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.

Tracking response rate helps quality freelancers stand out and gives freelancers a tool to understand their performance.
 
Let's take a look at the difference between response rate and response time:
  • 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 it works

The response rate indicator tracks a freelancer’s first response to a new request. While it is important to continue responding to clients until a conversation has concluded, those later messages are not a factor in the overall  response rate.

The response rate indicator factors only the last 90 days of freelancer activity, so freelancers always have the option of improving their performance over time and will not experience long-term consequences for poor responsiveness.

While the response rate is visible to freelancers only, the response time is visible to clients.

 

Improving response time and rate

Responsiveness influences the traffic freelancers receive, so freelancers who want to grow their businesses should prioritize keeping a good response time and rate.

Use the following tips and suggestions for responding quickly and effectively to some common issues:

  • 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.

Learn more with FAQs: Response rate and response time.

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