This last week I’ve been thinking about monetizing my writings and a friend suggested FIVERR, a freelance website. When the site was started, every gig was five dollars. It was a chance for freelancers to find clients and to practice new skills.
So the last two weeks I’ve been on a journey to put a gig up on this site and possibly to have a little income coming in for writings I would have done for free a decade ago.
Research
Whenever I decide to do something new, I do my research. If I don’t, I usually get blindsided by details hidden in some obscure contract. I used to write for Helium, thinking that I would make money at it. I found out pretty quickly that in that site, which is now gone, you had to get views and clicks to get paid.
If you were a creative writer, like me, you would be happy to make a maximum of five dollars a month. I also edited on that site so I got a small stipend too. I finally had to quit because I was putting in more effort and energy and getting very little back.
So I went to one of my favorite teachers on Udemy, Ron Masa, to see what he had to say about Fiverr.
Important Fiverr information
In my research I discovered some important information to keep in mind if I want to be a Fiverr seller.
Fiverr gets 20 percent. This was not a sticking point for me. Most of the writing platforms ask for a percent of the total. This amount helps Fiverr keep the structure growing for the incoming sellers.
If you make a contact on Fiverr, you cannot do work for them under the table. If you do, you will lose your account with the site. I suspect a permanent ban. This is also not a sticking point for me. If you work with most companies, they have this policy as well.
You can only have one account, but you can have many gigs under that account. Once again this is not a sticking point for me. I like that there is only one account per person.
Setting up an account
Setting up an account with Fiverr is very straight-forward. It’s the same as any website like Facebook or Twitter. It starts to get more complicated when you set up a gig.
The gig is what you are offering the customer. First you have to give it a title. It starts with “I will” and then you tell them what you will do for them. These are small things that help a client with their own work. In my case, I decided to write haiku and free verse. My title was “I will write a Cynsere haiku or free verse for you.” I use a little twist to stand out from the other poety writers.
Then I needed to write a description, make photos, and make a video. I have to admit that my video was very basic. At the end I put a PDF up of one of my poems so that the client could see my writings. I also put poetry in the description and in my photos.
So I thought I was done. I had put in my credentials as a B.A. in English Literature, and my twenty years of writing poety, blogs, and novels. Most of it was published content. I was set. I have to admit that when I hit that save/continue button, I was a little nervous.
What I didn’t expect
Remember I told you that I read and researched so I don’t get blindsided? Well, I did. Once I was finished Fiverr sent me a 40 minute basic English grammar test. Huh? I had some great credentials that I believed overrode any need for a grammar test.
Also there was a warning attached to the test. I had to get 70 percent to pass the test. If I didn’t pass the test I had to wait 24 hours for the second test. If I failed again I could only take the test once every three months.
Conclusion
I haven’t taken the test. It has been twenty years since I had a basic grammar test. I was insulted. Plus I felt that I did all of that work for nothing. I would suggest if you want to give a grammar test to someone with an English Literature B.A., you should do it in the beginning before allowing them to set up a gig. I wasted four hours.
Even when you do your due diligence, you don’t always get the full information. Maybe in a few days I’ll cool down and take the test. Maybe instead of using Fiverr, I’ll set up Patreon instead.
On the bright side, it shows that the Era of Credentials might be dying.
Bloody unfair if yours map to reality, though.
Idiots! I hate when you put so much time into something to find out it was just a waste. I guess if you learned something. Still!!!