Likelihood to Recommend It's helpful for top of marketing funnel writing that we can sometimes lose sight of because we are so ingrained in the product day to day. Contently is also helpful for long written pieces and ebooks that will take a significant amount of employee time to put together. I avoid using Contently for mid to bottom funnel marketing writing because my team will often have greater insight into the product function or use-case or product release, making them more adroit to the tone of the written piece and able to produce the content quickly.
Read full review If your client or organization is running a high volume awareness campaign, Outbrain would be a platform to diversify your mix with. Pretty low maintenance and easy to set up, you can get ads running in a few minutes. If your primary goal is conversions, there are probably better channels you can use where the targeting is a little more transparent and would likely see a higher avg conversion rate.
Read full review Pros Consolidating my work in one place to make my work life easier Contently is unique from other content marketing organizational tools in one key way. It hands you a network of freelance professionals eager for delegated work. You can search through a database of professionals to find the perfect person for your given project. Find individuals in your budget offering the exact skills and experience you need. Read full review Website network: Outbrain provides high-quality websites in its network so that you can get a quality audience. Affordable pricing: The CPC offered by Outbrain is relatively cheaper than other alternatives. Content dashboard: The dashboard allows you to edit the content before publishing it on Outbrain's platform. Read full review Cons I have been using it for 3.5 years, and have had no response from potential clients. The portfolio section is pretty easy to use, but I don't love the format. Since I'm not a client, I don't know just how easy it is for them to find new freelancers or how often it is actually used. Probably more suited for some types/concentrations of freelance writers, like finance, tech, or healthcare. Read full review Customer Service - Speaking to a human is nearly impossible, there is no "chat" function, and no phone number immediately available. Ultimately, I've had to email a generic CS contact and wait several days before heading back. High Number of Guidelines - The number of guidelines one must meet before using Outbrain is much higher than any other ad platform I've used. Most of them are highly specific and not necessarily items that a website would have out-of-the-box. Read full review Usability The use case is very obvious, brand awareness and low cost conversions because of its reach in billions. The platform is easy to use, well sorted and defined with good click optimized algorithms and brands can use it without hesitation. If monitored well and optimized accordingly, this can prove to be one of the best advertising channels.
Read full review Support Rating I'm giving them a 10, but honestly, I've never reached out to them. I do see them putting out regular content on social media, so they might be responsive to questions there as well as regular customer support. In their posts and communication, they do seem to value their community, so hopefully, they have good customer support. And I've seen them asking for pitches from their community to publish well-paid articles during this stressful coronavirus time, and I really appreciate that.
Read full review We had an account manager assigned to us, but they really didn't offer too much help outside of the financial side of things. We used the self-serve platform with mild suggestions every few weeks from our reps amounting to "spend a bit more here."
Read full review Alternatives Considered I also opened an account with
Skyword in 2019, which is a similar service. The person that recommended it was a travel writer, and since I've done that as well, I thought it might be a better fit. To this point, I've received no work from it either, and don't hold out a lot of hope. As previously mentioned, where I think Contently does well is by giving you an online portfolio, additional resources like a blog for learning, and a rates database for publications.
Read full review Here at AdRizer my personal ad sources primarily revolve around Google Ads & Outbrain.
Taboola is extremely similar to Outbrain minus the fact that strategies are dictated on the account level unlike by campaign with Outbrain
Read full review Return on Investment Contently contributors have produced some great inbound marking posts and creative materials saving our marketing team significant time allowing them to focus on more strategic plans for the business. The amount of time Contently has saved our internal creative writing staff has more than paid for itself! Read full review None. My perspective is that further testing is needed as well as additional tracking capabilities applied to be able to assess value. However, it's a CPC model and relatively inexpensive in regards to additional reach, especially if it's packaged in with an Earned media push into the marketplace. Reet Das Vice President, Global Digital Marketing
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