JC behind the keyboard.
I’m a fairly skeptical individual, but I’m also an experimental buff at heart. I love new trends, so when I decided to give fiverr a try, I didn’t really put much into it.
In fact, nothing at all. It was for my other business that I dabble with in my free time, sans the name, but as I am simultaneously in between jobs while building a Cake N Iron, a video game studio, I thought:
“I know how to write, I have audio equipment and I am theatrically trained…how can I use these skills to rustle up some cash?”
And there it was…fiverr; cold and dripping wet from the rain, waiting for me to let it in and give it a chance.
I’m glad I did.
I’m not about quick money, but I am about artists being paid for their time and their emotional investment to projects. Performers get very little love; those who are talented have to fight to get good gigs, or at least have a chance to practice with other players to heighten their skills. Competition is brutal, or so I thought.
Since I do audiobook narration in between stage gigs, produce podcasts for local underground nerd culture, pop up in boardgames and have an actual resume, I took my skills to fiverr.
The Upside:
In the last 3 days, this magical platform bestowed cash from the internet tubes. It may not initially be a lot, but it’s been for writing projects, a demo for a spoken word jazz CD being produced in Australia and I’m currently negotiating a larger video project being produced in the UK.
Note: None of these were 5$ gigs. These were custom orders from clients who have a tight budget, but enough of a budget to pay a performer.
I’m getting paid to sharpen my craft while I work on what matters, look for fulfilling work outside my door and meet new people doing different things. I wake up and I have propositions. No more waiting by the phone, going to fruitless auditions and sitting on dirty carpets. My demo reel short, sweet, to the point and my store is always open as long as fiverr is up.
Also, I didn’t invest more than 30 minutes per gig unless it pays more, so I made more cash in under an hour than I did for 3 months of multiple stage projects.
I also get credit for the project my client publishes as well. Not a bad trade.
The Downside:
To attract certain clients, you have to have a certain level of professionalism and business acumen; just like any other contractor. The clients I’ve obtained so far are looking for clean audio I have a pretty hefty set up in my house: multiple condenser mics, portable screens, a very powerful PC for audio and video editing and multiple websites.
So to get in and have a high bar of quality is an investment in itself, but you’re a business, right? As Saul Williams says: ‘Scared money don’t make none.’
Also, Fiver takes 20% of your earnings and whomever you use to get cash in to your own bank account takes 2 – 5% (Paypal, Direct Deposit, etc.), but I find that fair; you’re using their platform and their marketing algorithms, so they should get their slice.
The Take Away:
I became theatrically trained to not only perform in film, on stage and television, but to do VO for video games like Tim Curry, Dennis Hopper, Mark Hamill, Micheal Dorn, Cree Summer , Christopher Walken and even David Bowie.
Video games have always been my first love and there isn’t enough great vocal talent out there for them as it was ‘back in the day’. True, Wadjet Eye have some great people, but it’s not enough! I don’t know where this is going to take me, but hats off to fiverr for giving me that chance to build my own studio and vocal work portfolio by offering to take my passions to the world.
Not bad in a few hours work.
Need some VO love for your next project? Hire me and let’s make magic.
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