24 Tips to get your first order on Fiverr [Including 2 Secret Ones]

Wondering how to get your first sale on Fiverr? Understandably so – it is so easy to feel lost on the platform. There are hundreds of gigs in your direct competition and standing out from them may seem impossible. You are probably frustrated because you are not getting orders on Fiverr after spending weeks on it.

We will help you turn that around by showing how to get your first order on Fiverr. Once you get over this first hurdle, you will open the gates to many more orders from new and repeat clients. This will earn you the extra income you crave for, and maybe someday you will quit your job and freelance full time!

By the end of this blog post, you will be more confident of your success on Fiverr. You will know what you need to do to start making money on Fiverr, and also how to implement it.

Excited about getting your first order on Fiverr? So are we, let’s get started.

1. Select your niche.

There are thousands of gigs on every broad category of Fiverr. You can not get into the marketplace with wide niche gigs like content writing, graphic design, etc. You need to be very specific at the beginning of your selling journey.

If you are a new graphic design seller on Fiverr, you will not get any visibility on Fiverr for a gig titled: I will design nice graphics for you. Why? Because there are tons of gigs from established designers on Fiverr.

When someone searches for ‘Graphic Designer’ on Fiverr, this is what they see:

There are 15000 gigs in your direct competition. And those gigs are from established designers with hundreds of reviews and 5-star ratings with pricing as low as $5. You can not compete with them just yet.

You need to make your services more specific to target a niche audience. You can do that based on:

1. Category Search
2. Your Audience Industry

1. Based on Category Search

Click on the Category drop down shown in the Green box in the above image. This is what you’ll see:

These are subcategories available under the graphic design niche. The numbers in brackets are the gigs that target them. Of course, these are big numbers too, but much smaller than the main category. Select one and create a gig around it.

To find even more niches, select any category shown in the image below.

You will see a list of all the subcategories, but look for niches which are tagged New, as shown in the below image. Fiverr is constantly looking for trends and buyer queries to suggest new niches, so those that are tagged new are selling more! Sell in those niches so that you have less competition and more success.

As per a latest article by CNBC, these are the highest paying niches.

2. Based on Your Audience Industry

You can create a gig targeting the audience industry. For example, if you are an SEO expert, you can target specific industries like real estate, dental, law, finance, etc. Here’s what Fiverr suggests for the keyword “SEO for Real Estate”

You can see a new seller ranking for this keyword. 

2. Play to Your Strengths.

You might already have a general idea on your skillset and a gig focussed on that. But is your offering inline with the niche you want to sell in?

Suppose you are a content writer with specialization in crafting blog posts, did you mention that in your gig? This is another great way to niche down your services.

Aim to be a specialist while you start freelancing, this is essential to get your first order on Fiverr. If you position yourself as a generalist, you will find it hard to win the trust of potential clients.

But when you position yourself as a specialist and show samples of your work, you stand a better chance of getting an order.

You can change your positioning in future, once you have enough reviews by creating a new gig that targets a broader audience.

You can score orders on Fiverr without any skills too, but it is essential that you…

3. Skill Up.

Nothing beats experience but skill comes pretty close. To get people to spend on your services before seeing any review, you need to give them confidence that you can do the job. A certification does just that.

When you link to your certifications in your profile description, you increase the chances of getting your first order.

Today, there are many affordable (and even free) courses that whip up your skills, and provide a certificate. Consider starting with Udemy, it is a good platform to take beginner-intermediate level courses.

Even Fiverr offers courses through their Fiverr Learn platform. These are paid courses but once you complete them, you get to host a badge on your platform – indicating that you have invested money to improve your skills.

This is a huge green flag for buyers as it gives them more assurance that you are a serious seller who hones his craft regularly. Additionally, it will help you boost your conversion rates due to the badge.

4. Identify Your Target Audience.

We talked about being very specific about what you sell, but it is equally important to know who you want to sell to. Define your ideal target audience by answering these questions:

1. What exactly are their concerns? And how you can address them.
2. What type of services do they need?
3. What are their demographics – Age, Gender, Location, etc.

Once you have the answers, streamline your gig content to the needs of your potential clients.

In the beginning, when you are eager to get the first order, you might consider selling to any buyer that shows interest in your gig. But that strategy can land you in trouble.

When you pick gigs that you are not good or confident at, you get bad ratings which impact your Fiverr rankings.

You need to be extremely choosy with your buyers. You can shortlist them based on:

1. The industry they are from – and if it aligns with your expertise and interest.
2. The buyers’ nationality
3. Communication style
4. Responsiveness

5. Secret Tip#1.

One of the most innovative ways to get your first gig is reaching out to sellers who are already successful. They have a lot of business at hand, and struggle to complete their gig on time. If you reach out to them and offer to take away some of their workload, you might land yourself a gig.

