Why You Can't "Fiverr" Your Way to Success

Times are tough for brands of every size right now, and if you’re a cash-strapped brand owner in need of some graphical assistance it can be tempting to turn to outsourcing sites like Fiverr and 99 Designs for your next project, but be careful! Discount creative solutions come with their own hidden costs and can derail an otherwise strong marketing agenda. Here’s 5 reasons you can’t Fiverr your way to success.

You get what you pay for.

There’s a reason a pair of Oakleys cost more—a lot more—than the cheap sunglasses at the convenience store, and it isn’t just that you’re “paying for the brand” (which, by the way, is something you’re going to want consumers to do for YOUR brand someday). Those expensive sunglasses take longer to make because they’re made with precision, using quality materials and top tier engineering. They’re built to exacting standards and created to solve a specific challenge. The bargain glasses are built to solve a quick need for some semi-stylish shades en route to a quick beach day, made to be used then lost or broken and not mourned.

Which would you rather have behind your brand design? Perhaps the better question is, what type of challenge are you trying to solve with your brand? Do you have a precision-made product engineered to resonate with a specific consumer target? Or is your product of very low value, built to be hum-drum and forgettable? If it’s the former, the best advice is to apply that same type of thinking to your choice of design partner. Working with a team who can craft a brand design with precision, specifically engineering it to resonate with your consumer target and scream your brand message will result in greater sales and more brand loyalty, which is a short term AND long term gain.

Experience (and data) wins.

You took your time. You had an idea, a passion, and you nurtured it into existence, painstakingly walking through all the necessary stage gates en route to your (hopefully) successful brand launch. You didn’t jump blindfolded off a cliff, you went into your dream project with your eyes wide open to give yourself the best chance of success. You did your research, put in the time, and invested lots of your own money in addition to the sweat equity that is always a part of a successful brand.

In other words, you know what it takes to succeed, and it doesn’t happen without experience. And while the opportunities that can be created for a new designer on outsourcing sites like Fiverr seem like a great way to start out (more on that later), that isn’t the way you want your brand handled. Yes, with inexperience comes youthful energy. Yes, everyone deserves a chance. But instead of blindly entrusting your brand to an inexperienced designer, how about creating an opportunity on your team for an intern and then partnering them with an experienced agency who will use a proven creative process (and consumer research) to craft your brand the right way? That way, you’re creating opportunities for someone who’s investing in their own success while at the same time, putting your brand in the hands of a team equipped to make it successful. That sounds like a win-win.

It takes a team.

After 25 years in the brand-building business, there’s one thing my partner and I know for sure: nobody makes it alone. Sure, there are examples of rock star individuals like Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos and Sara Blakely that stick out as the heads and brains of their companies. But without the company, most of them don’t make it. A single person with a great idea is an inventor. When the inventor forms a team, they become a company, and companies launch and maintain great brands.

It's very much the same in the creative business. Working through an outsourcing site like Fiverr means even if you hire more than one, they’re working independently and competing to be your rockstar. And although every agency team tends to have its rockstar, the rock star alone isn’t enough and they don’t work alone. Ideas can be born in isolation, but they seldom thrive there. Taking a team approach means collaborating with different disciplines, different perspectives, and different expertise on one challenge, and that not only produces the best ideas, it develops and matures them much faster than any single individual could. The team environment creates a safety net for the brand owner, providing higher quality—and quality controls—versus working with an isolated freelancer.

Getting it right the first time is always cheaper.

We get it! Whether you’re a blockbuster brand, or a blockbuster brand waiting to happen, you’re probably budget constrained and cash strapped. It can be tempting to look for the “cheap sunglasses” of the design world, thinking that if you just give them specific instruction for what you want, you can cut some corners, work faster, and get a killer brand design to market without breaking the bank. But are you right?

First, this method relies on YOU being the smartest person in the room. And while being smart is certainly an asset, surrounding yourself with experts is even smarter. Nobody knows your brand better than you, but when that brand hits the shelves, it won’t be about what YOU think, it will be about what THEY think, and a design team that understands consumer research and brand positioning will get you in the right place with minimal costly re-work. And although it seems like it might still be cheaper to use a discount option even if they need several extra rounds to get it done the way you want, the most costly thing a brand can do is sit on shelf, unnoticed, because the design didn’t connect with consumers.

Your brand is worth more.

If the above reasons aren’t enough, here’s the best reason to use a strategic agency for your brand design: Your brand is worth it. Whether you’re established or just starting out, you aren’t creating a cheap commodity, you’re creating something with real value. Your brand, if successful, will have a tangible value far above your first year sales targets. You don’t take shortcuts in your manufacturing or quality controls, so don’t take one in the most strategic part of the branding process. Invest in a strategic design partner that understands your brand, your consumer, and your business objectives. Invest in a design partner that will utilize cutting edge consumer research to vet ideas and bring the voice of the consumer into the design process. Your brand is worth more than $5. So is your design.

Side note to the freelance designers reading this article: YOUR brand is also worth more, and just like our CPG clients, we think you’re going to have difficulty trying to Fiverr your way to success. Agencies (yes, like Designology) provide learning opportunities for freelancers who are just starting out that go beyond just a paycheck—we invest in your success, providing mentoring opportunities working alongside talented professionals who will help guide and shape both your skills and your career. And if you’re already an experienced freelancer, working with an agency will always create a better opportunity to shine and get paid what you’re worth. Don’t sell yourself short (or cheap). Your brand is worth more than that.