Level 1 Fiverr seller

Level 1 Fiverr seller (Sunday 14 December, 2024)

Today I became a Level 1 seller on Fiverr!! Fiverr is an online platform that connects freelancers, like me, with businesses and individuals looking for various services. From graphic design and content writing to digital marketing,  programming, composing, music production, and much more. I have hired freelancers myself to help me with problems with this WordPress website, or musicians to provide me specific parts for my compositions (e.g., see Everything).

Fiverr offers a wide range of services at competitive prices. The platform operates on a gig-based model, allowing freelancers to list specific tasks or projects they specialize in, complete with pricing and delivery timelines. Individuals looking for a service can browse these listings, compare options, and select the right freelancer for their needs.

One of Fiverr’s key features is its affordability, with many services starting as low as $5. However, the platform also caters to premium projects, offering higher-priced packages with added value. This is true and makes a great for buyers looking for a service, but makes it much harder for the sellers to compete with their competitors on Fiverr and make a descent amount of money. But it is possible.

Fiverr provides tools like reviews, ratings, and portfolios, helping buyers make informed decisions. It’s a convenient solution for individuals, startups, small businesses, and even large organizations seeking cost-effective, high-quality work.

For freelancers, Fiverr serves as a gateway to global clients, enabling them to build their brand and grow their business. The platform’s secure payment system ensures peace of mind for both parties.

Performance Metrics

Currently, Fiverr uses 6 performance metrics (Figure 1).  Most metrics are self-explanatory like earnings, unique clients, and earnings. The ‘Rating‘ reflects the average of ratings provided by clients you’ve worked with over the past 2 years. The rating that is seen on a profile reflects one’s all time rating. The ‘Response Rate‘ reflects how often you replied to new messages within 24 hours, over the last 90 days. The ‘Success score‘ is the most obscure. This metric analyzes each of your Gigs in key areas related to the order process and your relationship with clients, relative to other freelancers. Each Gig’s history is examined to determine its individual score, and these Gig scores are then used to determine your overall success score. This score is partially a black box. It is unclear how exactly a Gig history is examined and, in addition, it takes into account the anonymous reviews that each client can leave to Fiverr (next to a public review). There is lot of discussion (and complaints) about this score (just Google for it).

Recently, I reached out to Fiverr to understand why my Success Score wasn’t a perfect 10, considering my 4.9 rating and 100% response rate. Unfortunately, they declined to provide specific insights, though it might be related to a client who refused to pay for a delivery and left a negative anonymous review. This lack of transparency leaves freelancers, including me, without clear guidance on how to improve.

Figure 1. Example of performance metrics.

Newcomers to Fiverr embark on their journey as “new” (Level 0). From this starting point, new freelancers’ hard work can move them to Level 1 and beyond. Each level comes with additional benefits. However, if performance is not maintained you can also move down in level. The Table 1 below shows the thresholds for each performance measure require to pass to the next level.

Table 1. Performance scores required to move up a level.

My Gigs

I started out in January 2024 with four gigs (Figure 2 and 3), i.e., services that I offer: (i) audio file conversion, (ii) unmixing audio files in different stems, (iii) Cubase and WaveLab training, and (iv) mixing and mastering. At a certain moment I dropped the ‘audio file conversion’ since I didn’t get any customers, which negatively affects the Success Score. For the other Gigs I received quite a few customers. Fiverr’s algorithm puts you higher in the search list if you have higher ratings.

My aim was to see if I could make it to a Level 1 seller within a year. I made it, but it took a lot of effort and was not easy given that you are in direct competition with many other sellers on Fiverr that offer identical services. For example, in the category ‘mixing and mastering’ there are over 10,000 sellers.

It takes effort to setup your Fiverr profile and Gigs to attract buyers, but also to do the work requested by clients. During this year, my aim was not to earn a lot of money (which is probably impossible anyway as a starter given the competition) but to have a reasonable number of clients and good reviews. This implied that I did all work at very low prices (often for only 5 euro). However, this got me to Level 1 and now hope I can attract more clients and can do the work for higher rates.

Setting up your Fiverr profile and creating Gigs to attract buyers requires significant effort, as does delivering quality work for the clients. This year, my primary goal wasn’t to earn a substantial income—an understandably challenging feat for a newcomer given the large competition—but to build a solid foundation by gaining a reasonable number of clients and earning positive reviews. To achieve this, I completed most projects at very low rates, often for just 5 euros. This approach paid off, helping me reach Level 1 status. Now, I’m optimistic about attracting more clients and increasing my rates as I continue to grow.

Figure 2. My current three Gigs: Cubase training, mixing and mastering, and unmixing.

Figure 3. My current mix and master Gig.

The Technical setup

Communication with clients is facilitated through the Fiverr platform, which offers functionalities such as chat and file exchange (e.g., audio or PDF files). All messages are stored within the Fiverr inbox for easy reference. For the Cubase training sessions I provide (which includes basic mixing), I utilize Fiverr’s video call feature, which integrates with Zoom. These sessions are automatically recorded, allowing both the client and me to download them later. However, since audio streaming via Zoom can be cumbersome, I use ListenTo from AudioMovers to stream my Cubase (or WaveLab) output directly to the client. The main drawback is that the streamed audio is not included in the Zoom recording. While this limitation exists, it’s an acceptable trade-off for delivering high-quality audio during the training sessions.

What did I work on?

The orders I received were a mix across my three Gigs. The unmixing jobs—such as producing backing tracks—often involved separating a stereo audio file into individual stems (e.g., vocals, drums, bass, guitar, piano). In some cases, I also performed an additional step to separate the drum track into its individual components (e.g., kick, snare). The success of these tasks largely depends on the quality of the original audio file. I occasionally received requests to unmix songs with multiple vocal tracks, but this remains a significant challenge and is not entirely feasible with current technology. For unmixing audio files, I rely on a variety of tools, with Spectralayers (Steinberg) being my primary software.

I had a few mixing assignments, which included mastering as well. Balancing these projects with my busy schedule was always challenging, especially when delivering within tight deadlines. However, these assignments provided valuable experience and helped me further refine my mixing skills.

I also conducted numerous online Cubase training sessions, which were always enjoyable. I met many great people who shared similar interests and sometimes posed challenging questions about Cubase, from which I also learned. The content of these sessions was client-driven and covered a broad range of topics. These included getting started with Cubase, troubleshooting technical issues (e.g., no sound), using complex orchestral templates, integrating with Kontakt (Native Instruments), and mixing exclusively with Cubase plugins, among other topics. Even without making a lot of money such sessions are great to have.

Where did my clients come from?

Two of my clients were based in the Netherlands, while the rest came from various countries around the world: Australia, Canada, Ecuador, Faroe Islands, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Italy, Panama, Pakistan, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States.

In conclusion

I think it is feasible to make quite some money via Fiverr (as some people obviously do). However, it requires time and effort to get going and sufficient time to handle all requests (which is my main bottleneck). I am now aiming to become a Level 2 seller before 2026. This will require improving my profile, increasing my prices to reach the ‘Earnings’ target, and hoping for at least the same number of customers. Will let you know in 2026!

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