This technique is called gig tie-ups.

For example, this seller has 32 orders in their queue.

They might need some help.

But do note that, these sellers see you as competition – you may get a gig but most certainly, not a review. This is because reviews boost your chances of getting more gigs and your competitors don’t want that.

So try to reach out to sellers who work on services related to your gig, but not those who are in direct competition.

For example, if someone sells SEO gigs, you may reach out to them to offer SEO content writing services.

6. Secret Tip #2.

When you are trying to get your first order on Fiverr, sell for reviews, not for money. Reviews are an important signal to sellers and to Fiverr that you have delivered quality work before. The more reviews you gather, the easier it is to get more orders.

See your services as an investment for future income. Effectively, you are selling quality at scale while making it affordable for your buyers. And only after you get the first 10 reviews should you consider bumping up your prices.

7. Show, Don’t Tell.

The best way to build trust with buyers is to show them your work, instead of telling them that you can do it. Once you build a solid portfolio outside of Fiverr, you don’t need to convince clients to buy your services – your work speaks for itself.

If you are just starting out and have no clients, build a dummy portfolio. Publish your most creative work with the goal to impress viewers.

For example, if you are a content writer, publish a few samples on free platforms like Quora and Medium. Make sure they cover all industries like Finance, Real Estate, Business, etc, and all content types, like landing page, blog post, etc.

Even if you are a specialist who writes for one industry and one content category, it’s okay. Publish a lot of content pieces to stand a better chance of getting your first Fiverr order.

8. Create Minimum 5 Gigs.

Every gig is an avenue to be seen by potential clients. When you create 5 or more gigs, you stand a better chance of scoring your first order with one of them.

The intent is not to create the same gig 5 times. That’s a BIG no! Rather, create 5 gigs with tiny variations. For example, if you sell social media management gigs, you can diversify your gigs based on industry, social media platforms, or both.

These could be your gig titles in that case:

I will drive your high conversion Facebook Ad Campaigns

I will generate social media leads to your Real Estate Agency

I will help you generate more revenue from your Lifestyle Instagram profile

Etc.

Here’s how you can create a Fiverr gig that sell.

9. SEO your Gig.

When the Fiverr algorithm registers a new gig, it tries to place it somewhere in the search results. Optimizing your gig for search tells the algorithm what your gig is all about, and what value you offer.

SEO for Fiverr gigs involves adding relevant keywords at the right points in your gig like the title, gig description, SEO title, etc. A good optimization lets you rank higher on search pages, once you make it to the top page of search results, you can be sure to get more orders than you can keep up with.

Getting Fiverr SEO right is necessary for your gig to be seen on Fiverr. Through SEO, you can rank on the first page of Fiverr search results for relevant keywords and get noticed by highly relevant buyers.

10. Answer commonly asked questions in your gig.

Fiverr provides an FAQ section with every gig where you can provide more information about your services. Remember, the more information you provide, the faster they make the decision to purchase your gig.

You can use the FAQ section to specify finer details of what is included in the gig, what services you do not offer, and any question that your target audience may have.

11. Use a Video in the Gig Media.

Video is a great way to sell your value proposition. It attracts more eyeballs and drives more clicks to your gig.

You can record yourself or create an informative video without showing your face. Images also do a good job at driving traction, but video takes the cake.

12. Upload your Profile Image.

Before buying your services, most clients will visit your profile to learn more about you. If you use a logo or a random image in your profile picture, you are losing a lot of trust.

People want to work with other people. They want to see a face to the business, so update your profile image with a human face, preferably yours.

13. Leverage Fiverr Buyer Requests.

Buyer requests are a list of requirements that buyers submit to Fiverr. Instead of finding a gig that meets their requirements, some buyers prefer to invite sellers to reach out to them. You can find the buyer requests in the More menu on your profile page.

These requests are visible to Level 1 sellers at all times. However, new Fiverr sellers can see them only for a short while. This is because Fiverr removes the listing as soon as a certain number of new sellers apply to the gig.

Buyer requests can give your gig visibility and get you your first Fiverr order, but it is necessary that you apply on time before they disappear. You can only estimate the time when buyers submit requests.

For example, if you are targeting an audience from the USA, you should keep an eye on Buyer requests starting 8AM Eastern Time up to 6PM Eastern Time.

Of course, it’s not practical to stay glued to your screen all day, but keep checking at different times everyday. Eventually, you will find a time slot when a huge number of buyer requests float in.

14. Be Online as Frequently as you can.

Buyers want sellers to respond quickly. To facilitate faster response, Fiverr gives buyers an option to see which sellers are online, as seen in the below image.

