XPlace

Posted by Mica Harvey / Freelance Virtual Assistants

XPlace is a large freelance marketplace. The company is based in Los Angeles, US, and they have development offices in the Ukraine and Israel. Their freelancers are based all over the world.

Their focus is to provide a marketplace for freelancers to connect with businesses, making it easy for business owners to find freelancers with the exact skillset they need, for a cost-effective price.

About XPlace

xplace-reviewThe company is headed up by co-founder Allon Mason and they have been in business since 2004. This makes them one of the longest running freelance marketplaces, with 12 years experience. 

XPlace has a huge database of freelancers and literally hundreds of categories for you to choose from, enabling you to niche down to a specific skill to help you with your business. Their platform is very easy to use, their categories are grouped clearly, and it doesn’t take long select the skills you want and see the profiles of the freelancers meeting your requirements.

For example, when I searched “WordPress”, I found around 2700 available freelancers. I found around 1100 entries for “Administrative Assistant”, though very few of those appear to have made any sales on the platform.

Services

XPlace has a long list of skills their database of freelancers cover, over 500 in fact! Far too many to list here, it’s safe to assume that you’re going to find a freelancer with the skillset you need to help you with the tasks are you looking to outsource.

It’s important to remember that XPlace offers a platform for freelancers and business owners to connect. You’re not hiring a dedicated virtual assistant they have vetted and trained. To find the best freelancer always read their profiles thoroughly, look at the feedback and ratings left by previous clients they have worked with, and compare against some other freelancers before making a decision.

Plans and Pricing

They operate on a “SAAS model,” or recurring monthly membership fee, rather than taking a cut of each project. Since they’re charging the freelancers and not taking project fees, the overall prices should theoretically be lower than other marketplaces and weed out some of the less serious job candidates. (After all, they had to pay to play.)

XPlace has 3 pricing plans for freelancers:

  • 1 Month Subscription – $26
  • 3 Month Subscription – $70
  • 12 Month Subscription – $217

For employers, it’s free to post jobs.

Xplace Alternatives

Alternatives to XPlace are other large platforms like Upwork.com, Fiverr.com, and Freelancer.com, all of which allow you to connect with thousands of freelancers from all over the world.

When asked what sets them apart from their competitors, XPlace said, “What sets XPlace apart is no commissions on projects. If a freelancer is awarded a $10k project, he gets the full $10k (vs. up to 20% on Upwork or Fiverr). Also, XPlace’s model is SAAS-based and therefore doesn’t charge commission to its users. Other differentiators include the project management and deal flow tools that XPlace makes available to its freelancers and buyers of freelance services.”

Your Turn

Have you worked with XPlace? If so, please take a moment to leave a quick review to help others with their decision.

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Outsourcely

Posted by Mica Harvey / Dedicated Virtual Assistants, Philippines Virtual Assistants, Virtual Employees

Outsourcely is a virtual assistant company based in Foresthill, CA. They make it easy to connect with virtual assistants through their platform and have a large number of remote workers based all over the world.

The company began with a strong presence in the Philippines but now have more than 250,000 remote workers in their database to choose from when hiring a virtual assistant.

About Outsourcely

outsourcely review

The company was started in 2014. The founder and current CEO Oleg Posternetsky was frustrated by the way other virtual assistant platforms worked and wanted to make a platform that offered reliable virtual assistants that could be hired directly.

He started Outsourcely and has created the platform he wanted. Outsourcely now has more than 250,000 fully-vetted remote workers from more than 130 countries in their database. Their primary focus is their “Search and Hire” platform, which allows business owners to search their database of virtual assistants and make contact with a VA best suited to their requirements.

They also have a “Team Workplace”, which is a resource that helps their clients manage their remote teams. An interesting angle that separates Outsourcely from other virtual assistant companies is that their platform is 100% free for the remote workers. As a client, you sign up with Outsourcely for a monthly fee, when you find an assistant you want to work with you negotiate their pay directly with them.

Target customers for Outsourcely are anyone with an online presence looking to free up some time and start outsourcing tasks. With such a large database of virtual assistants it’s very likely you will find someone who matches up with your requirements.

Services

Unlike other virtual assistant companies that have a certain number of assistants covering a set of skills, Outsourcely is a platform that helps you find and connect with the virtual assistant you want. This way you have a much larger pool of candidates to choose from, so finding the ideal assistant isn’t limited to the team on the payroll as you find with most companies.

