The Reason Why Your Gig Is Not Selling

The Reason Why Your Gig Is Not Selling 

When people step into the online freelancing community, they usually find themselves trying out a number of platforms in search of work / buyers / orders. Top of the list are platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, and Freelancer. 

When people try out Fiverr, they usually end up with a bunch of gigs that do not sell. The stats are fine, people are coming across your gig, but you do not sell. Why? 

There are three reasons why that can happen to newbies - and multiple solutions for all those issues that I am going to offer in this article. 

NOTE: Listed below are some formulas I used to get an absolutely new profile of mine to Level One Seller in only two months. 

 Number 1 - Amateurish Presentation 

While designing a gig, you have to think, write, and design like a marketer. Not just any marketer - a content marketer. 

A gig is made up of what? Content. 

What represents your skill, knowledge, and expertise to your prospective buyers? Content. 

What do you need to modify and optimize and market yourselves through? CONTENT. 

99% of the times, sellers do not consult professional marketers while trying to advertise their skills. 

You have to be something of a content marketer yourself to sell your first gig. 

People do not focus half as much at the amount or number of services offered in your packages. They focus at the quality of the primary service being offered - the skill, effort, and expertise behind it. 

So, the first thing you need to do is to convey all that to the audience in the best way possible. 

Three things matter the most when you are crafting a gig:

1. Gig Description
2. Package Descriptions 
3. Portfolio samples

TIPS to Craft a Gig Description that GETS READ AND SOLD:

• Do NOT write long paragraphs - all of us skim over text the moment our mind registers it as lengthy

• Write two to three sentences, skip a line (leave it empty), write another two to three sentences, skip a line, and so on - spread the sentences out across the available space  

• Use bullet points to list individual characteristics of the finished work that you are going to deliver 

• Keep the bullets short and to-the-point 

• Leave empty spaces between the bullets so they don't appear too congested (too much writing scares both busy and lazy people away - and such people make up most of the market on Fiverr)

• Use bold and highlight features to list your UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITIONS - the qualities that distinguish you and your work from the rest of your competitors out there 

 TIPS to craft an attractive Package Description:

In a package description, you need to convey the value that you are going to deliver to the buyer in a few words.

• Use plus signs to separate individual deliverables 
• Use commas to separate the characteristics of those deliverables (if there is space for them) 
• For example, "an attractive, catchy 300-word sales copy + custom graphics + multiple revisions" 

 NOTE: Reserved and Stratightforward Descriptions (No Tall Claims, Promises, Exaggerations, and Up-sells) DO NOT SELL. 

 

Although such exaggerations and claims are generally considered very immoral and wrong, they are the things that will bring your customers across your threshold even when you are a newbie and you don't have any ratings/reviews to prove your skills. 

 

You can stay reserved and wait for your first few buyers to come and then leave ratings and then for your work to prove its worth on its own BUT - there's a very slim chance of a gig blooming just like that on its own or of buyers taking chances with their money and choosing you out of nowhere. 

A GIG DESCRIPTION THAT REEKS OF CONFIDENCE IS ONE THAT SELLS WELL EVEN WITHOUT ANY BRIGHT RATINGS/REVIEWS.

 

Choosing the Portfolio Images:

 

Your gig cannot be published without an image. Most people are puzzled about what sort of image they need to have - of their previous work or relevant to it. 

 

Well, it could be a screenshot of your work, or simply a photo of you - no need to portray your work, just your face. It could also be a banner about the job (for example, copywriting, content writing, video animation) from open-source content available across different search engines like Google. 

 

However, there are curious ways to pull off a great first impression through the gig's cover image. 

 

For example, I, being a content writer, used a screenshot of all the relevant test results that I had on Fiverr - the same ones that it showed on my profile, if anybody bothered to actually check the profile (which they don't, by the way, they just rely on the gig)

I had great scores in all the language and writing skills so I used them to advertise my business. That's an example of how you can get creative about your gig portfolio. 

Number 2 - No Reviews/Ratings Available 

When you are out in the market looking for the first few people who would be willing to trust you with their money, you need to have a reputation, credibility, and some ways to reassure the buyers that they are investing in something that can turn value for them. 

