Everything you need to know about response time and rate

Do you have a Fiverr inbox full of messages that you haven’t responded to yet? It’s important to stay on top of your messages because responsiveness is a key factor in your success on Fiverr.

Understanding response time and response rate

Responsiveness refers to the tracking of a Fiverr freelancer’s response rate as well their response time.

Managing your inbox effectively is crucial, especially with the constant message overload. It's easy to feel overwhelmed by deadlines, personal commitments, and a cluttered inbox. However, with the right approach, you can master your inbox and boost your productivity.

• The percentage of first responses to new messages that a freelancer sends within 24 hours.
• The average amount of time in hours that it takes for a freelancer to respond to a new message in their inbox.

How does it work?

• Spam and solicitations do not require responses. You can report them to our team.
  
  Note: Spam must be reported within 24 hours. You have the option to "unmark as spam" if you would like to respond. If you do so, you must respond within 24 hours or it will affect your response rate.
• Sometimes you can’t take on a project right now, and that’s ok! It’s important to let the client know that so they can find somebody else, and not just leave them wondering.
  
  Using Fiverr’s 'Quick response' feature, you can have a quick template message ready to go and send it to anybody asking for work you can’t take on.
  
  Quick response is a tool that enables Fiverr freelancers to efficiently respond to the kinds of messages that they receive over and over again by manually sending a pre-written template reply.
  
   
  Here’s a suggested template: 
  Thanks so much for the request! I can’t take this request on right now, but please keep me in mind in the future. Best, {your name}.
• Just because a client asks for something doesn't mean you have to provide it. The most important thing is just to respond to them politely and let them know you won't be able to fulfill that request.
  
  

  Here's a suggested template for responding to a request for free samples:
  Dear potential client,
  Thanks for reaching out. While I'm delighted that you are interested in learning more about my service, please note that I don't provide samples. If you'd like to view examples of my work, please check out my Gig portfolio or even purchase my basic Gig.
  
• In addition to boosting your response rate, responding to a request that you can’t fulfill can actually help you grow your business. How? Well, you never know what that client might need in the future. Responding to them quickly and politely to thank them for their request but declining the work builds a rapport and shows that you care about your customers. This person might turn to you in the future when they have a project you can do.
• Download the Fiverr app. The Android and iOS apps will provide an immediate notification whenever a client response is sent to your inbox. Using the app is practical for freelancers who are students or have full-time jobs that don’t involve sitting in front of the computer all day.
  The key in all of these problems is that responding quickly (and politely!) is better than no response at all. Not only does it raise your responsiveness rate, an indicator that many clients refer to before they choose a freelancer, but it builds your network and your business.

FAQs

• The response rate indicator is a valuable tool that:

  • Promotes quicker responses to clients
    By helping clients receive freelancer responses as quickly as possible, we hope to create a positive experience on Fiverr so that clients will return to Fiverr for more orders.
  • Helps you understand how responsiveness can grow your Fiverr business
    This also allows you to track your improvement over time.
  • Response rate is the percentage of first responses to new messages that a freelancer sends within 24 hours.
  • Response time is the average amount of time in hours that it takes for a freelancer to respond to a new message in their inbox.

• The response rate tracks the percentage of first responses sent within 24 hours over the last 90 days.

  Example: If you received 10 new requests in your Inbox within the last 90 days, and replied to 9 of them within 24 hours of receiving each one, your response rate is 90%.

  Note: If you reply to the last message more than 24 hours after receiving it, your response rate will still be 90%. However, we recommend that freelancers respond even after 24 hours.

• The response rate indicator tracks your first response to a new inbox message from a new client.

  After that first reply, the rest of the conversation isn't tracked, however, it is essential to continue conversations with clients until a conclusion is reached.

• Remember, you can always improve your response rate over time by replying to new messages within 24 hours.
  
  Tips if you are having trouble keeping on top of your Inbox:

  • Download the app for iOS or Android
    This gives you a chance to see alerts when you receive new messages and efficiently respond anywhere.
  • Set up Quick Responses
    This feature can help you reply to your clients much faster.
    
  • Change or extend the delivery time on your Gigs
    This can be very beneficial if you're feeling overwhelmed with managing your inbox requests.
• It changes daily, to reflect the last 90 days.

• No, in this case, automatic responses aren't considered as a response to the client's message.

  Your auto reply message only informs the client that you're looking into their message, but it won't mark the message as "answered" if you don't manually respond within 24 hours.

  Note: Your response time will be affected by the time you take to manually respond to the client. Learn more with Set up your Auto Reply.

• Working with clients in other time zones can affect your response time, but not your response rate. The response rate allows a full 24 hours for freelancers to respond to the message. Despite being in different time zones, you'll still have an opportunity to respond to the message within 24 hours and not see your rate drop.

• There are a few types of messages that aren't factored into your response rate:

  • Spam and solicitations
    You don't have to reply to spam and solicitations in your Inbox—as long as you report the message as spam, it won't count against you.
    • • To report a message as spam:
        Click "Report" (next to the new message and all messages in general).
      • To report spam on the mobile app:
        Use the 'Send feedback' option, which will then contact the Fiverr team.
  • Spam must be reported within 24 hours
    If you would like to respond, you have the option to and can click "Unmark as Spam."
    • • If you unmark as spam and want to reply:
        You must respond within 24 hours of the message being received, or it will affect your response rate.

Learn more with Tips: Improve your responsiveness.