With a monthly fee per the number of virtual assistants you make contact with this means finding a long-term assistant is going to be more cost-effective.

Outsourcely says that 80% of the remote workers hired from their platform are hired on a long-term basis. Each assistant does have their own hourly rate in their profile, and it’s down to you to negotiate and pay them directly once they are working with you.

Plans and Pricing

Outsourcely have three different packages. These are priced at $9/mo for the Individual package, $59/mo for the Small Business package, or $99/mo for the Professional package.

 

outsourcely-pricing

Their Individual package allows you to make five private chat and email connections with virtual assistants each month, along with posting three jobs and managing ten active users on their Team Workplace platform.

Their Small Business package grants you 300 chat connections, 100 email connections, and 10 job postings along with upgraded Team Workplace privileges. While their Professional package includes unlimited chat connections and job postings, and 300 email connections.

You can also save 50% by pre-paying for an annual plan.

Outsourcely Alternatives

The primary alternative to Outsourcely is Onlinejobs.ph. They operate on a similar monthly membership model and really just want to play matchmaker, not concerning themselves with making a markup margin on a worker’s salary month after month.

I found the Outsourcely interface a little cleaner to work with than OnlineJobs, and the pricing is slightly lower ($49/mo for job-posting/contact privileges over there). On top of that, you can source workers from anywhere in the world, and not just the Philippines. 

Your Turn

Have you worked with Outsourcely? If so please leave a review with any feedback or comments below to help others with their decision.

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PeoplePerHour

Posted by Mica Harvey / Freelance Virtual Assistants, Project-Based Virtual Assistants

PeoplePerHour.com is a website that helps connect individuals who need work done with those willing to do it. There are quite a range of jobs available, from accounting support to legal services to web design to copywriting to data entry (basically anything that can be done remotely).

If you need something done well and in the least amount of time, you can get it done through PeoplePerHour.

About PeoplePerHour

people per hour reviewThe London-based company was founded in 2007, and has attracted more than 300,000 users. PeoplePerHour employs a Fiverr-like set-up in that freelancers post their gigs in an “I can do ____ in __ hours for $__” format. The difference of course is that the price isn’t automatically set at $5.

In fact, you’ll find much more skilled workers and higher hourly rates.

Services

In one example I checked out, someone was offering legal contract research at a rate or $100 an hour. Most of the virtual assistant listings I found were between $10 and $20 an hour.

And if none of the posted gigs fit the bill, you also have the freedom to post exactly the type of work you need completed. Freelancers, called “Hourlies” on PeoplePerHour, can then send custom bids based on your requirements. The workers are all around the globe, and the company can even try and match you with someone locally if your task necessitates a physical presence.

The company includes a ratings platform so you can see past feedback for each freelancer and make the best choice.

As an added bonus, there’s a professional, binding proposal to insure that all parties are protected and for quality assurance. PeoplePerHour utilizes a proprietary communication system called WorkStream to help users manage their projects. As far as I can tell, it’s like a centralized email notification system for all things PPH-related.

How PeoplePerHour Works

Plans and Pricing

There are no registration fees for either freelancers or employers, and posting a job is free as well. Like most other freelance sites, the company makes money by taking a percentage of every sale.

One thing I thought was weird is how they have comments enabled on some of their FAQ pages, and many freelancers came on to complain about the revenue sharing percentages. I’m all about the transparency but certain things don’t need to be open to public debate for prospective clients to see.

Your Turn

Have you tried PeoplePerHour? If so, please share your experience below.

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Scripted

Posted by Mica Harvey / Content Writing Services

As business advances into the digital age, it’s becoming more and more important to create online content, whether it’s for promotion or as part of a product or service. In fact, if you’re reading this, it’s probably because my content marketing worked to bring you here … muahaha <– insert evil laugh!

Scripted is a custom content creation service that allows businesses to release blog posts, social media posts, website pages, press releases, and more — even if they don’t have time to write the content themselves.

About Scripted

Sscripted reviewcripted was started in 2008 as Scripped.com, which provided a space for screenwriters to work on screenplays together and attract the attention of producers. By 2011, it had grown to 80,000 writers, and the business changed to its current name and service of Scripted.com, offering non-entertainment content to businesses across the nation. In 2013, Scripted received $4.5 million from Redpoint Ventures, and expanded its team to 13 people in addition to their massive network of writers.

