How To Outsource Effectively With Fiverr

As your Internet business grows you have to start thinking of ways to outsource repetitive tasks. That will free you up to apply your talent where it belongs- bringing in customers and money. So where do you find quality outsource talent?

Got five bucks? That’s all it takes to pay for a “gig” from Fiverr.com. For $5 you can get an article written, have a short video made, get a voiceover audio, and more. Fiverr bills itself as “the place for people to share things they’re willing to share for $5.”

Fiverr (\fī-vər\), stylized as fiverr, is a social marketplace website that facilitates buying and selling of services from other users for US$5.

What kinds of things are people willing to do? Here are some actual gigs: Speak your message in the cartoon voice of your choosing, Play Happy Birthday on bagpipes while wearing a personalized name card, Write a short message in the froth of a cup of cappuccino, Make a tough decision for you, Will happily be your cute blonde Facebook wife for a month, Will write anything five letters long on a grain of rice and send you the picture.

Outsource Internet Marketing Tasks

You probably don’t need a cute blond Facebook wife to make your business grow but that’s your call.  Looking past the “fun and bizarre” (yes, an actual category) gigs on Fiverr, you can find inexpensive, quality talent to handle almost any part of your growing Internet business.

Here are some bread and butter Internet marketing tasks you can easily outsource on Fiverr:

• Article writing and posting
• Logo creation
• Twitter posting
• Record video messages
• Set up social media and social bookmarking accounts
• Get a video transcription made

As an example, here’s another real gig: “I will make you a customized Twitter or YouTube background image for $5” and “I will submit up to 3 RSS feeds to over 100 directories for $5.” By outsourcing these tasks regularly you can take your business to the next level.

Best Practices Using Fiverr

Let’s look at some best practices to keep in mind when using Fiverr.

1. Look for gig providers with more lots of positive “thumbs-up” feedback. Many of the vendors are newer and, while they may be great, you can usually find more experienced Fiverr vendors with plenty of feedback.  You are only spending $5 but you may end up using the source many times so it’s better to start out with as much social proof as possible.
2. Some providers can be a little flaky. Don’t go around punishing people for no reason. At the same time, don’t hesitate to leave negative feedback when someone drops the ball hard.
3. Err on the side of caution. Consider completing a written independent contractor agreement. This is especially important for creative gigs like Graphic Design, Image Enhancement, Article Writing, Logo Design, etc. You want to make sure they are not copying other’s material and passing it off as their own. Most good vendors will agree. Have them sign it, scan it and send it back to you.
4. Make sure the gig seems realistic. Some of the gigs offered are unrealistic—the vendor is either over-enthusiastic, lying or both. For example, if they promise 50,000 backlinks for $5, well, it’s unlikely.
5. Find providers that offer reports. If you are purchasing gigs for things like social bookmarking, look for vendors that will provide a report that shows exactly what work they did.
6. Many Fiverr gig providers are using the site as a “loss leader” to develop new business. You may find someone that is providing 10 times the value for what you paying. If you have a real need for that person’s talents, find them outside of Fiverr and hire them for more work. Fiverr does not allow the exchanging of emails on their internal messaging system so you need to be careful. You don’t want to get banned!

Learn What Works And What Doesn’t

Fiverr is a good way to learn effective outsourcing. You can easily pick and choose simple tasks that are inexpensive to purchase. As your experience and confidence grows, you can look at bigger outsourcing firms to take over large chunks of your business. For example, perhaps you can outsource your entire backlinking operation. This is a major step, but with time and diligence you can offload this time consuming activity.

Outsourcing is a learned skill. Over time, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it earlier. As outsourcing guru Timothy Ferriss (The 4 Hour Work Week) says, “If you spend your time, worth $20-25 per hour, doing something that someone else will do for $10 per hour, it’s simply a poor use of resources.”

Fiverr gives you the opportunity to develop your outsourcing muscles, freeing you up to meet with clients and bring in the cash. That’s the fun part you don’t want to outsource.

Photo credits