In this article, we’re looking at two popular content writing services – TextBroker and Verblio (previously known as BlogMutt). They both offer their own team of freelance content writers that provide you with written content for blog writing, social media, article writing, and other services – and both promise high quality content. These two services are direct competitors, both firmly planted in the content marketing space, but which is best for your business? We’ll examine both services, give you the pros and cons of each, and help you decide which is best.

Verblio

Verblio is a content writing service with a good reputation. Verblio offers services similar to most content writing services, with a few tweaks to the business model.

With Verblio, clients purchase content by length, with varying “tiers” for the complexity of the content. You can find the whole details here, but the prices are quite reasonable for a writing company.

Once a client has purchased content, they work with Verblio to outline their content goals. This includes providing details on brand voice, target audience, content goals, and more. From there, clients provide details on the type of content they require – including length, type, CTAs, keywords, etc. If clients are too busy for this, they can opt for Verblio Complete, and their content briefs will be created for them. Once the briefs are ready, they are uploaded to a portal where they can be accessed by Verblio’s writers, who have their own specific online writing skills and experience. The main difference with Verblio, as opposed to other content writing services, is that multiple writers can accept writing work simultaneously. Writers are essentially “competing” for the clients’ business. Once the writers submit their work, clients can review all pieces, and accept the one they like best. From there, they can leave reviews, and “bookmark” certain writers to work with in the future. Clients can find a group of writers they prefer, and (ideally) their work becomes more personalized as time goes on.

The Writers

A content writing service is only as good as the quality of its writers. Often, this is the “make or break” factor which determines whether a platform is recommendable. Verblio has an impressively extensive vetting process for its writers. Only 4% of applicants are accepted to become Verblio writers, which indicates a rigorous quality standard. The herd is further thinned as clients leave reviews on each writers’ submissions. Basically, the best writers naturally rise to the top, and those are the ones who will likely be tasked with the work.

Pros

• Intuitive, streamlined platform.
• Competitive prices.
• Only 4% of applicants become writers. 
• “Competitive” submissions process gives clients several options to choose from.

Cons

• SEO tools are minimal.
• Quality can be variable.

TextBroker

Next up, we have another content writing service that has gained some notoriety – TextBroker. TextBroker offers a service very similar in appearance to that offered by Verblio, but there are some very apparent differences that may affect your decision.

TextBroker, like Verblio, offers content of many types. You can order blog content, web content, newsletters, eBooks, and so on. Once a client has ordered content, they use TextBroker’s streamlined platform to create their content brief, and to let writers know what they are looking for. Clients can also note any keywords they want included. Once the brief is ready, TextBroker assigns it to a writer who has the expertise to match. It’s all quite straightforward, and TextBroker’s platform is quite intuitive. Ordering content and creating briefs is streamlined, and we’ve been impressed with the simplicity. Of course, before you consider any content writing service, you should have an idea of your content goals. If you can’t provide the service with an idea of what you want, then you’re bound to be disappointed regardless.

The Difference

The main difference with TextBroker is that it is much cheaper than Verblio. TextBroker’s content plans start at just 1.5 cents/word. For reference, that comes to $4.50 for 300 words of content, while Verblio charges $35. Pretty massive difference.

And while prices this low may sound appealing, it also leads us to that old saying – “if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” Because, if you thought TextBroker’s prices were low, consider that their writers are getting paid significantly less than that! And if you think it sounds difficult to attract and retain quality writing talent while paying rock bottom rates – that’s because it is.

Simply put, you can’t pay the bare minimum and expect quality work. And this isn’t to say that all of TextBroker’s writers are poor, because that’s certainly not the case, but it is to say that a business can’t expect a motivated workforce while not paying them even close to a market rate.

Herein lies the fundamental problem with services like TextBroker, and is also why they are so difficult to recommend.

Pros

• Rock bottom prices.
• Intuitive, streamlined process.
• Content is delivered in a timely fashion.

Cons

Rock bottom prices – difficult to expect quality work.

Which Should You Choose?

Based on the above information, our choice should be pretty obvious. One content writing service delivers consistent, quality content that you can depend on. With the other, the quality of content is, well, what you paid for. Of the two, our recommendation goes to Verblio. 

We will say that we were impressed with both service’s platforms. They both provide an easy, intuitive method of signing up & creating a content brief. And as far as we can tell, the work is delivered in a timely, orderly fashion.

Sure, you can roll the dice and order content from TextBroker. There is certainly the chance that you will receive content from a motivated, talented writer. But it’s simply too difficult to depend on quality work when you aren’t paying the going rate. If you don’t feel like risking it, order from Verblio or from a vast selection of quality content writing services. Content marketing shouldn’t be a race to the bottom, and we’re glad that services like Verblio are committed to upholding the integrity of the industry.