Mary, known on Fiverr® as Uniquefivex, is a Top Rated Seller with exceptional ratings and feedback from more than 6,000 buyers. A freelance graphic designer, she was featured in Business Insider for ingenious marketing skills and has also appeared in articles on Yahoo! News and the New York Post.
Her Speed Color Your Logo and Create a Whiteboard Animation Gigs® are extremely popular, and her Fiverr income was particularly helpful when Hurricane Sandy destroyed most of her belongings in her apartment back in 2012.
My Fiverr Journey After reading a news article in 2011 about freelancing sites, I did some research and discovered Fiverr. Since it was free and I had nothing to lose, I signed up. I spent some time researching what was popular and what other graphic designers were doing on Fiverr. I decided to start with a banner creation Gig and actually got my first order within a day.
I was so excited, I thought about other Gigs I could offer. I saw Gigs with videos of animals playing around a buyer’s logo and text and realized my bird, a parrotlet named Pickle, would be perfect to film fun videos with. So I created a Gig with Pickle, and it became very popular. After that, I kept thinking about what else I could do, and I started offering Speed Color Videos, Whiteboard Animation, and Explainer Videos. Today I’m happy to say I receive business from both repeat and new buyers, and my business consistently continues to grow!
Some keys to success For inspiration on new Gigs, I think the best thing to do is research. Research on Fiverr is good because you can see what’s out there and popular, but also look outside of Fiverr at trends in your industry and area of focus. For example, because social media sites are so popular, I created speed coloring Gigs for Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. I also think about what holidays are coming up, and if I can offer a themed holiday Gig.
Once you find an idea, it’s important to put your own creative spin on it—really think about what your personal strengths are. You also need to put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Ask yourself: “What do I really need? Would I buy this Gig?”
Finally, it’s important to be nice to people. Customers may come to you with a very different level of Fiverr experience. Some may even ask for help to order your Gig. You can’t get frustrated. Remember, one day you were new on Fiverr, too. Patience can pay off in the end.
The impact of Fiverr I use my Fiverr income to pay a lot of bills, which is great, but it really came in handy when I was impacted by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. I had about a foot of water in my apartment and lost a lot of things, including my couches and bedroom set. I was able to use the money I earned on Fiverr to buy new furniture for my apartment. And since the water destroyed most of the storage in a small storeroom, I was able to turn the space into a mini studio where I film the footage for my speed coloring videos.
The biggest thing I’ve learned from Fiverr is how to deal with customers. As a freelance graphic designer, I don’t deal with nearly as many customers as I do with Fiverr, so working on Fiverr has taught me how to communicate with them more effectively.
Now I’m able to take what I’ve learned on Fiverr and apply it to my freelancing business. In fact, for anyone who is freelancing or getting started in a new business, Fiverr isn’t just about the money you make. It’s also about the experience you get and the portfolio you can create.
Going Forward with Fiverr After years of working on Fiverr with a focus on video production, in 2016 I decided to branch out of my comfort zone and start offering voice overs & script writing. My focus was now on providing buyers with an all-in-one service so that they could get script writing, voice overs, and video production all in one place with me.
I am always thinking of ways to grow my business. In 2017, my goal is to continue to think of new ways to expand my portfolio of Fiverr offerings, so that I can continue to challenge myself both personally, and professionally.
What’s your Fiverr success story? Tell us in the comment below!