If you are online, the chances of your gig being seen increase. It’s not possible to be online 24 hours a day, but if you download the Fiverr app, you can appear online even if you are not in front of the screen. It’s one of the easiest tricks to help new sellers get initial sales on Fiverr.

15. Create High Quality Gig Images

To get more gigs on Fiverr, you need ensure that a high percentage of people who see your gig listing on the platform also click on it. This percentage is called click through rate (CTR).

One of the best ways to improve this metric is by designing quality gig images and using them as your thumbnails. Images take up the highest surface area on the screen, and by making them look professional and attractive, you increase the chances of grabbing buyers’ attention. This will increase the probability of them clicking on your listing.

16. Promote your Gigs on Social Media.

A solid way to get more people to see your gig is promoting it on social media. When you use the right hashtags and keywords, you can reach a big audience organically.

You can also consider running paid Ads on Social Media to reach even more people. You might be unwilling to spend on Fiverr before you earn, but see it as an investment. If $1 gets you an order that makes your $4, you still are in profit.

However, this method takes time to show results, especially if you are new to the social media platforms. That’s because:

1. You need to build an audience first by posting highly relevant and useful content.
2. Then, you must engage your followers to retain them.
3. It takes huge effort to create content consistently but you must do that to establish your brand name.
4. You rarely get to post about your gigs because they might have very low value for your buyers.

But once you build a solid following, your Fiverr sales will skyrocket. For successful social media gig promotions:

1. Head over to the platform you like – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.
2. Create an account or page where your audience can visit to see your content.
3. Post regularly – in fact, post daily!
4. Respond to what people comment on your posts
5. Don’t get disheartened by negative comments – you will get many of them.
6. Keep offering value – more than what your competitors do.
7. Add a gig promotion post for every 5 useful posts that you publish – not more.

Also, social media is just one way, learn about more ways to promote your gig.

17. Communicate Effectively.

So many new sellers ignore the power of communicating effectively. When you are clear with potential clients on what you sell and what you don’t, reply to them quickly, and give them enough proof of your capabilities – you stand a better chance of securing a sale.

When a buyer contacts you, show enthusiasm in explaining your services. Don’t give one word answers, always elaborate. Even if you get the order, make sure you communicate effectively till you deliver the order.

When you communicate effectively, you increase chances of getting positive reviews, and increasing repeat buyers. Even Fiverr values effective communication so much that it is one of their rating points. You need to get communication with sellers right to get gigs on Fiverr.

Here’s how you can do that:

1. Practice Active Listening

Besides conveying your proposition clearly, it’s imperative that you actively listen to your clients’ needs and concerns. What that means is, trying to empathize with the client and see things from their perspective. Take the time to truly understand their requirements and ask clarifying questions when necessary. This shows that you value their input and are committed to delivering a tailored solution.

2. Provide Prompt and professional responses

Your potential buyers are on Fiverr due to pressing problems, they are looking for quick solutions. Prompt replies demonstrate your reliability and dedication to customer service. Aim to address any questions or concerns as soon as you can to create a conducive environment that makes clients feel supported throughout the process.

3. Manage expectations

No matter how bad you want your first Fiverr sale, do not promise something that you do not deliver. Set very clear expectations about what you can and can’t do. This includes delivery timelines, revisions, and any limitations associated with your services.

4. Build Rapport

You get your Fiverr orders less because of your skills and more because of the environment you create for your buyers. Sure, your profile image build up that human connection, but it’s your tone while conversing through DMs is what actually convinces clients that they want to work with you. In the end, they are people, and they want to avoid bad experiences. Be courteous in your responses to win more orders on Fiverr.

18. Give Something for Free.

For every service, you will find an opportunity to give something away for free. For example, if you are a content writer, you can offer an image that goes with the content free of cost. You can source those images from websites like pexels, unsplash, canva etc., and edit it a bit. It won’t take too much effort.

People love free stuff, especially if it adds value to them. Mention in your gig description what you offer for free. Once you have at least 10 rating, you can knock off the free stuff for new clients and add it as a gig extra!

19. Don’t Spread Yourself too Thin.

Your buyers are human beings, some of them are assholes who will try to drain out more work from you than they paid for. Don’t fall for such clients because they can never be happy. Even if you do everything they want, they will still leave a negative review and poor ratings.

Before you accept an order, try to analyze your clients while chatting with them in your inbox. Are they too bossy and like to tell people what to do? Do they undervalue their time? If so, refuse serving right there. DON’T accept their order.

It doesn’t matter where they are from or how much the gig is worth or how desperate you are to get your first gig, avoid bad sellers like plague. Nothing’s worth your peace of mind.

20. Sell Benefits, Not Services.

Always tell your buyers the value they will get from your services. For example, instead of saying, I will generate the best backlinks for your business, tell them, I will boost your lead revenue by generating quality backlinks.

