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Thread: Review: Constant Content

  1. #1
    Administrator Chris's Avatar
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    Review: Constant Content

    Constant Content is a new service aiming to bridge the gap between website publishers and writers. How it works is writers join and submit their works for sale, if a sale occurs Constant Content takes their cut and handles payment and delivery. Overall it really makes the process easier for all involved.

    One thing I really like about Constant Content is that it is geared specifically for website publishers. Very few sites exist that cater specifically to this group of people, but Constant Content is one of them. Quite frankly it looks like the site was made more or less as a result of the tremendous success many webmasters are achieving with Google Adsense. With Adsense all you really need is content and Constant Content provides it.

    One of the most suprising things about Constant Content, for me anyways, was the size of their library. Admittedly this is a new site but they already have a large and capable group of authors working. I was quite surprised at both the depth and breadth of their article database. They have hundreds if not thousands of articles already and their mostly pretty good. They have articles on everything from Web Development to Gardening to Wedding Planning.

    One nice feature is that you can request content to be written for you. I did this twice and within 3 days of each request I had atleast 3 submitted articles, that's fast by any sense of the word. In a way it was like a contest, multiple authors submitted work, and I chose the ones that sounded the best. I was also informed that you will soon be able to request changes and customizations to articles after purchase.

    Things are not entirely smooth sailing though. While the content selection is large there is substantially more in certain categories than in others. It seems that categories that have received content requests described above have naturally filled out. I expect this to even out over time. Also, many of the articles are basic in nature, meaning they're short and do not go into very much depth. Long in depth articles are more likely to be found useful, and as such are more likely to be included in directories or otherwise receive link. So the short articles are somewhat disappointing.

    The site also very much seems to be in beta, many features do not work or do not work correctly, but as with the content distribution I expect that to be fixed over time.

    Naturally with duplicate content filters being used by search engines you do not necessarily want to publish an article that has been used more times than the village bicycle. Constant Content tackles this issue in two ways. For one, each submitted article is checked against various database and search engines to make sure it hasn't simply been copied from somewhere else (authors who do this are banned). They also allow you to purchase unique rights to articles, which will take the article off the site so no one else can buy it.

    Pricing is mostly fair, but since each author sets their own price, prices do vary. I for one do not mind paying for quality content. Public domain content such as Wikipedia is free, but its also published everywhere so it does not add to the unique value of your own website. Also many free articles found elsewhere exist for nothing more than the self promotion of the author either their a signature nearly as long as the article or through the fact that the article itself promotes the author's business. Now Constant Content does offer free articles, and some of them are of the type I just described, but they are few.

    Payment is by PayPal or with Credit Card through 2CheckOut. Delivery is almost immediate. Delivery can come in a variety of forms, pdf, doc, rtf, txt, html, in general though, even with html files, you will need to edit the markup for your website.

    All in all I have to highly recommend Constant Content. There are a few glitches in their system still but it mostly works and it's a great easy source of good content for your website. I've personally bought 7 articles from them so far and I plan to buy some more.

    Article originally published at: http://www.websitepublisher.net/arti...stant-content/
    Chris Beasley - My Guide to Building a Successful Website[size=1]
    Content Sites: ABCDFGHIJKLMNOP|Forums: ABCD EF|Ecommerce: Swords Knives

  2. #2
    Registered Generalissimo's Avatar
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    Highly expensive and I'm not going to buy without being able to read the whole thing. I can get writers to make exclusive articles that are 1000 words and very well written, with SEO in mind, for just $7.50. Why would I pay 3 times this for an non-exclusive license?
    Sean Spurr. Incka Media.
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  3. #3
    I'm the oogie boogie man! James's Avatar
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    Why would I pay 3 times this for an non-exclusive license?
    Just so you could say "I get people to write articles for too much; look how lavish I'm living!"

  4. #4
    Registered Generalissimo's Avatar
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    Ha Ha, I'm not Chris ($400 garden plant...)
    Sean Spurr. Incka Media.
    £49 Link Building Service

  5. #5
    Web Monkey MarkB's Avatar
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    Wasn't that $400 plant an orchid?

    Anyway - this looks like an interesting site. The time saved in having to hire someone, and explain my needs to them, would make a purchase from this site worthwhile (providing I had the budget allocated). My wedding site could do with some articles.

    However, I do agree with Sean about not being able to read full articles.

    (Sean, where do you find your writers?)
    Stepping On Wires - the new blog

  6. #6
    Registered Mike's Avatar
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    Doesn't look bad, some articles seem good value while others seem a total rip off.

    Is that owned by a member at sitepoint?
    Don't you just love free internet games ?

  7. #7
    Senior Member chromate's Avatar
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    I've been dabbling in content creation recently (see sig). I don't write the content myself, my girlfriend does for some extra cash (she's a student) .

