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Hello everyone,
Following up from my last post where I shared my consulting profile (created after going through the freelancing recordings), I wanted to give a quick update and ask for your guidance.
I’ve now made my first-cut profiles on Contra and Fiverr. To start off, I experimented with both platforms to understand how they feel in practice. My initial experience with Fiverr is that it works more like a large marketplace or shop, where you list your service, it sits on a shelf until a buyer happens to browse past and notice it. Contra, on the other hand, feels more engaging where you’re not just listing services, but can also post your work, share updates, and engage with others—so there’s some scope to build visibility.
While exploring other platforms, I quickly realized how overwhelming the options are – few others that I came across are upwork, freelancer, people per hour, brybe, truelancer, guru, servicescape, toptal. I would really appreciate insights specifically from people who have **actual lived experience using these platforms**. Do mention if you’ve tried any apart from the ones mentioned in my list.
– Which platforms worked for you when you were starting out?
– Which ones turned out to be a waste of time?
– Which platform would you suggest I try first, and why?
– Which platforms are beginner-friendly vs. better for experienced freelancers?
– Which are free vs. paid (and which paid ones were actually worth it)?
– Roughly how long did it take you to land your first gig?
– Are any platforms clearly becoming “AI-first” or better for AI-enabled content roles?
– Which platforms have smooth payment systems for freelancers in India?
Since I’ve already started with Fiverr and Contra, I’d love to know if sticking with these makes sense or if there’s another emerging platform you’d strongly recommend trying / focusing on first.
P.S.: I’ve currently listed a few services on Contra and uploaded some of my work there as well. I’m sharing my Contra profile here (since the platform allows only one link per post, I’ll share my Fiverr profile in a separate post). I’d genuinely love it if you could take a look at my Contra profile and share your honest feedback on how the services and positioning look. If you’re active on Contra and would like to connect & share best practices, please feel free to ping. Here’s my profile:
https://contra.com/ankita_kishore_3it4atzd/services
Thanks in advance for your attention & sharing your experiences — it’ll really help me prioritize where to invest my time and energy.
Looking forward to learning from you all!
contra.com
Ankita Kishore's Services | Contra
View Ankita Kishore's services on Contra. The Independent-first, commission-free freelance marketplace shaping the future of work.
