How to Make Money on Fiverr – A Beginner's Guide
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In 2021, I left my regular 9-to-5 desk job and became a freelance writer. I didn't want to commute an hour to work, and I liked the flexibility afforded by the freelance lifestyle — work as little or as much as you want to. Turns out, I was one of the many people who left their jobs in what would later come to be known as The Great Resignation.
But why did so many people resign en masse? For the same reason I did, apparently! According to Upwork, flexibility and freedom are the key motivators for existing and new freelancers. The community contributed a staggering $1.3 trillion to the U.S. economy in 2021, Upwork says. That number in 2020 was $100 million lower. But who's plugging this talent shortage? You guessed it, freelancers! The number of freelancers in the U.S. is projected to reach 86.5 million in 2027, making up 50.9 percent of the total workforce, according to Statista.
As you're probably aware, Upwork is a major freelancing platform. Fiverr is another. The platform takes its name from the $5 bill because every Fiverr gig was listed for $5. In 2013, the company decided to allow creators to set their own prices. Today, Fiverr is a multi-billion-dollar online marketplace listed on the NYSE with a presence in over 160 countries.
Related: How to Make Money on Upwork
In this article
How does Fiverr work
On the Fiverr platform, the services you offer are called gigs. When someone is looking for a service you can provide, they’ll click on your gig description and contact you if they think you'd be a good fit for the job. From Fiverr's perspective, two groups use its platform:
- Sellers: Any freelancer offering their service via Fiverr is called a seller. As a seller of your services, you can offer any service you can think of, along with how much you would like to get paid. Your track record on Fiverr and your overall experience determine how often you win a gig.
- Buyers: People looking to hire a freelancer are known as buyers. A buyer gets on the Fiverr platform to complete a project they want done by a certain date. Buyers can be an average Joe, a business, or a company.
Once a buyer and Fiverr seller agree to the terms of the deal, such as projected delivery time and pricing, it's up to the freelancer to meet those goals on time. After the project is successfully delivered, your payment will be made, and you can move on to the next project.
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Getting started
The first step is to create a profile that describes your services and includes a portfolio of your work. Your profile is an important aspect that influences how often you will get a job, and one that attracts potential buyers. Think of it as self-promotion: What do you want potential clients to see when they visit your profile? Now more than ever, first impressions are important!
Once you've created a great profile, it's time to create a gig, aka services you provide, including a gig title. High-quality content writing, influencer marketing, or perhaps setting up an eCommerce store or website optimization — whatever you do, you can showcase your talents here. And don't forget about money! You can set your own rates and choose whether you want to charge per project or by the hour. Buyers can contact you directly through their Fiverr dashboard, and they can pay you directly through the platform using PayPal.
Now it's the money-making time! Sure, you could just sit around and wait for buyers to contact you, but it pays to be proactive — literally, in this case! To increase your earnings potential, you should actively look for the types of gigs on Fiverr that align with your talents. You should have the Fiverr app on your phone, so you can apply for gigs even when you're on the go.
How to make money on Fiverr
Become a virtual assistant
A virtual assistant provides administrative or support-related services over the internet. This can include things like data entry, bookkeeping, and customer service. The great thing about being a virtual assistant is that you don't need special skills to start. All you need is a computer and a high-speed internet connection. If you're organized and reliable, you could have a very successful career as a virtual assistant. And the best part is that you can provide these services from home.
Social media marketing
Social media sites like Facebook are a great way to connect with other people. And they can also be utilized by businesses to advertise their products and services. For this reason, companies worldwide are willing to pay social media experts to promote their products on their social media pages. As a social media expert, you'll help people to market their businesses. You'll set up social media accounts for them and encourage them to interact with their followers regularly.
Become an online tutor
Online tutoring is a great way to make money online. Many college students need help with their schoolwork from time to time. And while some people choose to hire a private tutor, this can be costly and time-consuming. Because of this, many college students have turned to online tutors for help. And this is where you could make your money by helping them with their assignments. You only need an internet connection and a webcam to meet your students face-to-face. You could also use video-conferencing software to meet with students located elsewhere in the world. This is a fun and flexible job that just about anyone can do.
