Chris, Chriscowan on Fiverr, lives in Auburn, Calif., with his wife of 10 years, Esther, and their three boys, six-year-old twins Hunter and Mason, and Connor, a wild and crazy three-year-old. During the day, Chris works from home as a Customer Service Team Manager, and then does his Fiverr Gigs® on the side.
Here he is to share his story.
How I got started
I’ve been podcasting since 2006, and last year a podcasting friend of mine mentioned Fiverr® as a good way to get voiceover work for podcast intros and bumpers. I checked it out, ordered Gigs from some of the voiceover artists, and then I realized, “Hey, I can do this!”
Doing voiceovers is a dream come true for me
Ever since I was a kid, I would write skits with multiple characters and then perform them as puppet shows or record them on audio tape. Doing different accents and voices is just something that came natural to me, but ever being paid money for that seemed like a total dream, until Fiverr!
I signed up just for kicks, not really expecting much to come of it, but within a week, I made a couple of sales. Within two months, I made it to Level 2 and became a Top Rated Seller not long after, all the while maintaining 100 percent positive reviews! Now, all the British / Australian / southern accents, the news anchor voices, and the bizarre cartoon voices I’ve always annoyed my family with are actually paying off!
I’ve promoted my Fiverr business through my podcast and various social networks, and I have a link on my website. I think the biggest thing that has helped me to grow is just trying to pleasantly surprise my customers in ways they don’t expect. If I can go above and beyond in little ways, they’ll keep coming back, and keep leaving positive reviews, and that’s going to look pretty good to potential customers.
Today, somewhere around 10 percent of my income comes from Fiverr
Basically, it’s like getting a 10 percent raise for something I love doing anyway! The number one thing it’s done is given me more financial freedom. For example, last year, we wanted to go to Legoland. BOOM: Fiverr money paid for the trip. I needed to upgrade my podcasting/recording equipment. BOOM: Fiverr money paid for that. Now I’m working on a film project and needed some expensive equipment for that: BOOM: Fiverr!
After my success with Fiverr, I invited two friends to join, and they now have money coming in from Fiverr. We talk about the ins and outs and best practices all the time. I also got to attend the Fiverr meetup in San Francisco, which was a total blast! I got to meet so many cool Fiverr sellers and staff members, and even built some referral relationships with some of them!
Fiverr is great for any freelancer because everything starts at $5, so right off the bat you know you won’t have a lot of quibbling over the price. Customer’s can pay an amount that won’t break the bank in order to get their basic needs met, or they can spend a bit more in order to get more options. I think it also gives sellers like me a unique opportunity to exceed expectations by trying to WOW buyers whenever I can – provide some bonus takes, deliver a Gig ahead of schedule, etc. Doing so has really paid off!
The bottom line for me
Fiverr allows me to do something that has always just seemed like a dream: getting paid to do different voices, accents and narration. I’m making money doing something I love to do and that just comes naturally. It’s not just my dream. It’s the dream. And it’s real.
If you’d like to share your story about how Fiverr has impacted your life, please send it to us by email at community@fiverr.com.
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