Scripted’s mission is “to better the quality of written content on the Internet by helping businesses create it at scale.” Its executive team consists of Sunil Rajaraman (who I met briefly at Affiliate Summit a few years ago), Ryan Buckley, and Jake Kring.

The company is based in San Francisco, CA, but its writers come from across the nation who all work in their own areas of specialization.

Services

Scripted offers customized content on demand; the process begins when a business or individual orders content through Scripted’s order form, and sets guidelines for the length and details of the project. Scripted writers then claim the work and complete the assignment; afterwards, the whoever ordered the content originally can review and revise it as needed before publishing.

The services offered by Scripted include:

  • blog posts (both standard and long)
  • white papers or reports
  • social media content (such as tweets and Facebook posts)
  • website pages and product descriptions
  • press releases
  • video scripts

Businesses that require a high volume of content can work out an arrangement with a content manager, who builds customer support and ensures timely publishing.

The service is aimed at businesses rather than individuals (as you’ll see by their higher price points). If you’re looking for cheap content by some overseas writer to hopefully get picked up by the search engines, Scripted is not going to be the right choice for you.

Scripted Intro Video

Plans and Pricing

A “standard” blog post starts at $58, with “specialist” or longer form posts commanding a rate of $85 or more. Here’s a glimpse at the rates for the various types of content Scripted creates:

scripted content pricing

The interesting thing is you can’t just go on Scripted.com and order an article. You need to become a member first (your first month is free, and you can use code “vaa” for 50% off your next month).

The Scripted membership gives you access to their pre-screened database of writers, of whom they only accept the top 1-2% of applicants. They have 3 different membership tiers, cutely named after famous authors.

The Dickinson plan is only $49, but you have to pay a 25% “transaction fee” on top of all writing you order.

scripted membership pricing

The Hemingway and Austen plans, $149 and $299 per month respectively, eliminate that transaction fee, let multiple members of your team login and order articles, and give you access to a blog analytics dashboard.

At first glance I thought the analytics dashboard was a little goofy to include as a feature, since it requires you to sync your Google Analytics account. But it actually has some interesting data overlays where you can more easily see which of your content initiatives are performing well and get some traffic metrics on new posts vs. “evergreen” content.

Scripted is ideal for businesses that require or desire online content, but do not have the time, resources, or expertise to maintain a regular publishing schedule or develop quality content. Scripted writers are all pre-screened by the company to ensure a high quality end product, and can specialize in any areas required by the business ordering the content, from art and design to law to tech hardware.

At these rates, Scripted is positioned as a premium entry in the market, especially compared with the “$5 article” type of outsourced writing services.

Scripted Alternatives

The most compelling alternative to Scripted I’ve come across so far is Copywriter Today. They run a similar membership model, but instead of ZERO actual content being included in your membership fee, Copywriter Today offers “unlimited” content writing. (It’s actually limited by 1 article request at a time and the turnaround time.)

They use a team of all US-based writers, though may not have as strict a vetting process as Scripted. But it struck me as a little weird that I could pay Scripted up to $300 a month and not get any writing done; everything you order is on top of that membership fee. They likened it to a gym membership–your membership gets you in the door, and then it’s on you to actually lift the weights and see results.

For similar high-end content creation, you might consider BELAY, which offers this under their umbrella of services. On the cheaper side, you have “content mills” like HireWriters and Textbroker, where your price per article will be much lower and the quality often reflects it.

Your Turn

Have you worked with Scripted? If so, please be sure to leave a brief review of your experience below to help others with their decision.

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Virtual Assistant Israel

Posted by Mica Harvey / Dedicated Virtual Assistants, Virtual Assistant Companies, Virtual Employees

Virtual Assistant Israel provides virtual assistant services to small business owners and start-up entrepreneurs based in the US. The company was established in 2008 and employs American VAs based out of their home offices in Israel.

At the helm are Director Alyssa Magid, Community Manager Aviva Blumstein and Administrative Manager Naomi Schneider.

About VA Israel

virtual assistant israel reviewAlyssa explained their people are what set them apart from the competition. All Virtual Assistant Israel VAs are native English speakers (most hail from the US) with college degrees and a minimum of 3-5 years of work experience, but due to not necessarily speaking Hebrew and other employment restrictions, have a hard time working for local Israeli employers. So they work online for people like you instead!