Freelance writing
Many people make a living by writing online. If you have a knack for writing and are passionate about a particular subject, you could make a good living as a freelance writer. Freelance writers can work for several clients and write everything from articles to blog posts to e-books to website content. This is a great option for people who want to make money working from home without putting in much time or effort. You could charge $20 an hour or more if you're good at your work. And if you do a great job for a client, they will probably hire you again the next time they need something written. You can even sweeten the pot for them by adding up to two revisions as part of your gig.
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- Sign up for FREE & complete your profile
- Earn points for taking surveys
- Redeem your points for cash or gift cards
- $55k+ Paid to Survey Junkie members daily
- Complete 3+ surveys a day, earn up to $100/mo.
Do keyword research for SEO
Search engine optimization is one of the best ways to drive traffic to your website and boost sales. When running an online business, getting lots of traffic is key if you want to earn a lot of money. And one of the best ways to get lots of traffic is to optimize your website using SEO techniques. If you can learn the ins and outs of SEO, you can use it to help your clients get more traffic to their sites and increase their bottom lines. As a keyword researcher, you would use tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs to analyze the data and find out how many people are searching for certain terms. This information would determine what kind of content to create to attract the most traffic.
Graphic design
If you’ve thought of yourself as creative and have some graphic design skills, you could earn a living by creating logos and other graphics for other people’s businesses. Plenty of freelancers do this for a living, which can be quite lucrative if you have the right skills and experience.
Do voiceover work
If you have a "radio voice," and you can deliver a convincing performance, you might be able to make a decent living doing voiceover work. You can use this skill to do voice-overs for animation films, commercials, and even video games. You don’t need any specific training to get started, but you’ll probably need to invest in a good microphone and other equipment if you want to deliver high-quality audio results.
Offer digital marketing services
Nowadays, most businesses rely on the internet to generate leads and sales. If you’re good at online marketing, you might be able to use your skills to build a business and earn a significant income. You can do many different things to promote a business online, so there’s a lot of opportunity in this area. You could also promote your products or sell advertising space on your website to bring in additional revenue.
Website development
If you’re good with computers and enjoy coding, you might consider offering web development services to small businesses in your area. You would help them create websites on platforms like WordPress, streamline web design, and add new features to increase conversions and boost sales. You’d also maintain the sites and make sure they’re secure so they don’t get hacked. As a web developer, you could do this on a freelance basis or you could build a business and offer it as a service to other local businesses.
How much does Fiverr cost?
Creating a Fiverr account is free. However, it does take a cut from your earnings as a seller. Every time you complete a project, Fiverr pockets 20% as a commission, meaning you only get 80% of the deal's total value. For example, if you complete a project for $500, you'll only receive $400, and the remaining $100 will go to Fiverr. The good thing is that this service fee doesn't have ifs and buts attached to it, which means you can easily calculate how much you'll get from a project.
Earn Real Money Fast by Filling Out Surveys!
- Sign up for FREE & complete your profile
- Earn points for taking surveys
- Redeem your points for cash or gift cards
- $55k+ Paid to Survey Junkie members daily
- Complete 3+ surveys a day, earn up to $100/mo.
The bottom line
Earning opportunities via Fiverr are endless. You can offer simple freelance services for beginners, like data entry, or do jobs in high demand, like digital services, and turn your skills and expertise into a full-fledged side hustle that brings in extra money. In an increasingly competitive marketplace, standing out from the crowd is the key to success. That’s why it’s important to make a great first impression and show potential customers that you can offer a valuable product or service at an affordable price.
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Writer
Jasir Jawaid is Joy Wallet's Assistant Editor. He has more than 13 years of experience as a journalist covering Wall Street, equities, financial policy and regulation, and cryptocurrency and blockchain.
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