A couple of months back, I received an email from a lady based in Abuja. She had visited this blog and was impressed by the e-book cover designs she saw in the sidebar. And she needed an e-book cover design of same quality.
In my reply, I told the lady that I could get her a design of that quality for $20 (I charged her the Naira equivalent of $20 at the time). And she gladly agreed to pay. Then I headed straight to Fiverr, where I hired the same Indian guy who designed those e-book covers that impressed the lady. As usual, I paid him just $5 to design the lady’s e-book cover. And within the next 24 hours, it was ready. I forwarded it to the lady, and she was very much satisfied with it.
It all ended in a win-win-win situation. I was happy because I was able to satisfy the client and still pocket $14.50 (Fiverr actually deducted $5.50) without doing anything — except for hiring the guy at Fiverr and forwarding the finished work to the client. The lady was happy because she got exactly what she wanted. And the designer at Fiverr was happy because he was paid for services.
The role I played in the whole scenario is that of a reseller. Truth is, I suck at e-book cover designs. The ones I tried doing myself in the past never impressed me, despite the long hours I spent on them. And if I were to sell such designs to other people, I would never have a single satisfied customer. Never!
But then, I was able to earn from an e-cover design gig, more than what the expert designer that did the work earned. That’s smartness. And I could make a full-time business from this model if I wanted. Some smart guys I know have done that already, and they’re making cool money.
The business of reselling Fiverr gigs is commonly called “Fiverr Arbitrage”. Whether or not that’s the right name for the business is a mootable topic, but that’s for another day. For now, let’s discuss the business model itself.
How does Fiverr arbitrage work?
It’s very simple. Just buy gigs on Fiverr and sell them to clients outside of Fiverr at a higher price, so you can pocket the profit.
To me, this is a good business model for smart people who have no skills sellable on Fiverr or those who have some skills but are too lazy or busy to handle the tasks themselves.
This business model makes sense because there are many clients out there who are willing to pay top dollars for tasks that can be perfectly handled on Fiverr for just $5.
So, your major role as a Fiverr reseller is to go out there to find such clients. The more you can get, the more money you’ll make.
Setting up your Fiverr arbitrage business
As I stated earlier, you too can build a business that involves just reselling Fiverr gigs. But it’s not really as simple as it sounds. Here are the steps involved.
1. Figure out which services you want to resell
Your first step is to figure out which Fiverr gigs you want to resell. Your decision should be based on what’s in demand around you.
For example, if you have connections with many online business owners who need backlinks to their business websites from time to time, you can consider reselling link building gigs. Similarly if there is huge demand around you for video animations, then consider selling those.
To make income consistently from Fiverr gig reselling, you need to constantly get work from clients. This is why your offers must be based on what is selling around you.
To make more money, consider offering multiple services, especially those that are related. A smart idea is to offer your services as a bundle package. For example, you can start a small business branding agency that helps small business owners with the following:
- Generating a unique, brandable business name
- Designing a professional business logo
- Designing a beautiful business card
- Setting up a business website
- Crafting a press release
- Creating intro content for the business website
You’ll find experts on Fiverr offering each of these services for $5. So, if a client orders the complete package, you’ll spend no more than just $33 (Fiverr would deduct $5.50 for each gig). Yet, the average client would be glad to pay $300 or more for the whole package. That’s huge profits for you.
2. Create a buyer account on Fiverr
Your next step is to create an account on Fiverr. This is the account you will use for purchasing gigs from freelancers on the platform each time your client requires a gig.
Creating a buyer account on Fiverr is pretty straightforward, and I won’t bother going into details of that here. If you need help on that, check this post. Nonetheless, if you head straight to Fiverr.com, I’m sure you’ll be able to figure things out for yourself. It’s pretty much straightforward.
3. Start marketing your services
Your success with this business model hinges largely on how skilled you are at attracting clients. If you can consistently find new clients and get more projects from existing ones, then you’ll make more money than you ever imagined. No exaggerations.
Since no client will purchase your services if they’re not aware of them in the first place, you need to proactively promote your services in order to attract clients. Consider using free and paid online advertising methods.
Free online methods include forum marketing, social media marketing, blogging/ content marketing, and sending cold pitches via email. Paid methods include paying for ad slots on blogs, forums, and other platforms often visited by your potential customers. Facebook ads and pay-per-click advertising are also very effective.
In addition, don’t downplay offline methods such as word-of-mouth marketing, display advertising, distribution of handbills/flyers, and so on.
A smart way to compel clients to hire you is to offer them discounts based on certain conditions. For example, you can offer a 20% discount to clients who order your complete package of gigs.
4. Run your business effectively
It goes without saying that the success of your Fiverr arbitrage business hinges on how well you run it. You will play the role of a supervisor, marketer, and customer support agent at the same time. This might seem too much, but it’s usually fun, especially since you’ll be making money.
Running your Fiverr reselling business effectively simply means responding promptly to enquiries by clients and prospects, delegating work to the best freelancers on Fiverr, ensuring that the output meets client requirements, delivering gigs to clients in a timely manner, promoting your business constantly to attract new clients, and so on. So, you need to prepare your mind for all these.
Now, you understand what Fiverr arbitrage means, and how you can make a full-time business out of it. If the whole thing sounds great to you, consider giving it a shot.
Your turn
What do you think about Fiverr arbitrage as a business? Do you have any questions? Or do you think I missed something in the post? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.
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