When I spoke with Alyssa, she added that they have a pretty demanding screening and testing process. What that means in terms of raw numbers is reviewing over 7,000 resumes to find the fewer than 50 top VAs that make up the Virtual Assistant Israel team today.

Virtual Assistant Israel Intro Video

Services

Virtual Assistant Israel VAs specialize in remote administrative, marketing, social media, and writing / content-creation tasks.

They have a wealth of experience in these areas and can help run your office and set-up strategic marketing plans for your business. In terms of social media, they are responsible stewards of your online brand, and can execute a social presence on the most important channels.

Each VA works on US east coast time and is available through a US-based phone number up until 5pm EST.

For full disclosure, the company also lists several services they are NOT a good fit for, including playing virtual receptionist, accounting/bookkeeping, website development, sales, and graphic design.

Plans and Pricing

With Virtual Assistant Israel, there is a one-time $199 set-up fee that gives you access to interview as many candidates from their pool of available VAs as you like. Alyssa explained the fee primarily serves to weed out tire-kickers who maybe aren’t as serious about adding a team member. She also offered $100 off for VAA visitors:

VAA Exclusive: Mention VirtualAssistantAssistant.com during sign-up or on your intro call and get $100 off your Virtual Assistant Israel set-up fee.

Normally how it works is prospective clients have an intro call with the management team to assess their needs and delegation opportunity in their business, and are provided with 3 VAs to interview. After the interviews, you pick your favorite and begin the relationship with your new dedicated assistant.

If you don’t find an assistant you love within 14 days, your set-up fee is 100% refundable.

The company has a couple different price tiers that are dependent upon the skills and level of experience you require from your VA. The first tier is $26-30/hour and the higher level tier is $34-39/hour. There’s a 10-hour per month minimum engagement, but other than that no contracts or long-term commitments.

Once you engage, your virtual assistant uses Freshbooks to track their working time to the second and invoices you only for the time they spend. In that manner, you don’t have to worry about unused hours in a month or counting tasks.

Virtual Assistant Israel Alternatives

With VAI, you have the advantage of an experienced, professional dedicated assistant. Along those lines, there are a few other companies that might be worthy of your consideration, including Time Etc and other US-based VA companies.

Have you worked with Virtual Assistant Israel? If so, please share a quick review of your experience below to help others with their decision.

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Task Network

Posted by Mica Harvey / Canadian Virtual Assistants, Dedicated Virtual Assistants, Philippines Virtual Assistants, Virtual Assistant Companies

Task Network is a Canadian based virtual assistant company with their head office in Toronto, Canada, and their fulfillment office in Metro Manila, Philippines. The company was founded in 2014 by founder and president Eric Opinion.

About Task Network

task network reviewThe company’s head office is in Toronto, Canada. The company’s directive is to provide businesses with highly-skilled, cost-effective, offshore assistants to apply their expertise to administrative support, customer support, technical support, and more.

They employ their virtual assistants in the Philippines, allowing them to offer competitive rates. This allows business owners to focus on other areas of their business while handing over tasks to skilled assistants at TaskNetwork.ca to carry out.

When you sign up with Task Network you will receive a consultation to best understand your requirements. You will then be assigned a virtual assistant with the necessary skills to carry out the work. The company puts their candidates through a screening and interview process to ensure their skills match up with your requirements, and you have a point of contact within their management team should you have any problems.

TaskNetwork Intro Video

Services

Task Network’s virtual assistants can handle a wide variety of tasks. In summary this includes:

  • administrative work
  • technical support
  • IT support
  • customer service
  • ordering support
  • data entry
  • general ad-hoc tasks

You’re best off contacting them and giving as much detail as possible about what tasks you want to hand over and how long you expect the tasks to take. This will give you a good idea about how well equipped they are to handle your tasks, and how quickly they can turn the work around.

Plans and Pricing

The company currently has one package. This is for a full-time virtual assistant working 8 hours a day, 176 hours a month. For a quotation on price you need to contact Task Network directly as prices vary depending on the required skillset of the assistant.

Task Networks Alternatives

While there are no shortage of virtual assistant companies in the Philippines, there aren’t a lot of well-known virtual assistant companies based in Canada. If you prefer to work with local companies and you’re in Canada then check out Task Network.

If you’re comfortable doing a little more of the legwork in hiring, you might consider OnlineJobs.ph, the largest virtual job board in the country, and if you don’t quite have enough work to keep a full-time VA busy, take a look at TaskBullet, which offers smaller buckets of hours that can be used over a 3 month period.

