Anyone on Fiverr?

stickyfiddle · August 2023

As titled. Thinking about a couple of things to offer cheap services for music stuff, mostly to get some varied experience. Remote session guitarist is my most likely starting point.

Just wondering if anyone has used it from buy or sell side and might have any guidance?

theatreanchor · August 2023

Never even heard of it!

stickyfiddle · August 2023

theatreanchor said:

Never even heard of it!

it's not a bad concept, basically covering the following as remote services for e.g. Graphics & Design, Digital Marketing, Writing & Translation, Music/Audio, web dev etc

But I don't know how well it actually works for either side. My goal would be gaining experience and portfolio far more than cash, so I can't see any obvious pifalls but keen to see if anyone knows different

digitalscream · August 2023

I really like the idea of doing stuff on Fiverr for the variety, but...time, I just don't have enough of it. Also, if it's anything like previous similar sites, you have to build up a good reputation before you can charge anything like a reasonable wage.

stickyfiddle · August 2023

Yeah, I thought about it for Excel stuff as well but as you say I think it's much better looked at as a contacts & portfolio builder than a revenue generator.

TTBZ · August 2023

The only thing I've heard about it from graphic design friends is that they feel like it just devalues their work as everyone is just looking for the lowest prices on there. Been thinking about giving it a go for video editing just for a bit of extra cash but it seems like the kind of place that would be full of nightmare clients and not worth the hassle.

guitarfishbay · August 2023

An issue with those services is you’re not guaranteed a good fit with a customer. So it’s important to know your goals to assess if it aligns.

An alternate option could be to build a reputation in a community where people may hire you. Even if you only do free work at first it makes more sense to do targeted work than random.

Often people search Fiver with no real idea of who to hire and maybe less experience hiring anyone. The chances of building a rep for good paying work using that methodology are arguably lower and more time intensive than doing something targeted.

Hattigol · August 2023

We used it to make a video - we got this for the princely sum of £15. Think it's an amazing service, to be honest.

Sassafras · August 2023

Sounds like a good way to exploit people online.

theatreanchor · August 2023

Can’t say I like the look of it tbh. Looks a bit…shady.

Sporky · August 2023

stickyfiddle said:

Yeah, I thought about it for Excel stuff as well but as you say I think it's much better looked at as a contacts & portfolio builder than a revenue generator.

I wonder if it's the sort of thing where a small band of people could provide a wider service. It's hard for any one person to know more than a sliver of Excel.

stickyfiddle · August 2023

Sporky said:

stickyfiddle said:

Yeah, I thought about it for Excel stuff as well but as you say I think it's much better looked at as a contacts & portfolio builder than a revenue generator.

I wonder if it's the sort of thing where a small band of people could provide a wider service. It's hard for any one person to know more than a sliver of Excel.

Oh absolutely. My niche is financial modelling and I'm very aware that's a powerful but tiny chunk of what excel can do and not something someone is going to buy on there, most likely. Hence not going that way

stickyfiddle · August 2023

Sassafras said:

Sounds like a good way to exploit people online.

This is my other concern. I'm quite able to put myself online as a jobbing guitar player for next to no money because I don't need to earn a wage from it. But of course I don't want to take work away from others who might need it. That said I guess that's really the essence of all freelance work, to an extent.

guitarfishbay · August 2023

stickyfiddle said:

Sassafras said:

Sounds like a good way to exploit people online.

This is my other concern. I'm quite able to put myself online as a jobbing guitar player for next to no money because I don't need to earn a wage from it. But of course I don't want to take work away from others who might need it. That said I guess that's really the essence of all freelance work, to an extent.

For an alternate view, most people I know who do session work at (admittedly Western) professional rates don’t use Fiver at all and neither do their typical clients. That kind of client usually wants a safer bet and is willing to pay the going rate.

It’s not a strict rule of course, but worth making the distinction that unless you’re doing consistent high level work for a low level price plus fast turnaround it’s unlikely to affect more established musicians or attract higher paying clients.

JezWynd · August 2023

Hattigol said:

We used it to make a video - we got this for the princely sum of £15. Think it's an amazing service, to be honest.

You did well. Obviously someone looking to develop their portfolio (or else they loved the song).

stickyfiddle · August 2023

guitarfishbay said:

stickyfiddle said:

Sassafras said:

Sounds like a good way to exploit people online.

This is my other concern. I'm quite able to put myself online as a jobbing guitar player for next to no money because I don't need to earn a wage from it. But of course I don't want to take work away from others who might need it. That said I guess that's really the essence of all freelance work, to an extent.

For an alternate view, most people I know who do session work at (admittedly Western) professional rates don’t use Fiver at all and neither do their typical clients. That kind of client usually wants a safer bet and is willing to pay the going rate.

It’s not a strict rule of course, but worth making the distinction that unless you’re doing consistent high level work for a low level price plus fast turnaround it’s unlikely to affect more established musicians or attract higher paying clients.

Yep - that's all understood. But I'm looking at an initial thing to do alongside an office job that will help me get some low-key experience. Bearing in mind also I'm based in the UAE where there is square-of-fuck-all music so there's almost zero opportunities to get in with anyone locally.

relic245 · August 2023

I've used it as a client.

