How To Make Money on Fiverr in 2024

How To Make Money on Fiverr in 2024

by
Paul Koullick
Updated 
January 17, 2024
March 31, 2023
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Reviewed by
Tax guide
How To Make Money on Fiverr in 2024
by
Paul Koullick
Updated 
January 17, 2024
March 31, 2023
Icon check
Reviewed by

An online marketplace like Fiverr can be a great place for freelancers to showcase their skills and connect with clients.

However, earning an income there requires more than just publishing a couple of gigs and waiting for the orders to roll in. You need to set up your gigs in a way that lets buyers find them in the first place — and gains their trust when they do.

We’re here to help you learn how to make money on Fiverr. We’ll start with the basics of optimizing your gigs for profitability. Then, we’ll move on to a few general Fiverr best practices.

Contents

Step #1. Check if your skills are in demand

A browse through the Fiverr Gigs Directory will show you the different services currently offered on the platform. 

If your skills are represented there, great news! It means there’s demand for them. While you don't need to avoid more niche services, keep in mind that the number of gigs you can publish is limited when you’re getting started. So you might find more traffic coming your way if you stick with existing categories.

Don’t see your skills in the directory? Select “Other” when you’re prompted to choose a category for a new gig. Fiverr likely hasn’t created a category for it yet because there’s not enough demand for that service. It will likely be added if either more freelancers start offering it, or more potential clients start searching for it.

For example, Trisha Diamond, Senior Director of Customer Success at Fiverr, explained that the site added “AI categories” in early 2023 “as a result of so many freelancers seizing the opportunity to offer [them] and the fact that searches for AI-related services saw a massive uptick across the marketplace.”

Popular Fiverr gigs

In 2021, these were the most profitable services on Fiverr, including the average price paid for them:

  1. Presentation design: $231  
  2. Website building: $128.90  
  3. Website design: $105.70  
  4. Business consulting: $98.10  
  5. Social media management: $93.70  
  6. 3D and 2D modeling: $65.20  
  7. Web development: $63  
  8. Video editing: $58.40
  9. Book cover design: $51.50  
  10. CV, cover letter, and resume writing: $49.60  

Are these still the most lucrative offerings? Not necessarily. “Given the broad range of prices for services across various categories, we no longer track… the highest-price services,” Diamond explained.

Instead, Fiverr’s Business Trends Index — updated every six months — keeps up with trending services. These are gigs that “have seen the greatest increase in search over a period of time.”

In-demand Fiverr services

As of Fall 2022, the fastest-growing services on the platform include:

  • Facebook video ads: Up 175%
  • Teespring promotion: Up 163%
  • Affiliate promotion: Up 152%
  • Instagram social media management: Up 121%
  • Mobile app development: Up 64%

Whether or not your area of expertise falls into this list, making money on Fiverr starts with creating a gig that attracts buyers — so let’s move on to tips for doing just that.

Step #2. Write a descriptive Fiverr gig title

All Fiverr gig titles start with the words “I will.” It’s up to you to finish the rest of the sentence. 

Your title should state exactly what you’re offering in simple but descriptive terms. So if you’re a book cover designer, your gig should say something along the lines of “I will design a book cover.”

But that’s not particularly eye-catching on its own. Get descriptive by including details that set your services apart. Perhaps you offer a very quick turnaround or have a particular genre niche or design style. 

Let’s check out how a few top-rated book cover designers title their gigs.

Four gigs from top-rated book designers nskvsky, manish414, younesselh, and rock_0407
  • I will create modern, minimalist book cover design or kindle cover
  • I will create an ebook cover in 24 hours
  • I will design vector illustrated book cover
  • I will design professional fantasy book cover, ebook cover

Each of these titles has the basics — buyers know they’re getting a book cover out of the deal — and then goes a bit further by explaining what kind of cover the buyer will get, or how fast they’ll get it.

Pro tip: While Fiverr titles can be up to 80 characters, it’s best to keep yours under 50 to ensure it doesn’t get cut off in the preview that buyers see when browsing.

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Step #3. Study popular gig tags

The next step in creating a Fiverr gig that makes money: selecting five tags relevant to your service.

Tags are used to help categorize your gig so that buyers can find it when they search for what they need. 

If you’re struggling to think of the top five words associated with your service, look through well-performing gigs and see what tags they use.

