7 Biggest Mistakes Freelancers make On Fiverr

I will be straight up here; I will be writing about some of the biggest mistakes freelancers make on Fiverr very often.

Stay with me on this one, and you will know how to make your sojourn on Fiverr stress-free and easy.

You may have read my previous article, The 7 Freelancing Websites you should start searching for Jobs right now (please do, if you haven’t), and I explained that Fiverr is one of the best freelancing platforms you can start with.

However, I’ll let you know that getting on Fiverr is one thing, and staying on Fiverr is another.

Unfortunately, freelancers on Fiverr make mistakes that sometimes get kicked out outright or make their stay there less easy.

I will let you in on some of these mistakes so you can avoid them and lead a happy, stress-free Fiverr life!

Biggest mistakes freelancers make on Fiverr

#1. Having Multiple Accounts

For me, in this list of the biggest mistakes freelancers make on Fiverr, this is, by far, the biggest mistake any freelancer can make on Fiverr.

Let me tell you why.

The Fiverr Team thinks having several accounts gives you an unfair advantage over other sellers on Fiverr and, as such, would immediately have you banned.

I understand that some freelancers could have created multiple accounts for a genuine reason.

For example, they keep forgetting their passwords. Even that could get you banned by Fiverr once they discover.

They’ve got some seriously accurate algorithms, which use cookies to detect the IP address of the device from which the account is being run.

So, if they find out that two or more accounts are being run from one IP address, it would look like one person is behind those accounts; therefore, they ban them.

Sometimes, the Fiverr team tries to reach out and ask that you clarify why two accounts are being run from your IP address (which is good for when you have a sibling or a friend using your device to log into their own separate accounts).

They might not give you the ban if you can explain your situation sufficiently well.

Unfortunately, they don’t even ask questions most times; they ban you once they see some unusual activities with your IP address.

Also, for those of us who log in to our Fiverr accounts using Cyber cafés and other business centers, you should be careful and log out once you’re done with your browsing session.

Failure to do so is an avoidable mistake you should not make because it can get you banned too!

So, even if you tried to (or are trying to) run two or more accounts for any reason, there is no way you can successfully do that on one device.

If you decide to go ahead with it anyway, you would be making the biggest mistake in your Fiverr experience because once Fiverr Team finds out (and they will), you get the ban, no stories!

#2. Reviewing your gig on your own account

This is the next biggest mistake amongst Fiverr freelancers, and I’ve noticed that most freelancers have been tempted to commit it at one time or another.

Freelancers (especially the ones who are just starting on Fiverr) who buy their gig and then review it think this will attract more clients.

Unfortunately, this is not so; it does seem okay to buy your gigs to improve the impression your gig has on buyers, but the thing is, buyers wouldn’t necessarily notice you when you buy your gigs.

So, now you see that this is an obvious mistake because doing it wouldn’t even get you the desired result, and what’s more? The Fiverr Team frowns at it.

The account gets banned outright if you’re caught reviewing your gig on your account. So, try as much as possible not to review your gig.

#3. Exchanging contacts with clients on Fiverr

So, this particular mistake is two mistakes in one. I say this because you would be making a mistake if you tried to exchange phone numbers, email, and other contacts on Fiverr, but then you’re making a greater mistake by thinking Fiverr Team doesn’t go through all your chats with clients.

Fiverr Team wants all freelancers working on Fiverr to complete all orders they receive right on their platform, therefore, Fiverr frowns at freelancers giving or receiving contacts to/from clients, and you would be going against their TOS if you do so.

If Fiverr Team sees through your chats with your client and discovers you gave or received personal contact details, it will be a straight suspension or ban.

So you’ve got to be careful and try as much as you can not to make this mistake, do not ask for a client’s contact, and do not consent to drop your contacts if a client asks; Fiverr Team will get to know sooner or later.

#4. Linking one payment account to more than one Fiverr account

This is one mistake you should avoid making, as it can get you banned on the same basis as being banned for multiple accounts.

Let’s say your friend or sibling asks that they use your payment account for their Fiverr account till they figure out their independent payment account. It sounds okay to let them access your payment account, right?

The Fiverr Team doesn’t see it that way, and it would think it’s one person running both accounts, hence the shared payment account.

Like I’ve explained before, 8 times out of 10, Fiverr Team bans the erring accounts.

So, no matter how hard it seems, don’t help a friend out by linking your payment account with your and his Fiverr accounts, both accounts will be banned, and both of you will wish you never made a mistake in the first place.

#5. Spamming Buyers

This is a mistake that’s often made by freelancers that are new on Fiverr.

I think it is an honest mistake because new sellers are eager to make their first sale, and they’d try every means to get buyers’ attention.

That’s where most of these new sellers make the mistake of spamming buyers with unsolicited messages and offering to get their jobs done for them.

It’s not wrong to reach out to random people who might be potential customers (it’s a kind of cold pitching), but it has to be done in a manner that’s not offensive, intrusive, or distracting.

Even at that, you still risk getting reported by one of the people you send messages to, and when that happens, Fiverr prompts you into action, issuing you a warning, or an outright ban, depending on which they see fit for you.

Bottom line, don’t make the mistake of spamming random people in the bid to attract customers; you do not want to be reported to the Fiverr Team for spamming.

#6. Careless use of words anywhere on Fiverr

As I’ve explained, you’ll be making a mistake if you think Fiverr doesn’t see whatever you do on the platform, from private chats to the Fiverr Forums.

Therefore, be careful what you post at every point on the Fiverr platform; your account may get suspended for something you sent to a client or a comment you made on the Fiverr forum, which Fiverr Team may have considered wrong.

Call it mean or unfair; the point is, watch yourself and don’t make the mistake of writing and sending messages recklessly.

Only send messages and make necessary comments, as this saves you from getting too carried away and sending something too suggestive. Remember, Fiverr sees everything you post.

#7. Using the Buyers Request to promote your services

This is a technical mistake that’s almost always deliberately made. You should avoid making a mistake if you do not want your account to get deactivated.

Ordinarily, the Buyers’ request feature allows Fiverr buyers to post customized order requests, jobs, and services and is exclusively for buyers.

Out of desperation to get customers to buy their services, some new freelancers would use the Buyers’ requests to advertise their services, thereby effectively misusing the Buyers’ request feature.

That is against Fiverr’s TOS, and Fiverr would deactivate any erring account. 

One way to avoid this mistake is to keep track of job postings on the Buyers’ request page; that way, you would be among the first to send offers to buyers once a job posting shows up from them.

Conclusion

These are the biggest mistakes freelancers make on Fiverr, and as you can already see, committing any of these mistakes could make you slip into hot soup with Fiverr Team.