On the Internet website called Fiverr.com you can contract to do all sorts of jobs and pay just five dollars to get them done. As you might well imagine, if you actually want someone to do a good job you might have to pay more than 5 dollars. This is particularly true if you want a lot of bells and whistles. But don't let me dissuade you: It is definitely possible to pay five bucks and a processing and handling fee and get something done. Rather than trying to predict exactly what the processing fee will be when you get around to getting your work done let's just say that for well under ten dollars total, you can get something done. Now the question is, is there something you actually want that you are willing to part with a little over 5 dollars to get it done?
I will show some examples of stuff I have had done. Bear in mind I did pay for some bells and whistles so each of the jobs cost me more than five dollars but generally less than $50.00.
One of the more important gotchas I figured out from actually using Fiverr is: Negative reviews count more than positive reviews. If you want to know what can go wrong with an order, or if the deal is possibly a ripoff, read the negative reviews. If you see two or more instances in the negative reviews of something you do not want to deal with, walk away.
Positive reviews are not entirely worthless but I would treat them as more valuable by quantity than quality. Unless you want to know if a supplier does a particular thing well, positive reviews just give you some cushion. Positive reviews mean you won't be the first person to try this supplier out. Never be the first.
Your mileage may vary but my worst experience was when I tried to advertise something on Facebook with some Fiverr dude. He put me on a reprehensible Facebook group that I would not have entered on a bet or a dare. One of the main lessons here is try to get a look at where a supplier who promises to show your wares is displaying them. Also, try to get a look at a sample of his competed work to see if you like it.
Oh and in the Homer Simpson "D'oh!" department it should be obvious that many of the suppliers of Fiverr services will not be native English speakers. Anyone who thought about it for a moment knew that five dollars US doesn't go that far in the America but it might come in handy in several third world countries. Your supplier may not be a native English speaker. What this means is that for anything that includes copy, or text or writing, your supplier will almost certainly get it wrong so provide proof read text to him in the first place and carefully proof read his work before accepting it.
Now on with the show!
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I also tried some press releases and an article with Fiverr. Given that many of your suppliers might not be native English speakers, you will need to provide correct copy and to correct what they do. Even then I let some odd looking stuff slip through. Maybe I should have paid another Fiverr jobber to write the copy, another to proof read it, and yet another to ride heard on the entire project and make sure the end result made sense! I am not sure you can do all this or that the result would be acceptable even if you could but I would bet that if you could it would not cost an arm and a leg. But then again, you get what you pay for.
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