For instance, here are five tags that appeared in several highly-rated “Resume Writing” gigs:

  1. “Resume”
  2. “Resume writing”
  3. “LinkedIn”
  4. “Resume writer”
  5. “CV”

Step #4. Upsell through packages and extras

After you choose your tags, Fiverr will prompt you to create a basic package for your gig that explains what you’re offering and how much it will cost.

You’ll also have the option to create “standard” and “premium” packages for your gig. This is a great opportunity to upsell your services and court buyers with different needs and budgets.

If you’re struggling to define how each package should differ, consider the following questions:

  • Basic Package: What does the no-frills version of this service need to include?
  • Standard Package: What elements can I add to increase the value of this service?
  • Premium Package: What does a decked-out version of this service look like, with all the stops pulled out?

One easy way to bump a basic package to a premium is to offer faster delivery times.

Look to customers for ideas

You can also make notes of what buyers ask for when you’re communicating with them. “Obsess over your customer experience,” Vlad Hu, who offers UX design and web programming services on Fiverr, advised. “Your business is not about you, it’s about them, so think from their perspective.” That means more than just doing good work — it means offering the type of work customers are after.

If your gig is writing SEO-friendly blog posts on home decor and buyers are often asking for longer posts, quote sourcing, or infographics, consider including them as upgrades in different packages.

On the other hand, a buyer might just want a basic blog post with an additional 100 words. You can capitalize on this kind of request using the “extra services” section, which is another way to upsell and meet the needs of diverse buyers.

Step #5. Price competitively

Whether you're freelance full-time or as a side hustle, it’s important to get paid what your work is worth. (And Keeper has a handy hourly rate calculator to help you do that!)

However, marketplaces like Fiverr can be competitive and the more ratings you get, the more likely other buyers are to hire you. Even if you have a stellar portfolio, buyers need to click on your gig to see it. So when you’re just getting started on the platform, consider charging a lower rate than your competitors to attract an initial round of orders.

When you’re more established, you can start to experiment with raising your prices and see how it affects your orders and ratings. A good rule of thumb is to revisit your pricing structure every six months to see how it stacks up against the competition.

How to save money when you file your Fiverr taxes

When you do begin to update your prices, don’t forget to take business expenses into account. A video editor, for example, should factor in the cost of editing software when establishing their rates.

For help, turn to an app like Keeper that tracks your business expenses for you, allowing you to focus on growing your business.

Keeper doesn’t just help you figure out how much you should price your gigs. It also helps you save as much of that money as possible by letting you know what business expenses you can deduct. You can even file your taxes right in the app, where tax assistants will be standing by to answer any questions you have.

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Step #6. Write a compelling gig description

Your gig’s title, cover image, price, and ratings all might get someone to click on your gig. But the description also has to be right for them to actually buy your services.

According to Fiverr, the two most important things your description should achieve are:

  • Clearly stating the purpose of your gig and the specific service you’re providing
  • Highlighting the value of your service 

Here are a few things to consider when describing how your service stands out from others:

  • How many years of experience do you have?
  • Have you worked with notable clients in the past?
  • Are there any success stats you can share? (For instance, a social media manager might share the percentage of increased interaction on the social platforms they manage.)
  • Do you have experience doing other relevant work that might speak to your breadth of knowledge — or allow you to upsell a different package or extra service?
  • Do you have qualifications that set you apart, like a certification or proficiency in other languages?

Remember to keep the description simple and to the point. Buyers don’t want to read a novel to get the gist of your gig. You should also include important keywords in your description (which should generally be similar to your tags!).

Finally, make sure your description is easily readable. Use bullet points to break up walls of text, and put words or statements you want to stand out in bold.

Step #7. Upload a high-quality gig image

To get orders, your gig needs to have some curb appeal. A low-quality image that doesn’t relate to your gig isn’t likely to make buyers click through.

A clear, high-quality photo that hints at what your gig has to offer, on the other hand, is 50% more likely to convince buyers of your professionalism, according to Fiverr.

Here are a few tips Fiverr offers for an enticing gig image:

  • Don’t fill your image with too much text — try to keep it under a ten-word maximum
  • Make sure text is readable by contrasting the color of your text with the background: (i.e. light words on dark or dark words on light)
  • Including a photo of yourself can help you gain trust, and a front-facing angle can help convey authenticity
  • If your work is visual, include one or two samples in your gig photo but avoid collages, which can look messy

You can read more of their gig image guidelines (and see examples) on the Fiverr website.