I wanted to get some graphics stuff done when I started my own business.

Cheep as chips and tbh that was exactly the quality I got. Never used what I got back.

I have used people per hour to much better effect so may be worth checking that out.

If seems more suited to people who want to buy and sell freelance services at a reasonable market rate.

guitarfishbay · August 2023

stickyfiddle said:

guitarfishbay said:

stickyfiddle said:

Sassafras said:

Sounds like a good way to exploit people online.

This is my other concern. I'm quite able to put myself online as a jobbing guitar player for next to no money because I don't need to earn a wage from it. But of course I don't want to take work away from others who might need it. That said I guess that's really the essence of all freelance work, to an extent.

For an alternate view, most people I know who do session work at (admittedly Western) professional rates don’t use Fiver at all and neither do their typical clients. That kind of client usually wants a safer bet and is willing to pay the going rate.

It’s not a strict rule of course, but worth making the distinction that unless you’re doing consistent high level work for a low level price plus fast turnaround it’s unlikely to affect more established musicians or attract higher paying clients.

Yep - that's all understood. But I'm looking at an initial thing to do alongside an office job that will help me get some low-key experience. Bearing in mind also I'm based in the UAE where there is square-of-fuck-all music so there's almost zero opportunities to get in with anyone locally.

Yeah understood. Opportunities and communities can be found remotely though.

As a suggestion, you could record yourself doing the kind of guitar work you want to attract and post it on Instagram/YouTube/TikTok, and look for relevant Reddit boards/FB groups to join and become a part of (being a contributing member works better than purely posting your content).

You can get more experience doing the recording work even if nobody is paying you yet, plus it forms as your portfolio too. Even if you do create a Fiver account it’s likely a more serious potential client will look you up elsewhere too

ewal · August 2023

I used it to get a song mixed. The service was excellent although the engineer was personally recommended by a mate. The Fiverr site came up with a certificate issue when I tried to access it today - never a good look...

Hattigol · August 2023

JezWynd said:

Hattigol said:

We used it to make a video - we got this for the princely sum of £15. Think it's an amazing service, to be honest.

You did well. Obviously someone looking to develop their portfolio (or else they loved the song).

Thanks. As I said, for our purposes, it was absolutely brilliant. Depends what people want to use it for really.

I mean, £15 for a music video. Mental value, isn't it?

Jfingers · August 2023

Hattigol said:

We used it to make a video - we got this for the princely sum of £15. Think it's an amazing service, to be honest.

I have just watched and enjoyed that. Reminded me very strongly indeed of Counting Crows who I have enjoyed previously. If that video really cost £15 then it was money well spent.

Hattigol · August 2023

Thanks very much @Jfingers - really appreciated.

And yes it did. Just sent the guy the tune and the lyrics - £15 and a few days later, we had that.

Lestratcaster · August 2023

Used it last month to find a vocalist to sing on a cover video me and 2 friends were making. Was spoilt for choice with singers across the world but settled on a nice American vocalist. Thankfully it all went fine and we got a very good vocal track and they were nice to deal with.

CavemanGrogg · August 2023

stickyfiddle said:

Sporky said:

stickyfiddle said:

Yeah, I thought about it for Excel stuff as well but as you say I think it's much better looked at as a contacts & portfolio builder than a revenue generator.

I wonder if it's the sort of thing where a small band of people could provide a wider service. It's hard for any one person to know more than a sliver of Excel.

Oh absolutely. My niche is financial modelling and I'm very aware that's a powerful but tiny chunk of what excel can do and not something someone is going to buy on there, most likely. Hence not going that way

You can make pretty decent money if you're very good with financial spreadsheets on sites like Fiverr. I've bought a few from Fiverr, literally ''off the shelf'' ones, and even had some made specific to my needs. If I had the skills or knowledge with Excel, I would sign up to sites like Fiverr, just to make a couple of extra quid on the side.

fretmeister · August 2023

I’ve had a drummer do tracks for me.

He did an excellent job.

JerkMoans · August 2023

theatreanchor said:

Never even heard of it!

Watership Down based dating agency.

AntonHunter · August 2023

fretmeister said:

I’ve had a drummer do tracks for me.

He did an excellent job.

I think @willo was looking for a session drummer for a project over in this thread https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/250770/creating-songs-drum-machine/p1.

If you've got a recommendation for a particular player, share the love!

fretmeister · August 2023

AntonHunter said:

fretmeister said:

I’ve had a drummer do tracks for me.

He did an excellent job.

I think @willo was looking for a session drummer for a project over in this thread https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/250770/creating-songs-drum-machine/p1.

If you've got a recommendation for a particular player, share the love!

Here's the link

https://www.fiverr.com/glennwelman

He's in this secret shopper thing

stickyfiddle · August 2023

Nice - I'd already seen that video. It's probably what put the initial germ of the idea in my head.

fretmeister · August 2023

Sometimes some really big guys use it between tours, and also did so during Covid to at least get some money coming in.

Kenny Aronoff pops up on there sometimes! Needless to say he's a bit more expensive!!

Sporky · August 2023

It's important not to cross-post between Fiverr and Only Fans.

So I hear.

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