If you are not yet ready to take on employees nor have the money to hire a professional freelancer, you don’t have to DIY everything. If you haven’t looked into the popular micro jobs site, Fiverr, you may want to give it a chance. On Fiverr, all jobs start at $5, but don’t let the low price-tag fool you. If you know what to look for, you can actually score some professional work at a fraction of the cost it would take to hire a freelancer on the other popular platforms, such as Elance or Odesk. Expect to be (pleasantly) surprised how far five bucks can get you!

To give you a taste of the possibilities, below are 20 Fiverr gigs that I’ve used for my own micro businesses. Sprinkled throughout this post, I’ll offer a few of my personal favorite sellers- those people who consistently provide a tremendous amount of quality and value. But first…

How Can You Find a Good Seller on Fiverr?

The quality of work, however, is not spread out equally. You need to know how to zero in on a good seller. That said, before I get to my list of gigs, keep in mind these tips to finding a quality seller on Fiverr. They just updated the site over there, so I’ll tell you what to look for in the new layout:

• Spend some time looking at the seller’s portfolio, and watch the intro video if there is one. Pretty much all the experienced sellers who are serious about their Fiverr gigs will put up a video, or they will have an extensive portfolio that you can look at.

• Fiverr has a pretty good rating and ranking system. The important stats that you’ll need are in the upper right-hand corner of the seller’s gig page. Pay particular attention to the percentage and number of buyers who gave the seller a positive rating. This will also give you a rough idea of how many people have already collected on the gig (Fiverr used to show that number, but it’s no longer there). You’ll also see badges next to their profiles: “Level 1;” “Level 2;” and “Top Rated Seller.” Sellers earn these badges based on their activity and the customer response to their work. In general, I won’t buy a gig from someone who doesn’t have at least a Level 1 badge. It shows that the seller is making a commitment to their Fiverr presence.

• If you like the seller’s work, but you see that this person received some negative reviews, then you can find them in the comments at the bottom to see what they were for. To the right of the comments section, you’ll see a button that says, “Most Recent.” Clicking on the arrow gives you the option to see all the negative reviews at once.

• Pay attention to any instructions provided by the seller, and also try to be as clear as you can when giving over any requested information or files.

• Also, pay special attention to the “gig extras.” These are gig enhancements or additional services with a slightly higher price tag. There are a lot of good deals there, and savvy, experienced sellers will know how to bundle them well with a regular gig.

• Lastly, if you want further information from a seller before purchasing a gig, you can click on the “Contact me” link under their profile on the right-hand side to send them a direct message. Some sellers even require this before taking a gig on.

20 of the Best Fiverr Gigs for Micro Business Owners

Graphics Design Gigs

Graphics-related gigs are a very large category on Fiverr. Many of the sellers are trained and experienced professionals, who as I mentioned above, put out some quality work. Here are the main types of graphic design gigs that may be of interest to micro business owners:

Photo editing– Need a photo to be manipulated, re-touched, re-sized, or enhanced, but don’t have the time nor the skills to do it? Hire someone else who can. Numerous sellers offer some quality work in this area. For example, I’ve had good experiences with Salvatorejcs.

Social Network Covers– If you are doing any online marketing for your business, then you’ll need to have a presence across some social media channels. To give your online presence a professional look, you can hire a designer to create a custom background or cover. I’ve had good experiences with a couple of sellers: Hurz and Louden.

Business Cards– I know there are many free business card generators and templates online. But, unless you’ve got some design experience and talent, your “design” may just end up screaming “cheap!” That’s not the kind of message you want to be sending to perspective clients or peers. So, do yourself a favor and find a quality gig to design your business cards, and hey, given all the time you’ll spend trying to DIY it, 5 bucks is actually cheaper then the totally “free” option!!! My personal best designer for business cards is Fiversubz.

Logo Design– Here is another big gig. If you really cannot afford to hire a designer directly or even to go through a crowdsourcing site, like Designcrowd or 99Designs, then you should consider Fiverr. BUT, here is one area where you really have to get a good seller. Your logo is extremely important for branding and conveying the right messages to potential customers. It’s an asset! There are a few pretty good logo designers on Fiverr, but the best one I’ve found is Actualreviewnet. The only “problem” with him is that you’ll have to wait two weeks for a regular $5 gig (in my opinion it’s worth it!), and even his express gig runs a week.

eBook Covers– Even though, everyone seems to have their own ebook these days, they are still an effective means of building up your subscriber list, establishing credibility, and even serving as an additional source of income. There are several Fiverr sellers who can produce a professional-looking ebook covers. I’ve had good experiences with a few different sellers, but Hurz, mentioned above, comes out ahead.

Headers, Banners, Web Graphics– These images can be used to spruce up your website or serve as an banner advertisements or announcements. Here again, for this kind of work I’d recommend Hurz.

