After years of contemplating, I dared to enter the prestigious, but challenging world of the “struggling authors’ society”. I always wanted to write children’s books; I finally figured out what I wanted to write about. Now, that my manuscript was finally complete, what would be my next steps? What was my vision? I quickly decided that I wasn’t just creating a book, I wanted to create a company–a brand.

After scouring the internet and collaborating with others, I stumbled onto Fiverr, a freelance website that proved to be a valuable resource. Not all experiences were pleasant, but I thought to myself, “with such low fees, what do really have to lose?” I wanted a logo that represented STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). I ended up employing 3 freelancers. Well, it is often said that 3’s a charm. I struck gold with the third choice. I paid the first designer $40 and the second $50. Yes, you must pay upfront fees for each freelancer. For this reason, it is important that you read reviews and view sample work before choosing a professional for your project.

The third designer that created the logo that I ultimately decided on, charged a whopping $25. The advantage of using a freelance service to create your logo is that it is created uniquely for you. Hence, obtaining a trademark for my logo was not a problem. Since then, I’ve used Fiverr for my stationery and business card designs and press release creation and distribution. To gain an audience for my website, blog, and social media, their SEO, social media marketing and web traffic services were quite effective. I saw my social media presence increase from 116 followers to over 600 in a week. My website traffic grew by 500%.

I am not a marketing expert, as I am still learning. But the journey has been a great one. Fiverr wasn’t the only service I used; however, it complimented the services offered by my POD and Weebly web services. Fiverr offers a plethora of services including editing, illustration design, animation and other gigs not mentioned in this article. It’s worth checking out.