What if I were to tell you that for $5 someone would make a video for you? Draw an illustration? Write your message on their beer belly and take a photo? Yes, a giant beer belly.
There is a site where you can have all these things done and more, each for only $5. The site is called Fiverr.com, and it’s one of my favorite websites as of late. It’s an incredible resource if you are looking for something awesome and low quality.
You’re probably wondering why you would ever want something low quality. I’ll tell you why you might…
- You don’t want to pay for high quality. (You always get what you pay for.)
- It’s an easy project that few people will see, so it’s smart not to invest much.
- You want to promote a product or service by being ridiculous. Like I did with this video…
What is Fiverr?
Before I get into the back story of the video, let me tell you about Fiverr.com. After you create an account, you can post “gigs” to be sold, purchase gigs, or request that someone create a gig for you. The gig can be anything, but it must only cost $5. A seller can get around the $5 limit by offering something in addition to the base gig. The price won’t get much higher than $20. At least I have not seen a gig more expensive than that.
I’ve already mentioned that the quality of work on Fiverr is probably not going to be top quality. I bought a gig for a new Facebook timeline image, and the seller sent me the files one week late and the profile image wasn’t even the right size! Rest assured that you can request edits and leave a review of your experience.
The Back Story of My Fiverr Video
Now, about the monkey commercial.
I paid $5 to have a jingle written for my former business, No. 2 Pen. I had no expectations for the outcome. I simply sent the seller my website and said “go for it.” What came back was a surprise. The jingle was pretty horrible.
After talking with my husband about it (SEO consultant over at Spork Marketing), he reminded me that bad marketing can be memorable marketing. He said I should embrace it. So I did.
I went back to Fiverr and made a gig request for a cheesy video to go along with my cheesy jingle. Since this was a custom video, a seller offered to make the video for $20. I agreed.
The video I got was definitely cheesy, but it wasn’t obviously cheesy. Jason and I watched it with our mouths gaping open. He said, “Your logo is on that thing! That’s so bad.”
It was clear I had wasted $20 on Fiverr.
Jason felt sorry for me and agreed to help. He’s got video editing skills you see, and he has an appreciation for monkeys.
To return the favor, I went back to Fiverr once again and bought him an illustrated self portrait. I thought this would make a nice Twitter profile pic. What do you think?
Jason Lancaster as a bean.
Jason Lancaster in real life.
Have you used Fiverr? What Fiverr ideas do you have?
I’ve heard about Fiverr and I’ve been meaning to try it. I’m going to start small at first to test it out. Thanks for reminding me about it!
Starting small is good. I gave myself a $35 budget.
I’ve recently gotten hooked on Fiverr.com. I can’t believe what one human will do for another for just five bucks. I agree the quality is average at best but it’s five bucks! What can you expect? I’m going to keep buying projects just because they are cheap and hey, quality isn’t everything, or is it?
I hear ya, Mark. Quality isn’t everything in some cases…especially in the case of cheesy monkey commercials.
Hey Sara,
Glad to see you’re still going strong with WordCount.
I haven’t tried Fiverr but the feedback I’ve heard has been similar to your comments.
That said I love the “Lancaster as bean” effort (c’mon it’s cute) and the video – yes, super cheesy but hell, a bit of fun too.
Cheers, Caylie
I’ve had to watch that at least twice now because it so fun and funny! I think you got your money’s worth.
I once offered a service on Fiverr just for the heck of it…I offered to review someone’s web site and make recommendations for $5. One client took me up on it and never paid. For the net $4 I was going to collect, it wasn’t worth going after.
But still, I think the micro-price idea has potential as a loss-leader if approached correctly.
Caylie and Carrie – Glad you saw the humor in it all.
Dave – I’m currently offering what you once did. Things may have changed, because now they get payment upfront through PayPal. Either way, the $4 certainly isn’t going to pay the bills. I’ll do it for a few more weeks (mostly because I enjoy doing the critiques) and then take it down.
I WARN EVERYONE THAT FIVERR IS A JOKE AND A FAKE! DO NOT SPEND YOUR MONEY ON THIS SITE. FIVERR DOES NOT STAND BEHIND ITS BUYERS AT ALL! THEY ARE IN BUSINESS TO PROTECT THEIR WORTHLESS SELLERS THAT CAN NOT GIVE YOU WHAT YOU PAID FOR. DO NOT BELIEVE THEIR FEEDBACK SYSTEM BECAUSE ITS FAKE. FIVERR IN SOME CASES WILL REMOVE AND CANCEL A ORDER IF YOU PROVIDE A NEGATIVE FEEDBACK ON ONE OF THEIR TOP SELLERS AND I HAVE TO SAY THATS FAKE! NOT CAREING FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS SUCH AS BUYERS WILL DISOLVE ANY SUCCESS FIVERR HAS HAD SOONER OR LATER. WHEN YOU FORGET ABOUT THE FOLKS WHO BRING THE BUSINESS AND REFER OTHERS THEY WILL SOON FORGET ABOUT FIVERR AND WARN OTHERS NOT TO USE THE SITE. REMEMBER YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE ALWAYS RIGHT!!!!
I have been using this website for two years. awesome service in cheap price. and yes, your post was very informative. like it.
no fiverr ive been scamed by so many gigs thats why i switched to 5spot.ca
Fiverr is a spammy site. I also switched to another site like fiverr. Fiverr is a total waste of time.