I Applied For Fiverr Pro Status
But am I worthy of such distinction?
I’ve been a Fiverr seller since 2014, but when Fiverr Pro became available last year, my first thought was “that’s not for me.”
Despite my history of advising new writers that they shouldn’t feel unworthy of writing, my immediate feeling from the Fiverr Pro proposition was an overwhelming feeling of worthlessness.
I never finished the level of study I’d previously planned on finishing because opportunity always came knocking and I could never resist it.
These opportunities led to amazing experiences working all around the world but came at the cost of fancy degrees that could have made me feel more worthy of becoming a “pro” writer.
So even when the Pro option became available on the site, I never for a second considered it as a real option for myself.
Instead, I just continued to compete with other writers on the regular platform.
Despite my best efforts, though, advertising myself as a writer on the regular platform has become increasingly impossible. The platform is filling up with more and more sellers who are competing against me for the attention of clients, and their prices are ensuring they win almost every time.
A Race to the Bottom
Writers on Fiverr are jostling with many other writers for the attention of clients. This level of competition is forcing us all into a steep race to the bottom.
Despite the platform updating itself to allow buyers to charge more, everyone is lowering their price to stay competitive with the newer writers coming in and charging almost nothing.
What’s most maddening though, is that some of these writers rushing the platform over the last year have a very tenuous grasp on what it means to write, and sometimes, even how to speak English.
Last year I ran a blog but was too focused on Medium to contribute to the blog regularly.
So I tried to find other writers on Fiverr and pay them to write content for my blog while I neglected it.
After several ‘buyer request’ posts, I could never find anyone that spoke English as a first language and could put two coherent sentences together.
The intense amount of writers who are producing sub-par work and charging rock bottom prices are making competition on the regular platform almost impossible. Just by competing with them, I appear to customers to be just like them. The only way to compete is to charge what they charge, which is an amount that would make the whole endeavour feel like a waste of time.
I’ve decided that while I still don’t entirely feel worthy of being part of Fiverr Pro, I have no other choice but to try to join this section of the site to differentiate myself and justify my prices.
I want to be paid an amount that doesn’t make me feel like a sucker for sinking so many hours into each project.
If this article is coming across as entitled or rude, that isn’t my intention. I applaud the tenacity of others who forge ahead on Fiverr with their rock bottom prices and just try to make it work.
The amount of money that feels “worth it” to me will feel entirely different to someone else with different living expenses and life experience.
The Pro section of the site represents what I need in order to keep going on the platform according to my personal needs.
I have no idea if I’m going to be accepted though, and I anticipate a very long wait to find out.
Applying for Pro
The application process was conducted on a purpose-built site with a form you fill out, much like an online job application.
You’ve got to talk about your experience, education, and what you think you can contribute to the platform.
There’s also a section where they ask you to upload a video of yourself talking about your skills with the promise that it’ll make your application process faster.
My work experience and study are nowhere near impressive enough to rely on, so instead, I talked about my figures on Medium.
I provided my average number of views and a link to one of my most successful articles. Only after submitting the article did I remember that there was an option to provide multiple links to multiple articles, so I regret not being more thorough.
But the application is submitted now, so there’s no point in looking back.
In the meantime, I’m going to go on a journey of self-discovery to better understand what I really want.
Unlike many other freelance writers, I won’t starve if I don’t secure a gig. Beside my Medium royalties, I also work full-time writing educational content and teaching online classes for a company in Shanghai.
Diva vs Survivor
Perhaps my lack of fear is causing my unwillingness to compete more ferociously on Fiverr.
If a writing gig was the difference between eating or going hungry, I’d probably have a different opinion on the matter.
Instead of a starving writer, I could be called a diva writer.
A diva writer wants better conditions and isn’t going to contribute until those conditions are met. A starving writer will contribute until their last breath to avoid losing their apartment.
I’m not a diva on Medium because I’m not going to stop writing no matter how much I’m paid. But freelancing for others is a lot more work because you’re satisfying the whims of someone who bought your time and wants the maximum value possible from that time.
If I’m going to continue selling time, I want a better price and better conditions. But what I really want is that sexy Pro sticker right next to my face…
… Oh god, I’m a full-blown diva.
