Friday, January 18, 2013

Sharing is Caring: An Interview with Oldbittygrandma

  

The following is an interview blog like the blogs I did in the past called behind the gig. Thank you oldbittygrandma for taking the time to answer questions and help in the creation of this blog. I am grateful for the services you provide for Fiverrtastic.

Josh: Today, I was able to grab a few moments with Fiverr's own OldBittyGrandma, aka Jo Uneus. Fiverr made Jo their first female Super Seller and their first actor Super Seller. She is always busy, working many hours. I will see her online at 4am in the morning and then throughout the day through to the evening past midnight. I don't know how she does it, but I am very glad to have had the opportunity to have had these few minutes, so that I can feature her expertise on my blog. 
Jo, not only do you offer great gigs, but you are also known for serving the Fiverr community quite well, and consistently, for a long time now. I have heard you time and time again, discuss the thrill you get from seeing others succeed in growing their Fiverr business. Thanks so much for your willingness to get together with me on this. Let's dive deeper into how you do what you do. First off, how do you promote your gigs on Fiverr? I have tried updating, collecting, and even promoting my gigs on forums and other sites. What advice do you have?

Jo: Oh my! Thank you for that introduction Josh!! It's true, I do get that thrill. I often hope to be that one person that took a small action that either snowballed for another Fiverr seller, or in some way, made all the difference to the success of their Fiverr business. I think that brings more joy to me than anything else I do.
On a side note, I have had people come to me telling me 'Jo, you could write an ebook with all the information and tips you share, and make money from that”. While that is probably true, I think I get more satisfaction with just offering my take on things. In the past, when I was a newbie, many others passed on some great advice to me at no charge, figured greatly into my own success, so it's just my way of paying their efforts forward.
For sure...updating one's gigs and efforts involving Fiverr's collections are always good. Collect gigs, and feature those collections on your social networks. Also, be sure to network with other Fiverr sellers, and follow their collections too. I don't know this for sure, but I suspect that bumping that “follow” number up, helps for your collection to capture the eye of Fiverr's content editors, so that your collection may very well be featured on a prominent Fiverr platform space.
Also, community plays a big part, on the Fiverr Forum, and off the Fiverr Forum. I extend my reach onto other social media platforms and on several forums, posting occasionally. Forums, in fact, that are not always related to my work or what I offer. I have some great friends at a GIMP chat forum and also at a Pool forum. I also don't just focus on promoting myself. Never have. It gets kind of boring, and annoying, to an audience, when all you do is talk about yourself. I also don't spam. Big no-no in my world. It's better to strike up a genuine conversation, or add something unique to a discussion. I also comment on articles that I read.
With the time I spend on the internet everyday, I am always coming across gigs, collections, sellers, Fiverr press, Fiverr blog posts, Fiverr facebook posts, that I share in many various social platforms. It's takes but just a few seconds, but makes all the difference in providing exposure to not just other sellers, not just Fiverr, but for me too, in an indirect way.

Josh: Ok, well let me get a little genuine here...lol... Do you have a lot of Fiverr connections through social networking sites and is it good to do so?

Jo: Oh yeah...but let me expand on your last question if I may. I know I am long-winded, but I think your audience will really value this additional input. Is that okay?

Josh: Sure, by all means.

Jo: Great thanks. I have a lot of links to share, so grease your mouse up Josh! Lol...
You know, I hang out at the Fiverr Forum quite a bit. I came across a thread by a Fiverr seller named “aweber”.
http://forum.fiverr.com/discussion/2557/trick-how-to-multiply-your-sales-without-being-a-featured-seller
She was discussing how to use a blog and the Fiverr widget (http://fiverr.com/getwidget) to increase sales. Makes sense.
I had bought my OBG domain over a year ago, and that “aweber” thread, along with another blog post from Fiverr seller “twistedweb123” “YourFiverr” blog,
http://www.yourfiverr.com/create-a-sales-page-for-your-gig-part-one/#.UPm9IORfDjs
which I featured here on the Forum:
http://forum.fiverr.com/discussion/3233/create-a-sales-page-for-your-gig-part-one#Item_45
really inspired me to get moving on working on that domain, and the other domains I have too...and then when I read Fiverr's CEO & Co-Founder Micha Kaufman's most recent Forbes article,
http://www.forbes.com/sites/michakaufman/2013/01/12/5-steps-to-make-more-money-online/
I was like "YES!!" *fists in the air* type of "yes"
No longer were there doubts as to whether I was moving in the right direction. I had confirmation from Micha, from that article, that I was, and I was so thrilled to know that...so much so, I have even pressed on further in working on my domain, and sales pages for every gig. It's taking time, but it will most definitely pay off in the future! Very exciting stuff for sure!
By the way, on:
http://forum.fiverr.com/discussion/3233/create-a-sales-page-for-your-gig-part-one#Item_45
“twistedbeb123” was kind enough to create video showing how one adds a live feed of their gig feedback onto their blog...really cool stuff happening there!
Now as far as your last question Josh, I know you know this, but it never hurts to revisit and remember that positive people attract other positive people. Life is too short NOT to have a good time and love what you do, so yes, I do have a lot of Fiverr connections, and although some of them are people I have booked gigs with, many, many, are not.
I like to extend a hand to new sellers, and I find that in doing so, people remember that, because that kind of contact is genuine. I would strongly encourage others getting involved in the community and a really great place is to start at the Fiverr Forum. You can find out more about the Forum here: http://blog.fiverr.com/2012/11/29/fiverr-forum/

Josh: Yeah I like the forum too...it brings the community together all in one place. I like that Fiverr met the need for one. Ok, so let me ask, which social networking sites are the best to use to promote Fiverr and which ones will not help me?

Jo: If it's on the internet, it will help you. Never count any place on the internet out. People who garden, people who play chess, and even people who arm wrestle, may in fact run their own businesses, need business services or even take delight in emailing their loved one a personalized Happy Birthday video....and again, focus on promoting others too!
There is no end to how useful for everyone that Fiverr and gigs offered on Fiverr can be. I have also heard from a couple of good friends, Fiverr sellers “abcdawg” and “tn5rr2012”, that setting up Google alerts has helped them grow their Fiverr business. Just get creative because the possibilities are truly endless, really they are!

Josh: Jo, I got to hand it to you. Not only is your enthusiasm refreshing but you have inspired me too. I'm still wondering how you keep those hours!

Jo: It's all in the naps Josh...all in the naps! ...lol

Josh: Thanks Jo. You're a gem!!

I will be finishing the newsletter soon and I was more than amazed by the answers I got from Jo. Hopefully the next person I interview will be just as responsive. Maybe the next one may be the amazing ProfessorPuppet or the certifiably insane Youtubefun or the sultry Voiceworkpro. Maybe it might even be YOU. Until next time everyone have a Fiverrtastic day :) 



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