What the heck is Fiverr and why would you use it in 2021?
Updated: Feb 16, 2021
Fiverr is the not so secret secret that is helping small business compete with the big boys. In the past, having a website built, graphic design for your business, or professional video editing would have cost thousands of dollars. You would ask your friends or fellow business owners/managers and they would recommend the individual or organization they use. Oftentimes, the price point was high so you either bit the bullet and got started or decided that marketing your business may be too expensive.
Nowadays, small businesses are turning to services like Fiverr or Upwork to find freelancers from across the country and world to help them with marketing their business. Before I dive into the details of Fiverr, I encourage you to visit the website and take a look around. That will provide a frame of reference as we go through the details.
How to use Fiverr to market your business?
At the end of the day, the local graphic designer or videographer is usually going to do a better job than the individuals on Fiverr. Fiverr is known to bring expertise at a very cheap rate. Obviously, you get what you pay for. However, sometimes what you can pay for is all you need!
Here's a great example. I recently helped a friend with the "look" of his business. We brainstormed and had a pretty good idea of what we wanted. I jumped on Fiverr and chose the artists that I thought would nail the style we were looking for.
That's the beauty of Fiverr. Most sellers have their entire portfolio, a list of reviews from other customers (with delivered work), and their exact specialties. It makes picking the right freelancer very easy, because they post proof of their work. So we hired 2 different artists to complete 2 different jobs: A logo and a professional business card. Ready to see the final products and prices?
Professional logo with source file by Audysusanto - $90
Business card with source file by Sneh - $52.50
Is this the greatest design you've ever seen??! No... No probably not. But, it's pretty freaking sweet and now Chief's Floor Care has a pretty cool brand identify right away without spending a ton of money. For $150, the owner has a professional logo and amazing business card. He also has all of the source files so he can use for other designs down the road.
What other cool things can you do with Fiverr?
I recently wrote a blog on the children's book that I recently wrote, had illustrated, and printed. If it were not for fiverr, I would have never been able to do that! And I received infinite brownie points form the wife for this little gift. Let's jump into the middle of the blog where I detail using fiverr to get the job done:
"...all this to say that I knew I had to do something extra special this year for Lindsay, but it couldn’t revolve around buying her something nice, because she doesn’t really care about that anymore. That’s where the book idea came in.
I wasn’t sure if this was even a thing, but after a quick search I landed on Artifact Uprising. The reviews for the children’s book were very good, so I figured I would give it a shot. I started by adding photos of Tallin over the last year and a half. The further I got into the “children’s book” the more I realized it was just a photo book… An overpriced photo book.
I wanted an actual Children’s book. I wrote out a fun story revolving around Tallin’s favorite friends, in the real world and fictional characters form his favorite stories or movies. I just knew that Lindsay and Tallin would love the story, but I had a big problem; I can’t draw. Like at all. I can’t stress this enough. You know when people say they can’t cook and go “I can only cook cereal!” Har. Har. Har. If drawing was cooking, I wouldn’t even know where to FIND the cereal.
The next step was to find an artist. It turns out, this really is not that difficult to do. I jumped on a popular freelance site called fiverr and just started browsing the “Children’s Book Illustrators.” There you can see pricing, reviews, and samples of work. I quickly found an artist I liked at an excellent price.
I sent over the script and very descriptive instructions on what I wanted for each page, number of pages I wanted designed, cover, etc. I still had to get a few revisions which was included in their price. Once the revisions arrived, it looked perfect!
Check out a few of the designs below. The artist is Chopperr. I definitely recommend them. They have a rough around the edges type style that I love. They also provide an incredible price. In total I paid $241.40 which included the tip.
Okay, so I had the illustrations ready 2 weeks before Christmas. I loaded them into Artifact Uprising, formatted (super quick and easy process), and clicked order. Fingers crossed this thing turns out well. A few days before Christmas, the package arrived.
Fast forward to Christmas day: After an awesome day of opening gifts and family time, we were ready to call it a night. Lindsay and bubba were on the rocking chair getting ready for bed. I walked and gave them both a kiss and offered a book I had “forgotten to give him earlier.” Lindsay didn’t think much of it and reached out for the book to start reading it to Tallin.
She was very confused when she saw the cover and asked if I was able to “add a title on a book” since it said Tallin’s name. After closer inspection, she realized the cover photo looked an awful lot like us! She had the biggest grin on her face as she read each page to Tallin.
The smile turned to tears halfway into the book and I realized this whole endeavor was well worth the effort. Not only did Tallin love the story and enjoyed pointing out his “favorite friends” but it was the gift Lindsay needed at that time. I still read Tallin that book almost every night and he absolutely loves it."
What else can I do on Fiverr?
I hope that short excerpt provided a good explanation of how powerful this website is. These are just a few examples. You can do a TON on this website!
Here are a few examples:
Custom Illustrations
Graphic Design
Shirt Design
Fashion Design
Product rendering
Package Design
Website Design
GIF creation
Video Editing
Video Animation
If you are just getting your business started OR just looking for a one-off project, Fiverr could be a great resource. I do marketing for business that gross over $3 million a year and still find reasons to use fiverr as a resource.
As I mentioned earlier in this blog, a local artist or videographer is usually going to do a better job. However, do not have paralysis by analysis because you cannot afford help right now. Start with Fiverr or similar and work your way up to working with a local artist who can better understand your business and goals.
The next blog you should read is even easier than fiverr, provides consistent leads, and here's the kicker... it's completely free! Check it out!
Thank you for reading! Need any more guidance on freelance sites or marketing for your Polk County business? Please reach out.
Thank you,
Taher