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Land Whale Clients on Fiverr?!
How savvy sellers land huge projects on Fiverr...
1,256 Words | 5 Min 14 Sec Read
Welcome to another issue of Passionate Income.
Today we’ll be discussing how to make big money on Fiverr.
While Fiverr is typically considered a low budget, entry level site for third-world freelancers, a small handful have figured out how to leverage it's features to earn a full-time, first world income.
Let’s dive in.
I'll never forget the first month I dabbled in freelancing.
After accidentally deleting an eBook I'd been working on for days (prior to Google Docs), I realized that when all was said and done, my earnings would come in somewhere around $2.75 per hour.
A mere fraction of the national minimum wage.
Fast forward to today and I've earned as much as $750 per hour. A rate that would make all but the most high profile lawyers blush.
I mention this because when you're working as a freelancer, you have to get started somewhere. And in many cases, one of the platforms beginners turn to is Fiverr.
Admittedly, the Fiverr of today is much different from what was available in the early 2010s. Mainly because back then, your only option was to price your service at $5.
Today, however, the platform is much different.
From multi-tiered pricing to tips, Fiverr is both more flexible and offers a much more robust set of pricing features for sellers.
Unfortunately, many small business owners had such a bad experience on the platform (during its early days) they turned their backs on it completely.
So why would we recommend it as a lead generation source for your freelance / agency services?
Because relative to the past, competition there is much lower today. In fact, because of its reputation, the overwhelming majority of providers there are non-native English speakers from developing countries.
What people don't realize, however, is that Fiverr is a top 1,000 website worldwide, getting over 51 million visitors per year (with a stunning 12+ minutes Time on Site average).
Meaning, while their reputation might not be perfect, they still get a ton of business owners looking for freelance help.
And if you play your cards right, you can bypass the $5 jobs and jump straight to the $500 and even $5,000 jobs.
Here's how.
First, we'll assume you have some kind of service that can be sold for $500 - $1000+. While Fiverr can be a source of good leads, we can't help you if your most expensive offer is $100.
Assuming that's the case, you should look at the jobs you get from Fiverr as the free samples restaurants hand out at food courts (what we call Trip Wires in Internet Marketing).
While 99% of people on the platform try to monetize from their front-end offers (the ones that are advertised to the public on the site), the freelancers who make serious moolah from Fiverr take a more long-term approach.
In particular, they splinter their services into chronological pieces and sell the first part of the service rather than the whole entire thing.
As an example, let's say you sell ghostwriting services to aspiring authors.
Rather than selling the entire book, you would use Fiverr to help the author develop their outline.
As another example, if you sell SEO services, rather than selling your full service, you would sell an on-site content optimization analysis.
Why is this method so powerful?
Because instead of asking a total stranger to marry you (pay 4-5 figures for your full service upfront), all you're doing is asking them for a First Date.*
*Hat tip to Travis Sago for this powerful analogy.
Sell, selling a splintered service allows you to get your foot in the door without a lot of risk on the client's part.
Doesn't matter if it's SEO, ghostwriting or something else. Asking someone to cough up big money - and commit to a month's long engagement - is extremely risky for all but the largest companies.
And not just in a financial sense, but because hiring the wrong person can turn out to be a huge pain in the neck.
On the flip side, asking someone to pay $100 or a couple hundred bucks for a service that will only take a few days to deliver is dramatically less risky.
Further, doing so allows the client to get to know you while providing you with an opportunity to showcase your expertise (while overdelivering by turning in your project ahead of time).
From there, once trust is built and rapport is established, it's much easier to pitch the client on ordering whatever service comes next / rolling into your monthly retainer.
The key is identifying what part of your service you can splinter off into a First Date offer in a way that makes logical business sense.
Meaning, you can't just pick a random part of your service because it's cheap.
Instead, whatever you sell should transition into your main service in a way that provides value to the client while moving their project along from A to Z as seamlessly as possible.
In addition, when approached this way, you'll have so much communication with the client you can easily transition them off the Fiverr platform and into a more traditional contractual agreement.*
*Technically moving a client off the platform is against Fiverr's Terms of Service, so never communicate about your upsell service using their internal messaging system.
Last, understand that to implement this strategy properly, it's critical you:
Setup a high quality profile that clearly positions you as a professional and native English speaker
Price your First Date offer in a way that will allow you to charge a respectable rate for your actual service
Over deliver so that you a) get 5 star ratings and b) inspire clients to want to work with you beyond the first project
Perform keyword optimization and consider running ads
Research what criteria you have to meet to get into Fiverr's Level 2, Top Rated, and Fiverr's Choice categories
Admittedly, getting top tier leads will not happen overnight. Especially if you're starting from zero.
But make no mistake about it:
While 99% of Western freelancers look down on Fiverr, a small handful are making serious cash by following the strategy above.
And the best part?
Because Fiverr gets so much traffic, they get leads on near autopilot.
No building a Personal Brand. No cold outreach. None of that.
💡 Takeaway: While most people try to sell their top tier service upfront, savvy sellers use Fiverr as a networking tool for making introductions and building trust with potential clients before pitching their more in-depth service.
🎁 Resources:
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