Your Turn

Have you worked with TaskNetwork.ca? If so please leave a review of your experience below to help others with their decision.

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AVirtual

Posted by Mica Harvey / UK/Europe Virtual Assistants, Virtual Assistant Companies

AVirtual is a virtual assistant company based in Cape Town, South Africa. The company has been in business since 2014 and targets customers in the UK.

The company was founded by a UK based entrepreneur with years of experience in customer service based businesses. AVirtual.co.uk started in South Africa to offer the same standard of virtual assistant as found in the UK, but at a more affordable price.

About AVirtual

Most of the company’s virtual assistants are based in their offices in Cape Town, with some being located in offices nearby. They have a mix of full and part-time VAs, and the advantage of their virtual assistants being located in their offices allows them to have IT and management infrastructure in place.

The company supplies dedicated virtual assistants to UK businesses and individuals. Most of their assistants have lived or worked in London and have a good understanding of UK business practice. South Africa is only a 1-2 hour time zone difference between the UK depending on the time of year.

Their target customers range from SME’s, start-ups, to FTSE 100 clients. If you have tasks you want to outsource, no matter how large or small, AVirtual have assistants ready to pick up that task.

If you sign up with AVirtual you will be assigned a dedicated VA, and you will always have a backup assistant available should your assistant not be able to meet their commitments. You will also be matched with an assistant with the best matched skillset to your requirements.

Services

AVirtual’s virtual assistants can handle a wide variety of tasks you send their way, including:

  • Personal assistance
  • Calendar management
  • Telephone support
  • Sales support
  • Content production
  • Bookkeeping
  • Human resources
  • Graphic design
  • And more

How it works is you’re assigned a dedicated PA, but they work on a “buddy system” so you have a backup in case of illness or holiday. The PAs also work in teams of 4 called “pods,” where you can tap into a variety of skillsets if you need additional or specialized help on a particular project.

Plans and Pricing

AVirtual has 5 payment plans; Core, Plus, Pro, Enterprise, and Full Time.

avirtual-pricing

Core Plan – £165/month (£16.5/hr) – This plan includes a dedicated virtual assistant, 10 hours of assistant time, branded email, and email and phone support.

Plus Plan – £325/month (£16.25/hr) – This plan includes all the services in the Starter Plan with a total of 20 hours of time.

Pro Plan – £625/month (£15.63/hr) – This plan includes all the services in the Business Plan with a total of 40 hours.

Enterprise Plan – £1135/month (£14.19/hr) – This plan includes all the services in the Professional Plan with a total of 80 hours.

Full Time Plan – £1995/month (£12.47/hr) – Your own dedicated full-time assistant available between 7am and 5pm.

VirtualAssistantAssistant Exclusive: Mention referral code VAA for £25 off your first month!

These rates allow you to take advantage of the lower cost of living in South Africa while still having a PA who speaks English as a first language and operates very close to your time zone.

As you can see from the hourly rates the best value is in the Enterprise plan. There is also a 5 hour free trial available, this is a great way to sample their services before committing to a plan and will help with your decision.

AVirtual.co.uk Alternatives

If you are looking for British virtual assistants then I recommend checking out Time ETC and Worldwide 101 for two of the highest rated companies. Both of these companies use UK staff so their prices are a little higher (think double) to reflect this.

Your Turn

Have you worked with AVirtual? If so, please leave a review below to help others with their decision.

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Carve

Posted by Mica Harvey / Philippines Virtual Assistants, Virtual Assistant Companies

Carve is a virtual assistant company based in Davao City, Philippines. The company was founded in 2013 by Tom Secuya, who’s overseen the business’ growth from 3 people to a team of more than 100.

Tom had several years of experience in business process outsourcing and has emerged as a capable leader in the industry and in the local community.

About Carve

carveph reviewYou can tell just by looking at the Carve.ph website that this is not your average virtual assistant company. No, Carve stands out with a bold, modern design, a fun-loving staff, and a mission to good in the world by doing well in business.

They wanted to help people by creating opportunities for them, and have been tremendously successful in doing that in just a short time. That company culture extends beyond borders as well, as client success translates into more growth opportunities and expanded partnerships.

Carve Virtual Assistant Services

Carve specializes in branding, training, automation, and business process management. In the international market, they’ve found a niche in serving coaches from Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Carve’s Virtual Managers can setup webinars, create websites, build landing and sales pages, do audio and video editing, graphic design, and more. In addition, clients use them for help with transcription, list building, social media management, content creation, Internet marketing, and search engine optimization.