On Fiverr, the first and the foremost thing that reassures your buyers about you is your rating - the number of ratings you have and their average that shows on your gig or your profile. Some people also check the reviews you have received from previous buyers. 

However, when you are a newbie, you clearly need a way to get some buyers without having any previous ratings. The first buyer needs to trust your gig description, portfolio, and your words blindly. 

Remember, you only need one rating - a single 5 star from the first buyer can make your gig plus your profile appear five star to prospective buyers and help them on their way to making the purchase. 

There are many ways to get your first five star. 

1) Arrange it yourselves -  

• Make yourself a buyer account on Fiverr - don't forget to do it through an invitation link given through your seller account (you will get a promotional cashback of 5 dollars when the buyer account makes its first purchase)
• Send yourself Hi from the buyer account  
• Send a random 5-dollar custom offer from the seller account to the buyer account 
• Accept the offer through the buyer account (7 dollars including Fiverr's service fee out of which 4 will come back to you as earning in your seller account)
• Deliver the order through the seller account - use an image or PDF that you would like to go with the review in your gig portfolio
• Accept and review the delivery through the buyer account (a 5 star and a great review as desired)
• You bought yourself a 5 star review in 3 dollars (7 minus the four you earned through your seller account)
• You will get 5 dollars in your seller account as you invited a new buyer to Fiverr who purchased a gig worth five dollars in the first go - so the ultimate cost is zero. 
• You end up with 2 additional dollars, a great review, and a five-star rating on your seller account.

2) Pre-arrange it with an acquaintance on Fiverr - you can make a bargain, offer to exchange two orders and two reviews that would help both of you.

 

3) Have one of your real-life acquaintances come to Fiverr (signing up and purchasing a gig is very easy - Fiverr favours buyers) to place a small order on your gig to give you a starting boost.

Number 3 - Lack of Knowledge about Buyer's Requests/ Hastily Typed and Randomly Sent Offers

At Fiverr, there is a well-hidden feature called buyer's requests that can be really, really helpful for newbies who are not being approached very frequently by serious buyers.

At your seller dashboard, there is a list of tabs at the top (if there is no tab except the one for messages, you need to have your browser zoom out of the screen a bit - you will see more tabs at around 75-80% zoom)

Click on the tab located at the extreme right - MORE

Under the tab more, there will be an option to check buyer's requests. 

When you click on Buyer's requests, you will find all the requests from people looking for freelancers with your skills. 

Each request has a different budget and time span that each buyer chooses of their own accord. 

You can offer your services up for up to 10 requests per day. Use that quota well by following the procedure given below:

1. Check Buyer's Requests frequently and choose the ones you can respond to 
2. Categorize the relevant requests in different groups based on the type of work they want 
3. Design an offer template for each category
4. Use the designed template with some modification for each request that you find attractive

How to Craft an Offer Template that Sells 

 

• Start by introducing yourself - your name, your degree and experience, and your skills / industry exposure in a few short sentences. 

 

• Tell them that you have READ THEIR REQUEST THOROUGHLY AND UNDERSTOOD THEIR NEEDS (Most sellers don't, and that is a complete put off)

 

• Tell them what makes you fit for the job and how you hope to complete it - what you hope to deliver to them. Set clear expectations. 

 

• OFFER SOME PORTFOLIO SAMPLES FOR THEM TO REVIEW - use a Google drive link to a folder where you have arranged your portfolio or simply ask them to message you and get some.

• Invite them for a quick chat about their needs and requirements.

NOTE: Most buyers are flexible about their budget and time span - you can offer to do the job nicely in a different budget and time span and still get chosen if you craft them a great offer. 

 

The last and the most important lesson that I can give you is one of persistence. 

 

You need to KEEP DOING IT. KEEP UPDATING YOUR GIG. KEEP RESPONDING TO REQUESTS FREQUENTLY.

 

Try doing all that I have listed above for at least a month - and I can assure you that your gig will get its first few buyers if you have the potential to deliver value.