I read an article the other day regarding Fiverr. I’m sorry, but the author’s name escapes me. The article was regarding Fiverr specifically, but I’m going to apply it to all current freelance sites that many are using for voiceover work. The writer said that he knew of someone who is making a ton of money on Fiverr, but they are working insane hours to get there; doing tons of jobs that individually didn’t pay a lot to make that large nut when added all together. It was his opinion that while yes, people can make money on Fiverr, they do it at the risk of overwork and burnout. It’s the subject of this blog post today that I can argue both sides of this statement.
Freelance sites are the dirty little secret of voice over. Fiverr being the most visible, takes the most heat. Fiverr is blamed for lowering voiceover rates across the industry, letting newbies in to work who otherwise would have no business doing voiceover, and generally being a horrible idea and should be shunned. Truth is, I’m on there. I know a ton of other voice actors who are on there, and the majority of them are doing very well. There are some voice actors who are very big time that I’ve seen on Fiverr, so is it that bad? To me, it’s just another fishing pole in the water to find work along with direct marketing, social media marketing, agents, networking, and all that. When you start out, yeah the jobs are 5 bucks here and there. The more you work though, the more you can charge. Then the money comes and the workload eases some. The way I see it, working a ton of jobs to earn a bit does have an upside. You can take all the classes you want in voiceover, but the bottom line is this. Until you step in that booth and actually read scripts and do work, you’re not going to make it. Working 100 $5-10 jobs especially when starting out, gets you those reps you need to prepare yourself for the bigger jobs that will come. Freelance sites have given me a variety of jobs from commercials to IVR to character work to e learning. I’m better at all of those genres thanks to working my ass off. I’ve done nearly 100 jobs in the last 10 months on Fiverr. That’s in addition to the normal work I’ve booked. I’m pretty proud of that. I’m a better voice actor and performer and negotiator thanks to that.
So before you poo poo the freelance sites, talk to some of us who are successful on there. See what it’s all about.