How to Write Winning Proposal on Fiverr -See Real Examples

Buyer Requests are one of the great opportunity get orders on Fiverr. A seller can send 10 offers daily. However, it may be hard to hear back from clients. Because, a lot of sellers are sending offers to buyer requests. So you have to compete with 20/30 sellers approximately. But, if you observe deeply, you will see that it’s not that hard actually seems. Because many sellers have been doing big mistakes while sending offers. And you can take this opportunity to stand out over the crowd.

Not to mention, as a user on Fiverr I was also on the hiring side, and I hired a lot of other sellers as well. So I have the opportunity to see the mistakes more closely. In this article we will discuss about the mistakes and tips & tricks together. Also I will give you free sample proposal to show you what a winning proposal looks like. Without further ado, Let’s get started.

Identify the VAGUE job posts & do not waste your effort with them

Before writing a job proposal, first you have to identify & sort out the VAGUE job posts. Fiverr is fitting very hard against spam job posts. But they are not successful enough to prevent those spammers completely. Everyday you will find spam & vague job posts. However, you will loose your time & effort if you do not identify those kind of buyer requests. Because, spammers will never hire you, no matter how stunning proposal you have written. So, you have to identify those spam buyer requests first, and then put your effort on applying for the right buyer request who is just waiting to hire someone.

How to identify vague & spam buyer requests:

Vague buyers will ask you to give something with lower price than it’s original price. For an example see below screenshot:

The first guy is indirectly asking for a premium plugin only with $5 which original cost is $68. Moreover, he wants you to create the full website along with the plugin.

The second guy is more technical. Initially he is referring to just install the plugins & asking for suggestions. But, actually he wants you to give him three premium plugins with $10.

I can show you a lot more example, but I hope it’s enough for the sake of example.

On the other hand, spammers post buyer requests for a totally different purpose. They can post request for getting website traffics or they want you to visit a link, or read an article. And even few other sellers who post buyer requests just for the sake of promoting their gigs, or asking for jobs in their buyer requests. See below screenshot for an example:

Fair enough. I brought this point at first because it’s super important to identify the spammers & vague job posters before you pretend to apply for a buyer request.

Start your proposal with buyer’s name

It’s a psychological fact. In an over crowded area if you hear your name, what you will do? Definitely you will try to find the person who is calling by your name. And this is no different on Fiverr. Many other sellers also apply for the same job and try to achieve client’s attention. So, if you start your application with “Hi John” (buyer’s name is John), the buyer will not be able to overlook your proposal.

How do you know the buyer’s name:

Most of the cases buyers do not mention their name in the job post. However, if the buyer have a profile picture then you can easily grab their name (at least their username). Just right click on the profile picture and Inspect. From the “alt” value you will get buyer’s username. Now go to buyer’s profile by following www.fiverr.com/buyer’s_username and see if they mentioned their name anywhere on their profile overview. Or look for their past feedbacks and see if any of their past sellers mentioned their name in the feedback. But if you do not find their actual name, just start your application with the buyer’s username (Hi Username_Here).

On the other hand, if the buyer does not have a profile picture or if they have not mentioned their name, just go for “Hi There”. But make sure you do not call them ‘Sir, Hiring Manager’ or something along those lines.

Write about how you can help in the FIRST paragraph

A loyal buyer is curious enough to award the job to a seller. They will indeed hire someone and even if they find someone at the first item of the proposal list. The buyer is just waiting to see the desired words in your proposal. If they find it, you’re in! And even they are happy to increase their budget to hire the right sellers. So, it’s very important to mention about how you can help them in the first paragraph. But if you write the main topic at the end of your proposal or somewhere in between other paragraphs, then your client may ignore the main topic. Because, clients do not read each & every proposals thoroughly. But if you write the main topic at first paragraph, then client will read your whole proposal if it’s worth reading.

Many sellers do a common mistake. They write about themselves and about their experience at the fist paragraph. But clients are not interested to learn about you at the first place. And they want to see that how you can help them. So, if you want to get your client’s attention, tell them directly about how you can help them at the front lines. And you can write about yourself (in short) after you completed main things.

Not to mention, sometime buyers ask you to start your application with certain words so they can realize that you read their post. In this case, mention the specific word at the top and then move forward.

Show them instead of just telling them

Buyer likes to see similar examples or portfolio items. Also it brings credibility & helps your buyer to trust on you. So, share specific information related to your past work.

Everyone has to start from a certain point, and all the freelancers or sellers do not have many past experience. Likewise, if you do not have portfolio items to showcase your expertise, then put your highest effort on describing the way how you can help them.

Never include your gig link in your proposal or just for the sake of your gig promotion. It’s a myth & does not work. Also your client my be disappointed by doing so. Because Fiverr already mentioned the associated gig with your proposal. So it does not worth putting the same link twice in a same application.

Put a logical “Total Offer Amount” and without being biased by client’s budget

Working for peanuts is pretty much worthless. Fiverr gives you the freedom to make offer with your desired & logical amount. And also buyers have the option to put their budget along with their job posts. But it doesn’t mean that you have to work within the client’s budget. Moreover, all the clients do not write their actual budget accurately, and sometimes it’s a placeholder budget.

So, calculate the price wisely and make offer accordingly. Never underestimate your worth.

Ask questions if you need clarification

It’s very obvious asking questions to your clients, and they really love it. It also indicates that you do have sufficient knowledge to complete the task, and you understood the project requirements. So, ask them question if anything is not clear to you, or if you need additional info to perform complete the job.

In some cases, few clients may ask you counter-question, e.g: why you offered them a price while you are not sure about the whole requirement. So, it’s better if you become proactive and tell them in your proposal- your offer amount is a placeholder for now and you will send them a final price along with a Custom Offer.

Also make sure that you do not ask unnecessary or irrelevant questions.

End your proposal with at least one related question

Your last question may force the buyer to write you back. And yes, it’s a psychological fact which forces your buyer to quickly answer the question. And it will lead your buyer to get back to you. Conversion really starts from here.

This last question is different than project specific or clarification questions. The answer of last question should be very easy and it will indicate that client’s priority matters to you. Some of the example are as follows:

• When it’s easier for you to start a quick discussion?
• How many days you will allow for the project?

Don’t forget to mention your real nick name and to give them a formal thanks

No buyers like robotic proposals. Since you already completed writing on project related topic, and now it’s time to give them a formal thanks & to mention your name. It’s important because clients also want to call you by your name. It has a personal touch and your name inspires your buyer to write you back. Because, your name indicates that you’re a real person and not an anonymous.

The freelance marketplaces are competitive and Fiverr is no different. There are lots of opportunities around us. We just don’t know how to utilize them. A single scope may change your freelance career. So why not try to utilize them properly!

Download Sample Proposal