7 Reasons Why Fiverr isn’t a Viable Platform for Income – All You Need to Know, FAQs, & More

Fiverr is a well-known platform for freelancers. It has multiple opportunities to grow your personal brand of services. 

However, even with all the perks, Fiverr has some downsides.

In this post, we’ll address the various reasons why you shouldn’t use Fiverr as a freelancer. 

7 Compelling Reasons to Not Use Fiverr as a Platform for Income

Fiverr is still one of the few leading platforms for freelancers to start fresh. It has all the necessary tools and opportunities to thrive. 

But at the same time, it lacks some crucial elements you need in a freelancing platform. The list is quite long, but we’ll try to keep it short and to the point. 

Let’s discuss these reasons in detail. 

Lack of Brand Presence

The first downside of Fiverr is that it lacks the presence of big-scale companies. You can only find cheap jobs from either start-ups or small-scale businesses. 

This sort of opportunistic environment can be good for some. However, for people like you looking to create a sole income source, it is a waste of time. 

Why is it bad for me as a fresh freelancer?

Let’s say you have learned a skill set related to graphic designing. Your first step is to turn these skills into an income source. 

If you can’t find a project that pays well, you won’t be able to support yourself financially. Even if you find a project, it will take a long time to land a big project. 

Lack of Creative Projects

Most freelancers choose this field because of the creative freedom it brings to the table. Without it, there is no attraction to do different types of tasks for other people. 

When it comes to Fiverr, you can barely find any creative projects. Almost every project is either a pre-defined gig or has some sort of strings attached to it. 

How does this impact me as a freelancer?

For freelancers like you, it can diminish your ability to think outside the box. In the long run, you can lose your edge and your unique touch in certain situations. 

For example, let’s suppose you are a creative writer. If you are forced to do things within a limited boundary, your ability to think creatively will ultimately fade away. 

Platform Ecosystem

Another downside of Fiverr is the lack of a stable ecosystem that lets you find new opportunities. This can hinder your ability to grow as a service provider. 

In comparison with platforms like UpWork, Fiverr doesn’t promote its users. You have to make an effort on a personal level to get out of the web and stand out. 

Why is it important to stand out?

It is crucial that you stand out from the rest of the crowd if you wish to grow. Otherwise, your income level will become stale and leave you no space to grow. 

Buyer Mindset

We must also mention the mindset of people that visit Fiverr looking for a service. Most of the time, companies and individuals are looking for a cheap service. 

Even if you reasonably price your services, there will always be someone who does it for a cheaper price. Regardless of the quality, it can hurt your presence on the platform. 

Is there any way to overcome this?

Besides a personal effort to reduce the price of your services, there isn’t much you can do. On top of that, Fiverr doesn’t help either. 

This is mainly because Fiverr was built around the idea of cheap services for hire. So, if you want to use a freelance platform as the main income source, Fiverr isn’t the place to go.

Promotional Services

As we have mentioned earlier, Fiverr doesn’t promote its service providers. Just like a social media platform, you have to promote yourself through ads. 

And you guessed it right. Ads cost money. However, that’s not all. The rate per ad on Fiverr is considerably high on Fiverr. 

How does that impact me?

To put it simply, if you are spending more than you are earning, it is already a bad deal. So, if you are spending more on ads than you are earning from their exposure, it is not viable. 

Let’s say you pay $50 for promotional ads on Fiverr. After a couple of days, you land multiple gigs. But there is no guarantee you can earn $50 with those gigs. 

Language Barrier

One of the major issues that many freelancers face on Fiverr is the language barrier. Since Fiverr is such a famous platform, pretty much everyone knows about it. 

Although Fiverr is only available in the English language, you’ll encounter multiple individuals that don’t quite understand it. 

How is the language barrier an issue?

Due to the presence of a language barrier, you won’t be able to clearly understand the demands of your buyer. 

This can create a lot of problems for you as a creator. You might have to work on a project over and over again before the desired results are reached. 

In the long run, this will waste a lot of time and other precious resources on your end. 

Scammers

Lastly, we have to address the presence of scammers on Fiverr. You have heard of scammers on the creator end but Fiverr has both types of scammers. 

As a freelancer, you want to be paid upfront. However, for a big-scale project, this usually isn’t the case. You get some money beforehand and the rest once the project is complete. 

How do I get scammed as a service provider?

Let’s say you list your services as a logo designer. A company or an individual can buy your services for a series of projects for a pre-determined price. 

They will try to lure you into thinking that you’ll get paid once the project is done. Once you think your services are done, they won’t pay you. 

It will not only waste your time but crush your morale as a freelancer as well. 

Important Tips to Keep in Mind

Now, let’s check out some important tips to keep in mind before you select a freelancing platform. 

• Always do your research. Look for reviews on forums and other websites to assess the performance of a platform. 

• Do a trial run. Once you select a platform, don’t put all your eggs in a single basket. Use a 10-15 day trial period to judge your position.

• Keep a backup. It is important that you use multiple platforms in case one doesn’t work out. 

Wrapping Things Up…

With this, we come to the finish line of our post on 7 Reasons Why You Fiverr isn’t a Viable Platform for Income. We hope this information proves to be beneficial for you.

Fiverr is a famous freelancing platform. But it has some downsides that can hurt your growth as a freelancer. It is important to keep these factors in mind before you get on the platform and start earning money. 

Let us know what you think in the comments below.