiment

I decided to spend the second half of June and the first half of July testing Fiverr’s promoted gigs system out.

Here are a few things to know about this experiment moving forward:

My gig is for editing and proofreading client documents of any kind.
My gig has a 5-star score with at least 30+ glowing reviews and double that amount in completed orders.
My gig is priced at a minimum of $25 for 1,000 words edited and $70 for between 3,000–5,000 words
This is a VERY cheap gig for a full-time freelancer like myself (especially with Fiverr’s 20% cut) but is quite pricey for the Fiverr algorithm where freelancers usually only make between $5–$15 at their minimum.

If you are on Fiverr and are looking to increase your sales, promoting your gig means having a high-star rating with competitive prices to promote. Without that, you may sink instead of swim.

Therefore, please keep in mind that I used one of my more popular gigs from the last few months in order to gauge this experiment and not a brand new one. Furthermore, Fiver requires that your gig have a few good ratings or reviews before it qualifies for promotional advertisement.

The cost-per-click system

Fiverr promotes gigs on a cost-per-click basis like most advertisers. Through this system, you are required to choose the amount you would like to spend per click (with a suggested amount that Fiverr gives you to help you stay competitive).

You are then more likely to make “impressions” on potential clients. Impressions don’t cost anything, but rather inform you how often your gig shows up on the first few results of a search by clients. More impressions mean more clicks. Then, clicks cost money.

My average cost-per-click (CPC) was roughly $.50–$.70 cents per click. This was based on the Fiverr algorithm suggested prices to set my gig “above the others” and be noticed. You don’t have to pay that much (it stacks up pretty quick) but basically, Fiverr tells you that if you don’t go above the competition, you’re just throwing your money away and are less likely to get orders.

The work and the earnings

Once I set my CPC, I set to work waiting for the gigs to roll in. It didn’t take long, which was a surprise, since I had taken a 6-month hiatus from Fiverr before the experiment started.

I was pleasantly surprised by my ROI just a short month later:

Screenshot by author’s Fiver promoted gigs past 30 days

What you see above in my results doesn’t even include the jobs that I turned down due to the client being either a little creepy, too vague, or I could tell that we wouldn’t work well together.

Having 708 impressions just from promoted gigs was a HUGE improvement to my previous impressions results as well.

Now, $200 in one month is nothing to quit your job for, but for that $200, I probably only worked about 5–7 total hours of time. For someone with a full-time job, working an extra 5–7 hours a month on weekends or after work to earn extra income on their writing isn’t too shabby.

Not to mention that, after coming off of a 6-month hiatus, I hadn’t expected to get ANY bites. Being away for so long is a surefire way to let your gigs die, but by promoting the proofreading gig, I was able to get 5 lucrative orders.

As you can see, as of June 16th to today, July 16th, I’ve spent roughly $16 in promoted gigs (wow, that’s a lot of 16s). My return on that investment, however, was a $171.08 profit.

Overall impressions and advice

In an entire month, I only received 5 orders which did lead to about $200 in earnings.

Because I earn most of my writing money elsewhere through direct pay clients and businesses, this is merely a way to pay for some groceries, pay off a credit card, or pay for a vet bill for my dog. It isn’t really how I make a living, so it was a nice bonus — in the same way that Medium writers will get a bonus from reader engagement in the partner program.

However, for someone who wants to earn their entire living on Fiverr, promoted gigs may or may not be worth the ROI.

Remember, most freelancers earn $4 on a $5 gig once Fiverr takes its cut, and if you are spending $15 in a month of CPC promoted gigs and only get 5 orders, you only make a $5 profit.

Because my gigs are more expensive, and I tend to create custom offers for clients which take into account their special requests, most of my jobs turn out to be about $30-$60 per order (before the Fiverr cut is taken out).

Not to mention I take about 2 days minimum to complete the order to give clients the quality content that they deserve, while other freelancers guarantee a 24-hour turnaround for only a $4 income. This is stressful and difficult to achieve for someone who is already working a full-time job.

However, if your gigs are already in the 5-star range, are priced reasonably for you to make an actual profit, and you try to say “yes” to most client requests, then promoting gigs might just be the right move for you.

I may still pursue this in the future, but I’m taking another Fiverr hiatus. This isn’t a great way to retain clients or returning customers, but it is good for my mental health.

Still, it turns out promoting gigs worked for me. Maybe it will work for you too.

Shelby is a full-time writer, editor, and blogger. Her blog, Sageauthors.com helps writers and authors hone their craft and make money online. When she isn’t writing she is usually at coffee shops or running with her dog, Sage.