The videos pop up on YouTube all the time, twenty-somethings making tens of thousands of dollars a month online. When you dive a little further, you’ll find a few main ways they do this. But the one that grabbed my attention (first) was Fiverr. I knew of the site, of course, but hadn’t been on there for years. Are people still making money on Fiverr? Can I make money as a photographer on Fiverr? Always interested to explore a way to make money online, I decided it was time to investigate.
Getting started on Fiverr
I didn’t have to set up an account as I had one, with Fiverr credits still sitting in it waiting to be spent. But what I did need to do was get my profile set up for selling on Fiverr. A simple enough process as I went through the motions of filling out page after page of profile information and settings.
Next up, there were the Gigs. This is what Fiverr calls the work you do on their site; you’ll get used to it. With so many categories of work and me no being sure of what I wanted to offer, I did some research. I looked into the categories and different offerings of work. I found a few I was interested in and dived deeper into how Gigs were written and set up.
Having narrowed it down to a few categories, I knew I wanted to offer either copy or blog writing, photography or photo editing. All of which are skills I have and could reasonably offer someone else. I’m also pretty proficient in each when needed, so that a quick turnaround would be possible.
Choosing a service category to offer
In the end, though, I decided to create two offerings based on Product Photography. I felt a little meh with my writing mojo, so I figured it was best not to inflict that on others. And the photo editing, I thought I could always add later. Product photography was probably a little niche for a first Gig, given you have to arrange to get and return the products. But it was interesting to me and not widely offered in Australia, so I went for it.
Setting up the Gigs was a little time consuming, to say the least. But, with a window open in Canva (to create collaged image files) and another with samples of comparable work on Fiverr, I got to it. All in all, with edits in the following days, it looks like about three hours to set both Gigs up. Not too shabby if I’m about to make thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars, right? Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Can I make money as a photographer on Fiverr?
As a low-level seller with no reviews, the pricing to be competitive is a disgrace, to say the least. But, from what I’ve learned from my YouTube friends, the low prices are really just a jumping-off point for customers to add extras and build your portfolio to where you can charge more. (So, I’m a bargain photography-wise. If you need anything right now, hit me up on Fiverr, haha).
To date, after 45 days and a couple of shares on Twitter, I have responded to about five messages and could maybe be booking my first Gig. Literally, as I write this, it’s looking like I’ll be booked for some website images via a custom order for AU$250 (the site is in USD, so converting it is a whole thing, especially when booking an Australian client.
The reality is though, it’s been 45 days with no real action on my Gigs. I plan to create some short videos to add to the Gigs to show off my studio and give them a real face/voice once I get set back up in there (the floors are still curing). From everything I have seen, making a Gig video could help push my listings further to the top. That said, my research tells me what I really need are completed Gigs with completed transactions and reviews.
But, how do you increase your rank to get Gigs to increase your reviews to then increase your rank?
That’s the real question, right? How do you get work when you appear so low in search because you have no reviews. That’s what I’m trying to figure out now. Some of the folks online suggest getting family and friends to review, but from what I can see, a transaction needs to occur for a review to happen. Perhaps they mean to get them to book a Gig and complete it to review you, but that feels a little iffy to me.
My plan? Just keep plugging along, making tweaks and changes to my Gigs. I’ll probably add some more with different style focuses to increase my odds. And I was thinking, if I had an enquiry for extra photo work right now, I would send them through Fiverr even though I could totally charge more if I billed them directly.
For now, I have to be comfortable with the fact that this is not a get rich quick scheme and it will take time to build up reviews and work. Which is an excellent reminder to all of us not to get too sucked into the make money online side of YouTube. I’ve had this blog, and my business, in some capacity for over a decade now and it’s only in the past few years it has fully supported me. The ways I make money online are diverse, and to date, there is no one way that stands alone as the sole provider.
Where to from here on Fiverr?
From here I’m going to keep my fingers crossed I get this first Gig. Then I’m going to hope for a glowing review and even future work from this potential new client. While that’s all happening, I’m going to open up Gigs for photo editing and some more based around product photography that doesn’t focus on light, bright studio shots. Things along the lines of a dark and moody style and a more lifestyle based style. If that even makes sense. Haha. But, whatever happens, I’ll continue to keep you updated on my quest to make money as a photographer on Fiverr. Watch this space.
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need some product photography work done? find me on Fiverr
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Hi! I’m Melissa Walker Horn. Around here, they call me Suger. I’m the Chief Blogger and doer of all the things here at Suger Coat It. Blogging since 1901; I love a casual ootd, taking photos, and writing about things that irk or inspire me. I love wine and cheese, long days at the beach and spending time with my family. I make stuff for the internet over at Chalkboard Digital. You know, living the sweet life.