How to Land More Freelance Gigs, From a Six-Figure Fiverr Writer

• Alexandra Fasulo is a freelance writer who made made $271,000 in revenue on Fiverr in 2021 by ‘drop-servicing’ her work.
• Fasulo says freelancers should adjust their strategy to maximize earnings in a dicey economy.
• She suggests meeting clients halfway on rates, overcommunicating, and working on multiple platforms.

As corporations lay off thousands of employees in anticipation of forthcoming recession this year, project managers are turning their attention to freelancers who are hired per project, presenting a flexible, affordable alternative.

How To Land More Freelance Gigs, From A Six-Figure Fiverr Writer

So while thousands of full-timers wonder if they are going to emerge from 2023 with their job intact, freelancers are gearing up for a year that may reflect much of the same business they enjoyed in 2022. I made $273,000 my third year on Fiverr and was designated as part of the top 1% of talent on the platform. 

How To Land More Freelance Gigs, From A Six-Figure Fiverr Writer

To stay relevant in their respective markets during a recession, there are a few changes freelancers should make to stay competetive and stand out among their peers.

How To Land More Freelance Gigs, From A Six-Figure Fiverr Writer

1. Clients will have smaller budgets, so meet them halfway

Clients are potentially going to be working with smaller budgets than they had in the previous year. Although many corporations will continue to use — and pay — freelancers for their work as they let go of full-time employees, smaller businesses and other entrepreneurs will be stretching their dollars in order to get the job done.

How To Land More Freelance Gigs, From A Six-Figure Fiverr Writer

Therefore, freelancers that adjust their pricing by either slightly lowering it, offering discounts to returning customers, launching subscription discounts, or offering two-for-one specials, will enjoy a larger share of the market. The extra business gained by adjusting pricing will be worth the temporary drop in your typical pricing.

How To Land More Freelance Gigs, From A Six-Figure Fiverr Writer

2. Many clients will be brand new to hiring freelancers — extra communication is key

This year, many hiring managers, executives, and entrepreneurs are going to be hiring freelancers who didn’t previously work with gig economy workers. They aren’t necessarily going to know the lingo, the general workflow process, or how to properly work with freelancers.

How To Land More Freelance Gigs, From A Six-Figure Fiverr Writer

Anticipate this surge and do everything you can to maintain smooth communication with clients. Freelancers should consider updating their questionnaires, adding in more basic questions that can help guide freelancing newbies so there aren’t any discrepancies with the final deliveries. Examples include: please include your URL, please attach examples of work from competitors that you’d like me to emulate, please let me know what you do and do not like about competitor projects and websites, please include any keywords, etc.

Freelancers should also spend additional time messaging the new clients before taking on the project to ensure everyone is on the same page.

3. Sign up on more freelancing marketplaces than just Fiverr

Although Fiverr and Upwork enjoy name recognition when it comes to freelancing, there are plenty of lesser-known marketplaces that can offer freelancers access to quality clients.

LinkedIn is speedily becoming a lucrative freelancing hub where executives hire freelancers for important projects, relying on the social network as opposed to downloading the Fiverr app. Many other freelancing startups, like Revolancer, Legit, and Contra, are working feverishly as well, to become competitive freelancing alternatives.

Millennial and Gen Z are even using apps like TikTok to find one-off jobs, using comment sections and direct messages to contact brands that post about sourcing freelancing talent.

No matter what, the recession is going to change how we work — it’s predicted that half of the country’s workforce will be freelancing by 2027.

In order to support its current freelancers, Fiverr should consider reevaluating their flat 20% fee applied to all orders completed on the site. Upwork drops their 20% to 10% fee for larger projects, and LinkedIn applies zero fees to orders secured through their network. Freelancers are going to prioritize the websites that take the least amount of money from their business during a recession, and lower fees would attract more clients, as well as talent, to the freelancing platform while money is tight.

Still, I find Fiverr to be the best platform for new freelancers as well as those looking to scale their businesses quickly, largely due to its auto-book feature that allows clients to place orders while away from their phone or computer. With impending economic uncertainty, it also recently launched ‘The Lift,’ an online recession hub with on-demand help, articles, and guides from experts, this past December. But it’s possible a recession could shift Fiverr out of the top spot if they continue to apply unfair fees.

Ultimately, I predict a recession will not strongly impact the freelance economy due to corporations accessing freelancers more than ever with slashed workforces. Freelancers should be cognizant of where these new clients are coming from, leveraging patience and discounted deals in order to win over potentially long-term business. With more readily available digital tools and software that can automate a big chunk of any freelancing business, freelancers are poised to emerge from the recession at the top of the global economy.

Alexandra Fasulo is a gig economy commentator, author, and podcast host.

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