Introduction to Fiverr – How Does Fiverr Work for Freelancers?

Last Updated on September 5, 2022

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Hey! Welcome to the 1st article of the Free Fiverr Series on ASH KNOWS.

Is this the first time you have heard the word “Fiverr”? Yes? Well, I am not surprised at all. Because 3 out of 5 people don’t know what Fiverr exactly is and how it works.

I am a Level 2 Seller (will explain these levels later in the article) on Fiverr. I have been working on this platform for the past 3 years and it is providing me with enough income while working online in the comfort of my home.

Here’s a little sneak peek into my Fiverr account showing the earnings and orders I have completed on this platform till January 2022:

After I updated my Facebook profile’s bio mentioning my Level 2 on Fiverr, I started getting some messages from time to time asking me to share my “secret” tips to become successful on Fiverr. The number of messages increased with time and I realized that people really want to know about Fiverr and how they can earn through it too.

That’s when I decided to initiate a Fiverr Series to explain this platform in detail. So, here I am with the first topic of this series for you. I really hope you’ll find it helpful. 🙂

In this article, you’ll get a basic introduction to Fiverr and how it works. We’ll also discuss if Fiverr is free and if it is safe to use or not. Let’s get started.

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What is Fiverr?

Fiverr is an online marketplace where people buy and sell different digital services. Most of the services on Fiverr start just at $5, hence the name of the company (5-err). Lots of people buy and sell services on Fiverr every single day.

Founded in 2010, Fiverr has grown to become one of the largest websites that directly connect people across the globe for selling and buying different services.

Whether you are a content writer, graphic designer, programmer, digital marketer, artist, or translator, Fiverr has a place for you. It provides you with the opportunity to share your talent with the online world and make money while doing what you love.

How Does Fiverr Work for Freelancers?

Before diving into the other details, let’s first discuss some glossary terms used by Fiverr to get a better understanding of things.

Gig: A service offered on Fiverr is called a gig.

Seller: A user who offers gigs on Fiverr is called a seller. If you are looking for work and you sign up on Fiverr for selling your services, you are a “seller” on Fiverr.

Buyer: A user who buys gigs on Fiverr is called a buyer. If you are looking to purchase a gig on Fiverr, you are a “buyer”.

Order: When a buyer purchases a gig from a seller, it is called an order.

Fiverr is a two-way communication platform where both buyers and sellers coordinate with each other for their working needs. A buyer can browse through the profiles of sellers to find the best match for his work. Similarly, a seller can look through buyer requests to find the work that goes with his skills.

Once a buyer and seller find each other, they create an order and set a specified time, goal, and price for their project. After a seller completes his work, he delivers that work to the buyer. If the buyer approves the work, he marks the order as “complete” otherwise he asks for revision. Once the order is completed, the seller gets his money (the price decided by both buyer and seller before placing the order).

Processing Fee and Service Fee on Fiverr

A buyer pays Fiverr for the orders in advance. That’s why Fiverr prompts buyers to carefully analyze the gig and read its description before placing an order. When a buyer gets ready to make a purchase, he proceeds to checkout. All purchases have processing fees, $1 on purchases up to and including $20 and 5% on purchases above $20.

When a seller completes an order, Fiverr adds the money that the buyer paid to the seller account. Fiverr deducts a service fee of 20% on each order completed by the seller. For example, after completing an order of $5, you will get $4 and Fiverr will deduct $1 as a service fee. If you complete an order of $10, you get $8 and lose $2.

Besides that, when a buyer marks the order complete, he also leaves a review on that order. This review is publically shown on your profile and you cannot edit or remove it. If you have good reviews on your profile, more buyers will want to work with you and will place more orders on your gigs.

So, that’s how the Fiverr game works!

Seller Levels on Fiverr

• New Seller

Once you join Fiverr and create a gig, you are automatically labeled as New Seller.

• Level One Seller

As soon as you earn at least $400, complete at least 10 individual orders, and meet some other requirements, you are promoted to Level 1 Seller.

• Level 2 Seller

When you earn at least $2000, complete at least 50 orders, and meet some other requirements, you become Level 2 Seller.

• Top-Rated Seller

This is the elite group of sellers on Fiverr. After you earn at least $20,000, complete at least 100 orders, and meet some other requirements, you are ranked as Top Rated Seller.

This is a manual process. Once you meet the specified requirements, Fiverr reviews your account and your performance to ensure your eligibility for this level.

You may read in detail about different seller levels on Fiverr here.

Is Fiverr Free to Join?

Yes, Fiverr is completely free to join. There is no subscription fee, sign-up fee, or hidden fee of any kind to list your services. Fiverr only charges fees from you when you place an order as a buyer or when you complete an order as a seller.

Is Fiverr Safe To Use? Is Fiverr Good? Can Fiverr Be Trusted?

The answer to all the above three questions is yes, yes, and yes!

Fiverr is a very popular marketplace and has very strict rules. It does not tolerate spam, fraud, cheating, or violation of any kind. You get blocked straight away. So, you have to be very careful while working here and have to obey their policies no matter what.

If you are a buyer, the thought of paying your money upfront may scare you but know that your payment does not go straight to the seller doing your job. Fiverr holds your payment unless you are completely satisfied with the job. If you are not happy with the seller’s work, you can request a refund. Legit and very easy.

As far as my experience on Fiverr is concerned, I never got into any kind of scam and my earnings always stayed safe. If you are a seller, Fiverr takes 15 days to transfer the revenue of each completed order to your account. But still, I never faced any issues in payment clearance or withdrawal.

So yeah, I can safely say that Fiverr can be trusted with its services. Just play safe and play right.

Wrap Up

Fiverr is a great place to sell your talent and earn money from it but it is not as easy as I am making it sound. Working on this platform requires a great deal of consistency, effort, and patience.

I’d not sugarcoat things for you because that’s not what I believe in. I don’t want you to believe that Fiverr is some sort of a Riche Rich castle where you’ll enter and all your money-related problems will disappear. No, it doesn’t go this way.

Nothing works unless and until you stick to it. Working on Fiverr is a business and every business requires serious effort, time, and determination. All the effort that goes into creating gigs, polishing your services, attracting buyers, and expanding your work demands you to stick to this platform.

This Fiverr Series will only be beneficial for you if you are serious and determined to make things work for you. There’s no magic, no shortcut just hard work and a lot of it. So, if you are willing to put in hard work, there’s nothing that can stop you to get successful on Fiverr.

In the next article, we’ll talk about how you can register on Fiverr and how to choose what to sell on this platform. So, stay tuned y’all! 😎

If you have any questions in mind, just ask them in the comments.

Download My FREE Fiverr Guide Here:

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• How to Sign Up on Fiverr
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• Tips to Write a Catchy Profile Description on Fiverr
• Top 40 High Demand Gigs on Fiverr
• How to Get First Client on Fiverr