How to earn first 100$ on Fiverr?

What is Fiverr?

Fiverr is a market place for services staring with a base price of 5$. Although services offered start from 5$ higher priced Gigs are also available and required if you want a specific service or work involved requires more time and energy than the 5$ gig. Sellers specify services through Gigs on their profile pages.
It is simple to signup and create gigs which outline the service being offered. You can also sell physical goods starting for 5$ and charge extra for shipping and handling. These are perhaps the easiest steps involved in dealing with Fiverr. After you have set up gigs you have to close a sale to get money in your account.

Profile page on Fiverr showing bio, gigs and levels.

Source: Fiverr

There are numerous stories about people who have paid off their student loan or bought a house with Fiverr earnings. Those are a rare few. Most sellers wait for over two weeks to get their first order and then struggle to get to a level where Fiverr could support them full time.
Still It is a good way to start your freelancing efforts and create your client base. As you go higher up in the rankings you can sell for more and work towards a considerable income. Money earned can be substantial for you if dollar exchange rate to your currency is high as in my case.

My first go at Fiverr and What went Wrong

I joined Fiverr in September 2013 and saw my first sale in November end. There are many reasons for that.
1. Irrelevant gigs in crowded niche.
I created gigs which did not showcase my expertise. Skeptical about Fiverr's capability to actually generate jobs related to a professional field I stuck to gigs like reviews travel planning etc. these niches I put my gigs in were crowded which meant my gig s would get less visibility and hence less chances of securing a sale.
2. Random Photographs
It is a known fact that beautiful high quality photographs attract a buyer and help you get the first click. As I had configured my account and set up 5 gigs within an hour there was definitely no real work which went into it. Gigs were poorly worded and photographs were not attractive and relevant enough to get me some clicks.
3. Lack of promotion
As all the gigs I had put up were not related to my professional field I did not feel like promoting them on any of my social media accounts. Self promotion is one of the best ways for you to get the work out about your skills and availability. My review gigs were of no use to the architecture community i am part of.
You would notice that though all these points are valid on their own they do have an undercurrent.
Lack of research and poorly planned Gigs will not get you any sales.

What Changed?

In mid November 2013 after a mail from Fiverr about my inactivity I went back to take a stock of things. As I went through my gigs I could see why I did not get any sale. I would not hire myself. My next stop was the user forum and finally i deleted all my gigs.
After the changes it took me 5 days to get my first query and a week to get my first order. By the end of December I had already earned 116$. This was when I did not work for over 10 days travelling through North East India.
My earnings have risen steadily since then and so have the base price of orders.

Gig Page

Source: Fiverr

What to change?

The Setup
1. Create well researched Gigs which highlight your skills.
If you are a singer and you have put up a copy writing gig it is not going to help anyone. there are people who do provide multiple services (I do myself) but it is always better to stick to a niche and then develop your client base.
2. Put high quality relevant photographs
Optimum size for a Fiverr feature image is 682X459. Create images which reflect your gig and are high quality.
3. Put up a video
I still do not have a video for any of my gigs but it is one of the best ways to showcase your talent especially if you work in media related services. fiverr says that gigs with videos have % more sales.
4. Promote your gigs
Be proud of your services and promote them through various social media outlets you have. Linking to your gigs in your posts (like here) will drive traffic to your gigs and profile. Fiverr enables you to connect your Facebook and Google + profile with Fiverr account.

Feedback

Source: Fiverr

The Operations
1. Be Clear and precise
Poorly worded and vague descriptions will end up in a lot of cancellations. Be clear about what you offer for 5$. Ask people to message you before they buy so that you know that they are not misreading the description. It is always good to include revision policy and what you do not do in gig description.
2. Answer queries and be polite
Quick response to queries can get you more clients. Usually a buyer would contact multiple sellers simultaneously. Quick reply can help you close the deal before any other buyer. Polite and professional replies will get you a long way while negotiating the gig price.
3. Deliver on time and as per description.
There is no need for you to put up a gig with two days duration. It might get you more clients (all my gigs have a lead time of 20 days) but will you be able to deliver it on time? Hard work and commitment is definitely going to payoff but unnecessarily pushing yourself to deliver will lead to burnout or late deliveries.
4. Be clear about terms of Service
Fiver places quite a few restriction on the type of work and activities buyers and sellers are allowed to engage in. For example all communications are to be srtictly on Fiverr. Sharing contact information is not allowed. Similarly spamming, Working on adult/pornographic content is not allowed. Flouting any of these can result in your account being deleted and fund being withheld for some time.

What Do You Say?

Have you worked on Fiverr or are planning to work on Fiverr. Please leave comments about your experiences and suggestions.