If you’re looking for inspiration, turn to the pros! Fiverr has a store dedicated to gig image designs. Browse through and note down the elements that catch your eye so you can incorporate them into your own design.

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Step #8. Add a portfolio of your previous work

How likely would you be to buy a T-shirt without seeing what it looks like first?

Fiverr gigs are the same: People don’t just want to hear about what you can do, they want to see your work in action too. 

Make sure to keep your gig portfolios updated with your best, most recent work. You can also upload a few slides or a quick video further introducing yourself and explaining your service — but keep it concise!

Pro tip: Fiverr recommends you upload images that are 1280 x 769 pixels. The minimum size is 712 x 430.

Now that your gig is optimized to make money on Fiverr, let’s go over a few bonus tips to keep in mind as you navigate the platform.

Step #9. Underpromise and overdeliver

As a new Fiverr seller, you can publish seven gigs and offer two extra services per gig. (As you unlock higher seller levels, those numbers will increase.)

At first, those limitations might feel restricting. But try to think of them as a welcome boundary. Focusing on a few types of gigs can help you:

  • Make sure you don’t bite off more than you can chew and end up having to push back deadlines
  • Build more efficient fulfillment processes, allowing you to entice buyers with quicker turnaround times
  • Focus on fine-tuning what a great buyer experience looks like for each gig

At the end of the day you want to meet or exceed buyer expectations, and starting slow with a limited number of gigs can help you do that.

If you have multiple skills in your toolbelt and aren’t sure which to focus on in your first couple of gigs, follow the advice of digital content creator Dominique Pinder, who’s on Fiverr under the name Digital Creator Domz. 

“Do keyword research to find out which gigs have low competition and high demand,” she says. “Publishing gigs in these categories will increase the likelihood that your Fiverr gig is noticed, purchased, and reviewed.”

For example, if you’re a web developer, look through subcategories like “WordPress” or “Shopify.” Take note of the number of services available at the top of each category page. If one of them has a smaller number, and that specific skill is in your wheelhouse, it might be a good niche to target.

Step #10. Partner with other sellers to expand your client base

You might find buyers requesting extra services that simply aren’t in your wheelhouse. Instead of losing those buyers — or attempting to learn a whole new trade over the weekend — you can partner with another seller through Studio Gigs

For instance, if you’re an animator who sells explainer videos, you might partner up with a voiceover artist to create a Studio Gig. This will not only broaden what you can offer to buyers who are searching for animation services, but will also help you expand your market to people looking for voice-overs.

Step #11. Reach out to buyers with offers

If the orders aren’t rolling in, it might be time for you to hit the virtual pavement.

If you click on the main menu of the Fiverr app and head to “Buyer Requests,” you’ll see requests from buyers who are looking for services that match the categories of your gigs.

Reach out to prospective buyers with a concise offer that includes:

  • An explanation of how your service matches their request
  • The cost
  • The time frame
  • Why your offer is the right one for them — this could be previous experience with similar requests or creative ideas you have for their request 

Think of your offer as a condensed cover letter for your gig, and make sure to tailor each one to the buyer you’re reaching out to.

Finally, remember to be patient as you start earning money on Fiverr. Orders might not pile up overnight, but growth on Fiverr is often exponential. So the more you attract buyers and earn ratings, the faster your growth will be. 

Focus on learning how to sell your skills, developing efficient processes for fulfilling orders, and providing excellent customer service and you’ll be well on your way to Fiverr success.

Paul Koullick

Paul Koullick

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Paul Koullick is the co-founder and CEO of Keeper. He's committed a decade of his career to the consumer tax industry, and has been quoted as an authority on taxes in U.S. News & World Report, Vice, Forbes, and others. Paul holds an A.B. from Harvard University, and loves jogging and chess.

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How To Make Money on Fiverr in 2024
How To Make Money on Fiverr in 2024

Over 1M freelancers trust Keeper with their taxes

Keeper is the top-rated all-in-one business expense tracker, tax filing service, and personal accountant.

How To Make Money on Fiverr in 2024
How To Make Money on Fiverr in 2024

Over 1M freelancers trust Keeper with their taxes

Keeper is the top-rated all-in-one business expense tracker, tax filing service, and personal accountant.

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