Are You Failing on Fiverr or Upwork? Here’s What You Should Do

If you’re a freelancer who has just started out on Fiverr or Upwork and hasn’t started making any money yet, then it must be rough.

I know you feel disappointed.

You might think, it only works for some people.

Right?

Well, I slightly disagree with you.

I think it only works for people who are committed to making it work.

In my latest book “How to Use a Few Hours Every Day and Change Your life,” I shared that how difficult the first three years were for me when I decided to become a full-time freelance writer. But then, everything changed. The reason everything changed was that I kept on going forward.

So I understand because I have been there myself. Even though I didn’t opt for freelancing on any platform and it doesn’t make any difference. Either way, you would have to work your butt off to win.

The reason why I’m writing this blog post is that I get messages and emails about freelancing struggles and failures. And, I empathize with anyone who is ready to work hard. I believe that if I could help three people out of 7 billion people, those three people might be able to help 9 more. So I hope the process goes on and we end up making a difference in so many lives across the globe.

To back this up, let me briefly tell you what I have been up to: I have written so many freelancing-related blog posts, and readers have benefited from them. A few years ago, I made a video on freelancing in the Urdu language, and it has crossed 97k views on YouTube. Moreover, I’ve written two ebooks on freelancing, which you can find on my blog.

The point is that I have been doing my best to help freelancers out with my content as well as an online presence.

What I’m about to do is exactly you need if you’re tired of creating Fiverr gigs or bidding on Upwork.

I don’t say that you can’t win on Fiverr or Upwork; you surely can make it happen someday if you figure out what works on these platforms.

All I want to make sure that you don’t lose hope or give up entirely on your freelance career before it even begins.

If you have been thinking that freelancing isn’t for you or maybe you’re not good at it, then please keep reading this blog post.

I’m sure that if you go through the techniques I’m about to share with you, you’d think these tricks are rather simple, and they may not work. Let me tell you they work like a charm.

I’m going to be sharing a few tips that not just helped me in becoming a productive blogger, but they also played a vital role in improving my business development skills.

Here are the things you should start doing if you’re failing on Fiverr or Upwork:

Dress Up Well

I know what you’re thinking: what my clothing has to do with freelancing success?

What I mean by “dress up well” is that you shouldn’t be wearing PJs when you’re trying to work. When you dress up well, your mindset shifts from coziness to hustling. It may sound cliche, but I’ve tested this strategy from time to time. Just give it a try; drop it if it doesn’t help.

Set Up Your Workstation

The workstation doesn’t mean an office in a posh building in the city or a fancy home office. Rather, it means any quiet and peaceful place where you can have a couple of hours without distractions. If you work in your room or around family, someone would barge in every few minutes to talk to you. So try to set up a workstation somewhere you can sit without any disturbance.

Declutter Your Mind

If you’re wondering why these tips seem productivity tips more than freelancing tips, then you’re absolutely right. Once you achieve the right frame of mind to work as a freelancer, you’d feel more ready to work hard. If your circumstances are somewhat distracting, you won’t achieve the productivity-level that’s required for the job. So declutter your mind means to clear your thoughts, forget everything for an hour, and start freelance clients hunt with a fresh mind.

Identify Your Strength

Maybe, the reason you failed on Fiverr or Upwork is that you never really paid attention to your strength. You kept on doing what you thought is your strength, but in reality, maybe, there is something else that you can do better. All I’m saying is that rethink about your expertise and choose something you’re good at as compared to everyone around. I also emphasized finding your strength in my ebook called “How to Start Freelancing When You Have Zero Experience” because I know it’s the key to success.

Work for free

I’m a big advocate of working for free because it gets you off the mark. What I mean by this is that when you’re starting out, you need something to work on to get exposure, experience, and earning. Therefore, you may get offered low pricing when you’re a beginner, don’t feel bad about it. Things will happen the way you wanted them to happen; everything requires some groundwork. Consider these low-paying jobs or free work as a foundation for a stronger building. I’ve written a blog post about whether or not you should work for free; you should read that blog post.

Educate Yourself

I don’t want to get into degrees vs. knowledge debate. Not only does it get controversial, but it also confuses people. What I want to say is that educate yourself about your work through listening to the industry experts, relevant professionals, and successful people from different walks of life. You can do this through various ways such as reading books, watching documentaries on Netflix, listening to the podcasts, consuming interviews on YouTube, going to the conferences, joining relevant communities on social media, and taking online courses. I’m learning how to use “Google Analytics” and “DaVinci Resolve” on Skillshare. It’s my go-to online courses’ website.

If you’re spending your time expanding your knowledge, honing in on your craft, learning new techniques, and practicing your skills, then you’re educating yourself.

Use Available Marketing Tools

If you look around, you’d see so many marketing tools that you can leverage even for free. For instance, you can create a free account on Medium and start publishing your articles. You can use the byline section of your Medium articles to promote your freelancing business. If you’re a graphics designer, you can put out your designs on Behance and Dribbble. If you’re a teacher, you can sell a free course on Udemy. If you’re a photo editor, you can leverage Instagram, and if you’re passionate about video editing, then you can utilize YouTube.

All these platforms are free to use; all you need is a little bit of self-belief and patience to win. So start capitalizing on these social media tools.

Your Thoughts

I shared a few tactics that have been working for me for quite some time now.

Perhaps, you have been trying hard on Fiverr, and haven’t got any break-through yet. Hang in there, you’ll get through.

Sometimes, a little change in your strategy goes a long way.

So don’t shy away from taking a little detour on your way to freelancing success.

Experimentation works for me, and it’ll work for you too.

Let me know what you think of these ideas that I shared with you.

I’m very interested in knowing your feedback, especially how you see these suggestions of mine.

I’d be thrilled to know if you’d apply these tactics and change your life.

All the best.