All virtual assistants work from the company’s central Davao office, and Carve invests heavily in recruiting, training, and coaching team members who buy into their culture and attitude.

Sponsored Link:

How It Works

  1. Call – We talk about who you are and how we can best work together
  2. BFL –  You enter your Big Fat List of projects that you can’t wait to offload to us.
  3. Offer – we recommend the package that best suits your needs.
  4. Settle – Sign and settle the necessary paperwork to get started.
  5. Onboard – We will manage expectations and orient you with the processes.
  6. Start – Get things rolling by letting the team do the work for you.
  7. Support – We’ll continuousl check how you are and the development of your projects.

Video Overview with the Founder

Plans and Pricing

A full-time Carve virtual assistant (a “ninja”) costs $998 per month for 120 hours (so not “full-time” in the 40-hour per week sense). If you don’t have that volume of work to outsource yet, you can engage their services on a per-hour basis of $18-22 per hour depending on the type of work.

You can opt for dedicated service, or a team-based approach to tap into different skill-sets as needed.

Carve pledges 20% of their earnings to local charitable causes in Davao. Tom explains, “We have seen the pressing need for support in this area and as a business we want to continue to exist to do just that.”

The company has instilled a unique culture in that they believe they are not merely a business, but a movement. Hence working with us would mean, taking part in that movement. We are happy that you can find success in your own business because of us and create success for others through us.

Why Carve?

I asked Tom what sets Carve apart from their virtual assistant competition, and got this awesome reply:

“What sets us apart is that we offer not only awesome ninja-like skills but also we put a glass of love and a bottle of passion for every project we have. We have that drive and determination to have an epic relationship with our clients.

Not only that but we also practice radical honesty. We tell you how much we are getting, how your virtual assistant is getting, how they are doing in terms of performance, behavior and attendance.”

Carve Alternatives

Naturally, Carve isn’t the only game in town when it comes to virtual assistants in the Philippines. Their competition comes in two main varieties: other VA companies, and independent work from home VAs found through services like OnlineJobs.ph or Zen Virtual Assistants Finder.

Your Turn

Have you worked with Carve? If so, please be sure to leave a quick review of your experience in the comments below to help others with their decision.

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HireWriters

Posted by Mica Harvey / Content Writing Services

HireWriters.com is an on-demand content creation service. The company began in 2012 as sort of an article marketplace, linking those who needed content with writers from around the world.

hirewriters reviewI was lured in by the low prices ($5 for a 700 word article), but should have known better. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

That price is for the lowest quality tier, meaning it will probably be illegible to most of your website visitors.

hirewriters reviewPlans and Pricing

Still, the HireWriters rates are pretty affordable, all things considered.

A 500 word article from a “Skilled” writer is just $8.25. Where things get more expensive is when you want to jump to the next tier, “Expert.” A 500 word article from an “Expert” writer is $19.

Skilled writers are defined as those who have completed at least 7 jobs and earned a feedback rating of at least 4.1 in the HireWriters system. Expert writers have completed 12 jobs with a 4.6 rating or higher.

Another service HireWriters offers is a re-writing, or article spinning service.

The theory behind this is you can use the same content in multiple locations without triggering any “duplicate content penalties” from Google, because each will by slightly different.

HireWriters Intro Video

I tested out a couple of articles using the HireWriters system. I made the minimum required $10 deposit, and was pleasantly surprised to find it earned a 25% bonus! So if you really need a lot of content written, it would make sense to make a bigger initial deposit to maximize the bonus.

HireWriters Review

I had two 300+ word articles written by “Skilled” writers for $5.50 apiece. Both were tackled by the same author, and neither were amazing.

The writer struggled to follow the directions and examples I gave them, and failed to answer all the questions I said the articles should address.

I specifically asked for neutral, news-style, articles (who, what, where, when, why), but got back a lot of generic fluff content that didn’t really deliver. Maybe this is me being cynical, but if felt like they were really just looking for anything that would get them to the 300 word target so they could be done.

And for $5 I shouldn’t be so harsh.

In the end, I had some usable sentences but had to re-write most of the articles myself. I can’t even share the articles as examples because they’re almost unrecognizable from what I got back. But like I’ve said before, there’s still some value in getting a shell back and having some structure to start with, rather than staring at a blank screen.

