Freelancer Paul Maplesden writes content that builds trust with your customers and presents your business in the best possible way. He loves the challenge of taking complex subjects and breaking them down so they are easy to understand. Most importantly, he knows a Princess Bride quote for every occasion. Hire him for your next copywriting or content project on Fiverr Pro.
Fiverr Pro connects hand-picked, high-end, qualified, and vetted sellers to entrepreneurs, small business owners, and other buyers in the Fiverr marketplace. Fiverr Pro sellers command higher prices than the standard Fiverr marketplace, so it’s no surprise that freelancers inside and outside Fiverr want to join the ranks.
Becoming a Pro can be tough, but the right expertise, experience, and approach will maximize your chances. As a Fiverr Pro, I’ve worked with the Fiverr Customer Success team to write this guide and help you improve your chances of being accepted into the program.
I previously wrote about what Fiverr Pro offers to buyers, and understanding those benefits is at the heart of being a Fiverr Pro. In this article, I’ll explain what that means in real terms, how to demonstrate that, and the areas you will want to cover in your Fiverr Pro application.
Although I have written this guide mainly for existing Fiverr sellers and other freelancers who want to become Pros, the advice is equally valid to any freelancer or seller, wherever they are in their careers.
Meeting some or all of these areas won’t necessarily guarantee you will get into Fiverr Pro — what it will do is maximize your chances. If you can clearly demonstrate some of these areas in your Fiverr Pro application, you’re giving yourself the best shot at success.
Fiverr Pro and the Standard Marketplace
Fiverr Pro isn’t intended to replace the existing low-cost Fiverr marketplace — the massive success of the existing marketplace means there will always be a need for low-cost sellers providing services to price-conscious buyers.
Pro sellers aren’t any “better” than regular sellers either — Fiverr values all of its sellers, and the only real difference that the Pro service provides is the pre-selection and vetting process, which is designed to save buyers from the effort of validating freelancers for themselves.
That means all Fiverr sellers can be proud of the work they do, and the value they add to buyers all over the world. The work that regular sellers deliver is of a very high quality, and can happily sit alongside the work that Fiverr Pros produce.
Let’s explore what you can do to boost your chances of being accepted to Fiver Pro.
You Need An Existing Professional Freelance Presence, Preferably Outside Fiverr
Showing success as an independent freelancer is a good indication of the strength of your freelancing career. Ideally you will have an independent freelancing website or a strong track record with other freelancing marketplaces like Upwork or Freelancer. Websites like Dribbble, DeviantArt, Vimeo, Github, Periscope, and more are also great ways to show your work.
This is about demonstrating you have a “presence” as a freelancer, independent of the Fiverr platform. What does the quality of your website, portfolio, social media presence, and more say about your skills, attitude, and approach as a freelancer?
It you’ve only freelanced on Fiverr, you will need to show a range of clients, successful deliveries, and great communications. You should have excellent reviews, fast response times, few cancelled orders, and a reputation for getting things right with your buyers. The longer your history and the better your regular Fiverr selling, the more chance you have of being accepted.
You Should Have Previous Freelance Experience Working with a Variety of Clients, Brands, and Businesses
Pros should be able to show they have worked with a wide range of customers. Whether that’s recognized brands, businesses across different industries, or in various formats and deliverables. Pros need to be flexible in what they do, both from a creative perspective and also by being adaptable to client needs and expectations.
You need to demonstrate a wide range of skills, both in your chosen freelancing field, and in the way you understand, work with, communicate to, and deliver for clients. Diversity is key here — can you work with a variety of different clients, formats, requirements, deadlines, deliverables, and more?
If you’ve appeared on any panels, attended seminars, been interviewed, or created exhibits, these are all excellent indicators of the quality of your freelancing.
You Can Show an Existing Portfolio of High-Quality Freelance Work
The proof of a freelancer is in the work they create. The best way to show that work is through an online portfolio. Your portfolio is one of the best indicators that you have the right creative skills for Fiverr Pro. Fiverr is expecting to see a diverse range of creative work, attention-grabbing deliverables, a strong understanding of client needs, and a unique approach.
Your portfolio should showcase the best of your freelance work and strongly demonstrate your expertise. Portfolio samples are good for getting accepted into Fiverr Pro to begin with, and also for sharing with prospective Fiverr buyers who want to hire you. Even if you don’t have your own freelance website, portfolio sites like Behance, Dribbble, Flickr, Reverbnation, Github, Videohive, Stack Overflow, Vimeo, or YouTube can all be great ways to show your creativity and deliverables.
You Have Relevant Qualifications, Experience, and Background
Qualifications and training show that you’re committed to your freelance career. These don’t need to be formal academic qualifications (although those are great), they can also be independent study or training you have completed. Certifications and achievements all demonstrate your skills and expertise.
Your experience and background is important, too — if you have an employment history or work experience related to your freelancing life, that goes a long way towards showing your competence. Whether its previous or current work at an agency, expertise in a particular sector or industry, or tertiary skills like business analysis, project management, or customer service, all these areas can help.
Technical skills are vital too. If you’re a designer you’ll be expected to know Photoshop and Illustrator. As a mobile app coder you’d need demonstrable experience in iOS and Android development environments.
You Can Research Your Customer, Their Requirements, and What You Need to Deliver
Research is a vital skill for any Fiverr Pro, and it’s relevant throughout your work with a client. To begin with, you should be able to understand your client and their business.
- What is it that matters to them?
- What are their business principles?
- What do their customers need?
- What are their unique selling points?
You then need to build that into the specific service you’re providing. How do those requirements feed into your logo design, coding project, explainer video, or blog post?
Research also involves the additional context you need to create an awesome piece of work. Whether that’s looking at their competitors, finding authoritative sources, exploring content they really like, or something else, a Pro is always looking for independent information to support their deliverables.
You Can Create High-Value, Unique Deliverables
The proof of a freelancer is in what they create. Although your portfolio is a great overall indication of your work quality, you will also want to share examples of deliverables you’re really proud of. Ideally, these will show:
A unique approach that’s attention grabbing and interesting.
- How you have delivered to the client’s exact needs.
- The value that the deliverable provides to your client or their business.
- Deep understanding of the topic you’re creating for.
You Are an Excellent Communicator
Finally, communication is key, and is one of the main ways of delighting clients. Fiverr Pros are expected to be excellent communicators. You should show:
- You know how to gather requirements for your clients.
- You can turn those requirements into a great deliverable.
- You understand the need for proactive communication.
- You keep clients informed throughout the project.
- You provide simple, friendly, easy-to-understand information.
- You let the client know if you run into any issues, and resolve them quickly.
And that’s it! I know there’s a lot to read through and absorb here, but if you can demonstrate strong competence in at least 60% to 80% of these areas, you stand a good chance of being accepted as a Fiver Pro.
If you’d like more information, feel free to come hang out with us on the Fiverr forum. I am an active member there and have several threads about the Fiverr Pro experience.
Have more specific questions about how to become a Fiverr Pro seller? Ask us in the comments below!
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