Merlingfx (aka Brian), is a thriving Fiverr® based voice over artist, but he didn’t start off that way. A life-long graphic designer, he joined Fiverr over 2 years ago as a buyer, subcontracting his extra work through the community.
As a graphic and web designer in a time where companies were spending more and more on their social media efforts, and less and less on print and website updates, Brian decided about 4 months ago that if he was going to be able to stay in business for himself, it was time for a change.
Brian went from a full time graphic designer and Gig® buyer, to a full-time professional voice over artist on Fiverr. This is the story of how he started with an idea and $9 microphone, to becoming a voice over professional with experience in recording for audio books/movies/radio/etc. Recording from his broadcast quality home studio that was paid for with his Fiverr revenues.
Finding Fiverr
I’ve been a graphic/web designer for 15 years. About two and a half years ago a friend of mine also in the industry, was telling me about this great site (Fiverr.com) he was using to subcontract out some of his work through. So, I joined and did the same, all the while in awe of finding the amazing Fiverr community full of such amazing creative content producers from all around the world, and all starting at just $5.
Unfortunately, over the past couple of years my main graphic/web design business was on a slow and steady decline, mostly because the business market was shifting towards social marketing (i.e., Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, etc.) to reach out to customers, rather then their in-house web sites or printed media that someone like myself would work on.
Determined to Stay Self-Employed
I knew I had to pivot my business model to stay in business for myself, and even entertained the thought of re-branding myself as a Social Media Marketer. But, did I really want to essentially start all over? The prospect of having to worry about establishing a new customer base from scratch was not at all appealing!
Then I thought: Why not utilize the Fiverr community that had helped me out so much as a buyer, as a seller instead? I would be able to spend my time on actual content creation, rather than having to drum up new clients, because Fiverr would give me all the exposure I would need on its global marketplace.
I figured one of the key components to Social Media is video, and people often remark on my way with words, so I thought I’d try offering voice over work. With my background in marketing, I knew that the key to being successful would be to quickly establish a solid record of positive reviews, so I originally started by offering to voice 1,000 words for $5 (which is a LOT of work, for little pay, but I did this as a means to more quickly establish positive feedback).
Going From Novice to Professional
I started my first Gig with a $9 run-of-the-mill 3.5mm PC microphone. Orders started coming in, and I was amazed at how much people from all over the globe liked my voice work. I quickly reached Level 1, and so with my first $100 I made from Fiverr Gigs, I upgraded to a high quality USB microphone.
Suddenly, once I re-did my demo video with my upgraded microphone, I was getting Gigs for audio books, radio spots, and more. I even did through a series of Gigs, the complete narration of a documentary in which I got named in the credits, and is currently touring European film festivals! Within just a few more weeks I became a level 2 seller, able to more appropriately price my work while making even more money through Gig extras, and able to start sinking the money I was making back into my new voice-over career.
Now I have my own acoustically treated voice booth set up in the guest bedroom of my house, complete with a studio quality broadcast mic and audio interface set-up. I’ve built an extensive voice work portfolio, and have done voice work for everything from audio books, to movies, to radio, to YouTube. Best of all, I’m now able to offer the Fiverr community studio quality voice over Gigs right out of my home studio.
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