Essentially, tell them how they will benefit from your services instead of talking about your expertise.

21. Address Sellers by their Name.

Don’t address them as Sir or Ma’am. They have a name, address them with that.

You must remember that you are offering a service and benefiting the seller. They are at the same advantage as you – they are not doing a favor.

Even if your culture trains you to address buyers that way, try to create a habit of calling people by their name. Most people will appreciate that and you don’t want to work with those who don’t. This is an important step to get gigs on Fiverr.

22. Read Buyer Reviews

Before responding to any buyer, make sure you check out their profile and look for what other sellers have to say about them.

After completion of every order, Fiverr asks both buyers and sellers to rate each other. So if other sellers have rated them poorly and written bad reviews, you can be sure to stay away from them.

23. Set Low Prices to Begin With

Fiverr is an extremely competitive marketplace where sellers need to build up their reputation before they find buyers who pay well. To do that, you need to set low prices initially.

It may feel like you are selling yourself short, that’s because you are. But this strategy will help you fetch those initial buyers who are on Fiverr only because it’s cheap.

This way, you get some quick orders and reviews that will improve your Fiverr rankings thus giving your gig more impressions.

Impressions on Fiverr is the count of the number of people who saw your gig listing. It can be through homepage, category pages, promoted instances, or any other source. Fiverr SEO helps your gig to get more impressions while gig images, help you get more clicks.

Over the course of a few months, you can gradually start experimenting with increasing the prices. But be very careful when you do that. You must keep an eye on your gig performance on a daily basis. As soon as your conversion rate starts to plummet, you must roll back your prices.

A low conversion rate indicates that for the same number of people clicking on your gig listing from the Fiverr search results, fewer people are placing the order. You don’t want that to happen immediately – not at least till you reach level 1. Low prices are key to getting you first order on the platform.

24. Build a Professional Profile

When it comes to your presence on Fiverr, every piece of content you create should serve either of the two purposes: building trust with buyers or boosting sales. However, your Fiverr profile description plays a crucial role in achieving both the objectives.

Buyers typically discover your profile through one of your gigs or when responding to buyer requests. These visits indicate that they are already interested in your gig and would like to learn more about you before making a purchase. In essence, your gig title and description have successfully captured their attention. Now, it’s up to your profile page to capitalize on that interest.

Your profile should effectively showcase everything you have to offer, beyond just your specific gig. It should highlight your experience, education, skills, certifications, and more. By doing so, it demonstrates the breadth of your capabilities and expertise. Additionally, it’s important to emphasize your reliability in terms of timely deliveries, as well as include positive feedback from past buyers. Ultimately, your profile should convey that you are the right person for the job at hand.

In addition to the aforementioned elements, crafting an engaging and informative profile description is essential. This involves selecting and presenting the most relevant skills and experience that align perfectly with the services you offer. 

By showcasing your expertise in a clear and compelling manner, you can capture the attention of potential buyers and establish yourself as a trustworthy professional. If you have a portfolio of past work, you must include it in your profile as well.

25. The Dark Secret (Not Recommended)

One of the common, yet unspoken ways of getting Fiverr orders is to create multiple Fiverr accounts from different names, and giving yourself an order and perfect ratings later.

Be aware that we DO NOT RECOMMEND this technique as it is not just unethical but can get you banned from Fiverr. Also, the Fiverr algorithm is really good at catching fake transactions.

FAQs

How long does it take to get first order on Fiverr?

Depending on your gig category, optimization, and competition, it can take anywhere between 7-45 days on an average to make your first order. It’s quite common to take even longer, but you must work on your gig if you do not get an order or message from a buyer within the first 60 days.

To speed up the process, you can try:

1. Outreach through buyer requests
2. Paid promotion

How do you land your first gig on Fiverr?

By adopting Fiverr gig creation best practices, efficient gig promotion, and stellar buyer support, you can get your first gig faster.

Why am I not getting orders on Fiverr?

You get no orders on Fiverr because:

1. Your gigs cost too much
2. Your gig is not attractive enough to get clicks
3. Your gig description is not set up for conversions
4. You might not be responding to buyers well enough
5. You are in a highly competitive niche
6. You do not have a CTA in your content
7. Your gig is not optimized for SEO
8. You are still new to the platform and need time to appear in the Fiverr search results
9. You are not promoting your gig well enough

Conclusion

A single technique alone may not get you the first order on Fiverr, but a combination of our tips will sure put you in a great place to get the ball rolling. 

Remember, even if you do it right, you may still take some time to make your first sale because the Fiverr algorithm takes some time to list your gig. Be patient.

Implement our suggestions and see if you get positive results. Meanwhile, drop a question in the comment section below if you have any questions, we will answer you within 24 hours.