    Constant content is an interesting site. But it seems to fall short in so many respects. A lot of the articles seem very expensive. I took a quick look for some articles I might be able to use; 500 words, for $50? No thanks. As a comparison, my content creation service offers 500 words for $15. They're excellent quality, unique articles. And I know that you can get articles even cheaper than that, as Sean points out.

    elance.com is perhaps a better alternative. I've used elance recently to get some content written. $10 for 750 words. 10 separate articles, all to be completed within a week. You get to view samples and read other people's feedback on the freelancer. Once you've found a few freelancers that you like working with, you've got a constant flow of content at a decent price. The other advantage is, the freelancer gets to know the style you're looking for and they get better at providing it.

    So - constant content is a site with potential - but right now, I think there're better alternatives.

  8. #8
    Future AstonMartin driver r2d2's Avatar
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    Yes, some of the content at Constant Content seemed pretty expensive - and I would think its only worth buying if you buy it unique.

    I will have to look at this elance site, and I was also going to ask you chromate about you content services - I could do with some articles for my new money site, would your lady write some finance related articles? Investing, debts that sort of stuff?

  9. #9
    Senior Member chromate's Avatar
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    Possibly. It would depend on the specifics. But she has no background in finance. To be honest you may be better off trying elance first, in this case, as they have so many writers that there are bound to be a few with some experience in the financial field. But if you're stuck, feel free to PM me with specifics.

  10. #10
    Future AstonMartin driver r2d2's Avatar
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    Ok, thanks chromate. Have just been looking at elance, and it looks pretty good - I shall have a good look at it later and should be able to sort something out there.

    Cheers,

    Chris

  11. #11
    Administrator Chris's Avatar
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    I think you get what you pay for. $50 for 500 words is alot, but there aren't many like that, I got 5 articles for $80, each one was atleast 500 words, one was 1200.

    If you pay $7.50 what are you really getting? Something written by someone who uses english as a second language? Little grammar errors. Or maybe something just ripped off another site.

    Obviously the writers need to feed their family too. I'm sure they can afford to sell something for $7.50 if they spend a half hour on it, but unless they're an expert on the topic already they aren't going to be able to write an accurate 1000 word article in half an hour.

    Although maybe I should try Chromate's service as well.
    Chris Beasley - My Guide to Building a Successful Website[size=1]
    Content Sites: ABCDFGHIJKLMNOP|Forums: ABCD EF|Ecommerce: Swords Knives

  12. #12
    Registered Generalissimo's Avatar
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    The writer I use lives in Concord, MA, USA. She is a student and writes incredibly well and incredibly originally. She definatly speaks english as a first language, and there has been no grammer errors. I've been getting biographies done mainly, so these may be easier to do, I know I can write 1000 words in half an hour in good quality, as I have done many a time for my websites.
    Sean Spurr. Incka Media.
    £49 Link Building Service

  13. #13
    Administrator Chris's Avatar
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    You should go on Jeopardy then. I would imagine most writers would have to do research before writing an indepth article, I guess you know it all already.
    Chris Beasley - My Guide to Building a Successful Website[size=1]
    Content Sites: ABCDFGHIJKLMNOP|Forums: ABCD EF|Ecommerce: Swords Knives

  14. #14
    Senior Member chromate's Avatar
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    When we get content requests, it takes HOURS of research before pen hits paper (or fingers hit keyboards, I should say). Unless you're already expert in what you're writing about, the research phase is critical. Good research takes time. There's no two ways about it.

    Knowing how long my gf takes over the research she does, $15 is abysmal. But it's the going rate and she's a student

    $7.50 for 1000 good words is taking the p*ss. Sean, in my opinion, you should OFFER to pay more. It's hardly "fair trade" is it? Even for 500 words, that price is not enough. But that's a completely unfair rate for 1000 especially considering your writer is in the US and there're no exchange rates in play that make it worth it.

    On the other hand, if it's like some of the articles I've seen on elance, then perhaps they're only worth $7.50. I've seen a lot of writers that are clearly writing purely just to meet the minimum word count. The words are there for the sake of it.

    As I said to Mark in a PM, quite often we find that an article reaches a natural conclusion at way over the word count requested by the client. If that's the case, so be it. We don't charge extra. It's rare that the article needs "bulking out" just to meet the requested word count. Again it comes down to research, which = time = money.

  15. #15
    I'm the oogie boogie man! James's Avatar
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    $7.50 for 1000 good words is taking the p*ss. Sean, in my opinion, you should OFFER to pay more. It's hardly "fair trade" is it? Even for 500 words, that price is not enough. But that's a completely unfair rate for 1000 especially considering your writer is in the US and there're no exchange rates in play that make it worth it.
    Sean would beat up a hobo for a nickel.

    Chromate, how long are you planning on keeping that unique content thing going.

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