Working With An Agency? They’re Probably Outsourcing To These Startups

Have you ever wondered if the agency you hired is secretly outsourcing the work?

As a digital publication, we’ve hired countless agencies to help code, design, market, and launch products for us. We usually have a Project Manager from their head office as our point of contact. But we’re never sure who is completing the work. Where are they outsourcing them to?

As curious journalists, we decided to find out. For an entire month, we created a fake agency called Flower Pot Media LLC. Then we joined various Facebook groups, forums, private Google groups, and subreddits to chat with fellow agencies. We also interviewed a handful of employees and subcontractors who frequently work with creative firms to learn more about how agencies operate. It wasn’t easy to get people to cough up where they’re outsourcing to, but we eventually got a list of names. And to our surprise, the same few companies keep popping up.

Our goal isn’t to expose agencies or reveal how they make money. If you don’t have the organization or leadership required to manage a campaign, then you’re better off hiring an agency. But if you want to save some money AND are willing to put in the time/energy to coordinate, manage, and execute a campaign yourself, then this list is for you.

Content Fuel (Blogs/content)

As a writer myself, I know how tricky it is to hire GOOD writers. There are plenty of writers who will produce junk or just “spin” content for $5/hr or $10 – $25 per article for you. None are agency-quality or anything you’d want on your website.

After a bit of digging and asking around in the forums, many of our friends say they’ve either used or are currently using Content Fuel and have a great experience, mainly with the quality of their writers.

Content Fuel is a startup that provides unlimited content writing at a flat monthly rate. The main selling point is that their writers are damn good writers. From my experience, their level of writing qualifies for anywhere from $25 – $50/hr or $500 for a 1000 word article. For the price, I’m not entirely sure how they’re able to afford that kind of talent.

Another nice perk of Content Fuel is that you don’t need to manage the writers. If a writer doesn’t work out, you can instantly request for another writer to be assigned. This saves time, as Agencies often have to manage freelance writers, and that can be time consuming and exhausting.

Penji (Graphic design, Illustrations, Ads, Web/App designs)

We found Penji because their salespeople are constantly writing in all of the forums and private groups. But they weren’t there to sell. Instead, they just help answer everyone’s questions, which we thought was a very smart sales tactic.

Penji uses an on-demand and unlimited service model that agencies often take full advantage of. Similar to Content Fuel, you can submit as many design projects as you want for your clients. Their team of on-demand designers gets to work. And instead of getting billed per project ($300-$500/project adds up), Penji charges a flat monthly rate every month regardless of usage.

We used to hire a local design agency to handle all of our design tasks. We were billed for every project, every revision, and paid an hourly rate of $75/hr. Our monthly invoice was anywhere from $4000 – $6000.

Curious to see if the rumors were true, we signed up. In the first month, they produced 33 completed designs for our team ranging from banners, infographics, and social media posts. We paid $698 for what could’ve easily been an $8000 invoice from a local agency or freelancer. True to their promise, they didn’t charge us extras for revisions or any overage.

We especially like their dashboard. It’s easy for agencies to manage their client’s projects. You can create a brand profile for each client and upload all their logos and brand materials. And any time you need a design job done for that client, just select the brand profile and Penji’s designers will have everything they need to get to work. They were lightning fast. Everything we submitted, they turned around in less than 48 hours. Quality was either the same if not sometimes even better than the agency we hired. Overall, we can see why agencies outsource to Penji.

Upwork (Coding)

Upwork is a great place to outsource programming and coding work to. You’ll find developers from India, Pakistan, Ukraine, and many other countries from around the world. Rates are relatively cheap, from $5/hr for entry-level developers to $35+/hr for more advanced talents. You can also hire a group of developers/agencies directly from Upwork.

We hired a local agency to code our website (ownersmag.com), however, at times it felt like we were actually communicating with someone from India. It wasn’t a problem for us, because the communication and work were good. But we did wonder how much we would’ve actually paid if we were to go directly to the source.

One caveat you should note is that, unlike Content Fuel and Penji, you’re doing the hiring and managing on Upwork yourselves. Content Fuel and Penji does all the hiring, managing, and finding the talent for you, so it’s pretty hands-off. Meanwhile, on Upwork, you need to post a job, interview the candidates, pay them yourself, and also be up at night to collaborate with them. Keep that in mind, as that level of management alone can be worth hiring an agency for.

The Hoth (SEO)

As a publication, we don’t need to hire an SEO agency to help us rank. However, many of our sponsors and advertisers do. The Hoth is a one-stop-shop for white-labeling SEO services. They offer an internal platform for agencies to keep track of and manage the client’s SEO progress. They handle white-labeled reporting too, so you can send branded reports for an added touch.

Many agencies we spoke to use The Hoth as a reliable 3rd party service to help their clients’ SEO campaign succeed. They’ve been around for a while and although the SEO white-labeling space is fairly competitive, they stand out as one of the more reliable services.

Conclusion

Don’t go firing your agency and try to do things yourself just yet, that might not be a good idea. The real value of an agency is its ability to coordinate, communicate, manage, plan, and execute a successful campaign for you. And that often requires many hours, phone calls, and meetings, which is exactly what you’re paying for.

Agencies outsourcing the workload is completely normal. As a matter of fact, it would be unusual for an agency to do everything inhouse themselves. So before attempting to take over the work yourself, make sure you have the capacity and coordination to manage everything.