Just recently I went back to HireWriters to test out the “Expert” level, and was pretty impressed. The cost was significantly higher — $19 for a 500-700 word article, but it took hardly any editing to get it ready for publishing. And for the two articles I ordered at that level, both came back over the 700-word count.

So that’s the thing. If you want an article you’re going to sign your name to, you’ll probably have to pay a bit more, or just do it yourself. If you don’t care, or are just churning out content for search engine digestion, HireWriters is a great choice.

Related: My Outsourced Content Writing Process: A Step-by-Step Guide

HireWriters Alternatives

I’ve also tested articles from Fiverr and Textbroker, with pretty similar results — though every now and then you get a homerun.

Copywriter Today Fiverr HireWriters Textbroker
Customer Rating not yet rated
Established 2014 2010 2012 2005
Minimum Cost (500 words) $265 per month $5 $5 $7.50
Type of Service Subscription A la carte articles Pre-screened writers; varying quality Pre-screened writers; varying quality
Best for Agencies, ongoing content needs One off, quick work Inexpensive filler content Connecting with reliable writers
Notes First article free Check Fiverr Pro for better quality 25% bonus on first deposit Pricing is per-word
Learn more Learn More Learn More Learn More Learn More

The other writing company I like is Copywriter Today, which is perfect if you have demand for US-based writers and a lot of content on a monthly basis.

Have you tried Hire Writers? If so, please share a quick review of your experience below to help others with their decision.

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99designs

Posted by Mica Harvey / Graphic and Web Design Services

99designs is the crowdsourcing design marketplace that is probably first-to-mind for most people. I first learned about the company at a conference in 2008, and since then the Melbourne, Australia-based business has grown by leaps and bounds.

In fact, 99designs has thousands of active design contests and pays out more than $1.5 million to designers each month!

99designs reviewIn any freelance or crowdsourcing platform, the level of activity and engagement from the community is paramount. The worst feeling is to go through the trouble of creating an account, paying the fee to escrow, and then hearing the crickets chirp when no one submits any responses.

At the time of this writing, 99designs contests are receiving an average of 110 entries, so you should have plenty to choose from.

How it Works

As the name suggests, 99designs specializes in crowdsourced graphic design work. The platform is a good place to turn for logo design, web design, print media, mobile apps, promotional materials, t-shirts, and more.

If you don’t have ongoing design work, it makes sense to get it done one-time at a place like this instead of hiring an on-site or virtual assistant designer.

To start a design contest with 99designs, you go through this detailed questionnaire about your business and what kind of designs you might like. I think this feature is definitely a strength. When I went through they had sample logos, descriptive words, and colors and their common associations.

You can even upload other logos you like or choose from a sample gallery. It forces you to think about the kind of design you’re looking for and gives the army of designers something to base their work on.

99designs Review

Plans and Pricing

Logo design starts at $299, and web page design starts at $599.

On the lower end of the spectrum you can find card and invitation design (like custom wedding invitations), apparel design, and banner ads all starting at $149. There are several pricing tiers, and as you might guess, the higher price points attract more designers into the contest.

99designs pricing

The turnaround time is roughly a week from beginning to end, and each 99designs contest comes with their risk-free money back guarantee. If you don’t like any of the designs you receive, you can get a complete refund.

99designs Alternatives

If these prices seem a little rich for your blood, you might check out 48 Hours Logo or Crowdspring, which both offer similar models at slightly lower prices.

Fiverr Penji 99designs Design Pickle Looka
Customer Rating
Established 2010 2016 2008 2015 2016
Minimum Cost $5 $399 per month $299 $399 per month $20
Type of Service A la carte design Unlimited Graphic Design Crowdsourced design Unlimited design AI logo design
Best for Fast, cheap designs On-going design needs Higher profile work Ongoing design needs Affordable DIY
Notes 15-day money back guarantee. 100% money-back guarantee 14-day money back trial; 30% off first month w/ code VA30 Don't pay until you love your logo
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I’m in the process of experimenting with getting some banner ads done at Fiverr. For 30x the price, I expect the quality would be much higher at 99designs, but depending on your needs it might not be worth it.

If you want to try making a free logo, check out the templates and tools at Logo Garden. You can play around and generate a logo yourself for free, and you only have to pay if you need a copy of the high-resolution file.

Your Turn

Have you had design work done on 99designs? Please leave a short review below and help others with their decision.

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