Brochures and Fliers– When it comes to printed promotional material, like the business cards above, what you produce has to have a bare minimum level of professionalism and clarity and has to be able to attract and hold people’s attention in a world where attention is a scarce commodity. DIY jobs can be a risk, not just more costly. Check out my two favorite sellers for this kind of gig: Balubfa12 and Saalaar

Video Related Services

Video has been a popular marketing and educational medium among micro businesses over the past few years- especially among self-employed professionals trying build up their brand and their following. Ever since YouTube was bought up by Google in 2006, video has also been increasingly used to improve website search engine ranking and authority. Below are my top picks of video-related Fiverr gigs:

Video Editing– There are a wide range of features and services that can be added to your video to make it easier to follow and more professional-looking, such as smooth transitions between frames, adding text effects, sound effects, and background music. Here are three of my favorite sellers to check out: jgelet, Digitaldirector, and Crslaytor.

Video Intro/Outro– If all you need is a good video intro or outro, there are numerous sellers offering very different types and styles. Here are two good gigs to look at for those offering “straight-laced” professional services: Usman_khalid and Promotionvideos. But, you’re really going to have to sift through sellers to find the right style to suit your business.

Video Transcription– Putting a transcript of your video on the same page where it’s embedded not only gives visitors the ability to scan the content of the video before watching it, but it also puts keyword-rich content on the page. You may also want a video transcript for those who don’t have fast Internet connections, or so you can use the text for other projects. Whatever the reason, there are several quality sellers offering this service. The best I’ve found are: Transexpert and Gabbycastania.

Video Shorts– This is a popular method for promoting your business via video in an entertaining way. There are many different options here. For starters, check out this animated story video by Ranfor5.

Business Services Gigs

As your micro business grows and develops, you will likely reach a point where you’ll bring other people on board to get to the next level of operation and profit. If you are bootstrapping your business, and you don’t have much time or money to spare, then check out these great business services gigs:

General Virtual Assistant– If you haven’t seen my guide to hiring a good virtual assistant, then check it out. It offers some success tips for getting the right people on board and making the setup a profitable one. If you don’t want to commit to one person, or you have a series of one-time tasks you need accomplished, you can find a seller on Fiverr to help you. For general VA services, the best I’ve found is: Ratedkg and Briyce20.

Data Entry/Typing– Do you have a monotonous data entry project that you can’t seem to get off your to-do list? There are many sellers on Fiverr who will do it for you. Typically, it will go by the hour (i.e. 2 to 3 hours of work for $5). Check out this great gig by Umernawaz.

Editing/Proof Reading– This gig can come in handy if you want another pair of eyes to look over your content and make or suggest changes. I’ve used Eboler with good results

Online Market and Content Research– Need some information about a particular subject, but don’t have the time to sift through search results? You can hire someone at Fiverr to help you. The best seller (by far) is Sharon012.

Translation– I’m not going to offer any suggestions for this category. There are many, many sellers who offer translation services across various languages. Here are some examples to browse through.

Press Releases– Need help writing your press releases? There are many people on Fiverr offering this service- even including submissions to press release sites. I personally stay away from the very popular sellers, because the quality level I’m looking for is pretty high. Two great gigs in this category are: Bgracious and Oranjegirl.

Online Marketing Gigs

Online marketing is a must if you are running a business and involving the Internet in anyway. But, finding the right “experts” to help you can be frustrating, not to mention a big drain on your budget. One good strategy is to combine some DIY work with hired help. By using Fiverr, you aren’t “risking” so much money… and if you use the sellers mentioned below, you’ll get an impressive return that will bring noticeable results.

Website Audits– Wouldn’t you like to have a professional SEO, online marketer, or web conversion expert look over your site and give you a review, telling you what’s already working and offer suggestions on how to improve the visitor experience and your search engine exposure? Go to Fiverr!!! Check out this gig by Therondp and this one by Saavedragp.

Landing Pages and Squeeze Pages– Need help creating a landing page or squeeze page that converts? Try this great gig by Jasmine4u.

Social Media Submissions– If you are pressed for time and want someone to help submit your blog posts or videos to various social media platforms to help index and rank your site, then check out this gig by Simplenfun.

Of course, there are many other gigs on Fiverr that you can use to grow your micro business. These are just the ones I’ve had experience with. Use this list to get the get the creative juices flowing… and get acquainted with some really amazing sellers!!!

Just a final note: If you’ve clicked through to some of the seller suggestions above, you’ll see that the level and quality of the work being offered is definitely worth more than $5. Many of these sellers have gig extras mentioned above; this is how they make their money. So, if you really could benefit from that extra, then get it! Many also have a “Tips” gig where you can offer to tip a seller for his or her service.