(Article today by Bryan)
If you’re anything like me (and if you’re reading this site, you almost certainly are), you’ve always got your peepers open for ways to score a few extra bucks.
With this in mind, imagine if I told you that there was a site on the internet where you could do simple tasks and get five bucks in return: you’d likely be intrigued if not outright ecstatic, right?
Good news, boys and girls! There is such a site! As you can tell by my use of exclamation marks, you can imagine how excited I was when I ran across Fiverr.com.* Here was a site where the people of the world could come together in peace and harmony, and then prostitute themselves out for $5 a shot. It’s the lower-than-minimum-wage-American-dream at its finest!
If you took a minute to click on the link above to look around the site, you got a quick feel for the sorts of things that people advertise on there. If you didn’t, take a moment to do so now (I’m sure J. Money won’t mind me telling people to leave his website).
As you, by now, have seen, there’s a little bit of everything on there. Are you looking for a Romanian rabbit to eat a piece of lettuce with your message written on it? Check. How about somebody to pretend to be your Facebook girlfriend? Check Check. Are you in the market for four crocheted mustaches? Brother, you better believe that’s on there.
But with so much already being offered, what of value could I possibly add into the fray? I mean, three crocheted mustaches I could maybe make some profit on, but four? That’s crazy talk. So, finally, I did what many others have done before me: I built a better mouse trap. After searching through the listings, I found one that I thought I could improve on.
I titled my posting: I will write a Shakespearean sonnet for $5.
I figured this was a good choice, because, as you’ve seen by reading this far into this article, I know literally dozens of words. You see, I had come across another posting that advertised sonnets, but that posting did not offer any revisions. So, I simply added that I would do a revision if the buyer wasn’t satisfied. Easy peasy. I also suggested a couple of possible uses for the sonnet: one could tell their significant other how they were feeling or people could get some clever promotion for their businesses.
A few other tips I’d have for new users of Fiverr:
- Make sure your listing’s picture has something to do with what you’re advertising — I was writing sonnets, so a picture of Shakespeare made the most sense.
- Use all of the keywords you can think of — This is how people are going to find your posting, so sprinkle your keywords liberally.
- Make sure you really think that what you’re doing is worth five bucks of your time — The sonnets actually take me around an hour to write, so it’s not a great valuation of my time. However, there’s something cool about making money writing poetry, even if it is a pittance. Especially if it is a pittance.
One last point to make about Fiverr is that it should actually be called Fourerr. That’s right, Fiverr’s got to make their money too, so you actually only get paid $4 per completed task. Are you shocked and disillusioned? You should be; growing up is hard. Another complaint that I have is that, from the time your buyer marks your order complete, Fiverr doesn’t release your funds for approximately two weeks.
How well have I done so far? Well, after two weeks, I’ve made about $20 (so this is a VERY side-hustle). Still, it’s money that I wouldn’t have made otherwise. Will I keep it up? I’m not sure if I’d want to do it for the long haul, but it has been a fun diversion for the last couple of weeks.
If you’re curious, give it a shot. You might just make five four bucks.
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Article by Bryan – who writes over at Pinch that Penny!, where he describes ways he tries to make and save money. He’s also looking for a career in theatre work, so if you’re Mr. Theatre, you should totally hit him up.
(Photo by velvettangerine)
*I was basically soiling my doilies with joy, that’s how excited I was. You can ask the Mrs. if you don’t believe me. Actually, don’t ask the Mrs.: this was a dark and shameful period of our past that I’d rather not re-live.
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Twenty dollars is an impressive total. I am surprised that there are 5 people in the world who would even want a sonnet let alone pay for one. I bet you did homework for 5 kids in English class.
I’ve used Fiverr before. I had a lady write me a song. It wasn’t great, but probably worth what I paid for it.
cashflowmantra: I was concerned that I would be doing homework for people, but it’s ended up being primarily small businesses that have requested sonnets. Here’s an example of one that I wrote for an author that was hiring a bunch of folks on Fiverr for some book promotion: http://carolynparkhurst.com/site/?p=69
Kevin: I think that’s kind of the freeing thing about Fiverr. Even if whatever you buy goes horribly wrong, a buyer’s not out too much money (though buyers have 48 hours to request fixes if what the seller provided is really out of left field).
I’m a fan of Fiverr and I’ve actually seen your ad! :) I’ve used Fiverr for a number of small projects and it certainly was worth the money.
Jon: Let it be known that I have been seen! :-) I’ve also purchased several things off of Fiverr (including the header to my site), and I’m usually pretty happy.
This is the coolest thing ever! I signed up with fiver just now to give it a shot. I love editing fiction and I write fiction in my spare time (who doesn’t??) so I’m advertising my services as a copy-editor and workshopper (is that a word? Worskhop-ist?). I don’t expect to make a lot of money but I kind of just want to try it because it looks like such a fun little project! And I love editing, so that’s a bonus. Thanks for the idea!!
Sarah: I agree, it’s a pretty cool service. And if you can use it to do things that you enjoy doing anyways, so much the better. I hope you have a good experience with it!
I recently heard of Fivver through a podcaster. Interesting concept, but as I am focused on increasing my passive income I don’t want to get into the freelancing mindset.
Emily: Some people on Fiverr are experimenting with passive income also (although it is on the backs of freelance projects). I’ve seen several people who have multiple postings describing what they’ll do for $5, and then they have a final post that states something to the effect of “I will accept a tip for $5.” The idea, obviously, is that they’d like to get a little extra moola for their completed hard work.
I know this isn’t *exactly* passive income, but it’s close as they’re getting extra income for work that has already been done.
Okay I love it when I find something like fiverr errr fourer. I’ve actually seen services that I would find useful or at least fun to see what I’d get. Like the 15sec commercial for me or my business.
Of course I’m debating about building a computer program that generates sonnets so I can steal your booming $20 dollar grossing business. On 2nd thought computers aren’t that poetic maybe I’ll do limericks instead lol
ya i love this article. Fiverr is really a great way to make some extra cash. I haven’t made any money from it but i have also never tried ;) However, i have a few friends that do though, and they love it. I wrote a little information about this topic too. Its easier than some people think.
Funny post! Wanna write for my blog? :-)
Yep, Fiverr’s great for picking up some extra cash or filling orders that take you only a few minutes. You’ve got to keep an eye on your orders, though. It’s easy to get overwhelmed once you’re “discovered.”
Darcy: I would love to see computer generated sonnets! That actually gives me an idea for a play that I’d like to write…
Kody: It is really easy to get involved at Fiverr. You should give it a try too!
Charleen: I sent you an email. Also, though I would like to get a lot more purchases through Fiverr, I would be kind of overwhelmed if I got “discovered,” and they all came at once. Even three or four gigs at a time weigh on me!
I personally prefer http://www.fiversworld.com, they are providing more services compare to fiverr.
Thanks again B! LOVED this post. And I’m glad to see others did too :) Appreciate you responding to everyone too – I want 10% of your writing commission. Or at least 1 free sonnet thank you very much. Haha…
I love using Fiverr for graphic work. Some of the graphic designers do excellent work for such a small fee.
Really? I always feel like for $5 you wouldn’t get anything real decent, but I’ve also never tried it yet w/ graphic stuff. Glad it works for you! :)
i prefer http://www.redlr.com sexy gigs in there.
Cool – I’ll check it out. Hadn’t heard of that one before and I sure like my sexy jobs! :)