One of the best things to come out of the digital age besides Youtube is a copious amount of options in finding actual work online.
If you are a freelancer in the world of writing, coding, marketing, photography, etc. you have a lot of choices online when it comes to places to look for work.
The problem is that it can be difficult to know which ones to trust, and which ones to steer clear of as with all the options comes scams.
Yup, scams and a lot of them at that.
Today we will be looking at a popular site called “Contena”, which just so happens to be one of the legit online sites and a really good one at that.
It might not be for everyone but if you are one heck of a writer looking to make a lot of money, you might want to try this instead.
Will this be the one for you?
Let’s take a look into this Contena review as we explore our options.
Contena Review
What is Contena?
If you are new to world of online freelance work you may rightly be wondering what Contena even is, so let’s examine that because I’m sure there is a lot of confusion
Contena is an online freelance training academy along with a job search board that allows writers to connect with the highest paid employers on the internet.
You can go there to find a wide variety of potential employers, all posting their jobs but there is A LOT more to this site that is not like your ordinary freelancing sites.
The Academy has all the materials necessary for any writer to start their own writing business.
You are free to browse these jobs, and bid on as many of them as you are able, but it is important to understand that you do not work for Contena, but rather yourself.
The Product
Along with the jobs board from which you can find the highest paying employers, you get access to the Contena Academy, which gives you access to 9 modules, which will teach you how to start your very own writing business.
From getting started, to landing the best clients, you will learn everything that is needed to make the most of your writing ability online.
Although blogging is a great way for writers to make a living, the training that comes with Contena is definitely better for those that want to make money a lot faster.
Want to See How to Make the Most Money Writing?
The Price
Contena is not your typical, find a job, get paid $10 per article type of site but rather an academy that teaches you how to build your very own freelancing business.
I had to throw that out there to justify why they have such a hefty price tag, for those of you wondering why you need to pay to find writing jobs.
This is a very professional website that teaches you how to run your own writing business.
Gold Payment Plan (All tools & Academy)
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1 year access
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6 payments of $99/mo
Platinum Payment Plan (All tools, Academy & Personal Coaching)
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2 years access
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6 payments of $199/mo
Gold (Full Payment) (All tools & Academy)
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1 year access
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$497
Platinum (Full Payment) (All tools, Academy & Personal Coaching)
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2 years access
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$997
If you’ve done any type of business in your life, you’ll know that this isn’t much, especially if you have the opportunity to make $300-$500 just for one article!
Not to mention you can actually get started for free!
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- They only charge $99 a month: You thought for sure that that was going to be in the cons, didn’t you? Perhaps if it was a cable bill it would have been, but within this context, $99 a month actually isn’t that bad, especially to run a business.
Most other websites don’t have a participation fee, but they have what they call “service fees,” that get taken out of your earnings for each contract that you complete.
Generally, these service fees are about twenty percent of what you made on the job.
At a glance, that may seem preferable, and depending on how much you plan on using the site, it might be, but for those that are trying to make freelancing a full-time job, the twenty percent fee is pretty debilitating.
Freelancers who work regularly may be paying their site one hundred dollars or more a week, so put through that context, Contena’s monthly charge is actually pretty modest.
If you land a bunch of solid jobs, that fee is really nothing, so think about things before saying that the $100 fee is too high.
- Less Competition: This monthly fee scares a lot of people off. Maybe rightly so. If you are just starting out in the world of freelance, paying one hundred dollars a month for something that you aren’t sure is going to work out might seem like a bad idea.
Since the monthly fee limits the talent pool to a somewhat significant extent, you are going to have a much better chance getting the jobs that you apply for than you would with other comparable sites.
- Customer Support: This is actually what they claim you are paying for. It might be true, I’m not sure.
What I am sure of is that Contena does offer a pretty sophisticated support system, complete with what they refer to as a “coach,” a person or persons available on the site twenty-four seven to help answer any questions you might have and ensure that you are finding work.
It’s definitely a nice feature but of course we cannot forget that they can only help to a certain extent, and that getting work is ultimately your responsibility.
- Mediation Service: This is the big benefit of choosing a website like Contena over a random job board site.
Unfortunately, jobs can go south sometimes.
Perhaps one party did something wrong, or maybe there was simply a disagreement as to how the finished product should look.
It happens, and when it does, it’s probably best that both sides part as amicably as possible.
But even if the project did not go well, you still deserve to be paid for your time.
On a job board, that almost definitely is not going to happen.
The client will walk away, never to be heard from again, and you will be out all the time you spent working on their project for free.
It happens sometimes, and it’s just the worst, but the mediation services of Contena and sites like it help minimize those risks.
For one thing, they require clients to escrow money for a job so that they literally cannot just walk away without paying.
If the client does not want to release the payment at the conclusion of the job, they will then step in and try and resolve the situation.
Mediation services are your friend, and certainly are not to be undervalued.
Cons:
- Relatively Small: Compared to some of the bigger freelance sites like UpWork or Freelancer, Contena is relatively small and new. There is nothing explicitly wrong with this, but it does somewhat limit the amount of jobs you are likely to find there.
While some of the bigger sites may get a few new jobs that pertain to your skill set every hour, Contena might only get a few a day.
That being the case, this site probably is not best for beginners, especially given the higher fee.
Conclusion
Joining any freelancing site can be intimidating, but if you have a little bit of experience under your belt and are already well practiced in the art of getting online jobs, Contena represents a great opportunity to find more work and save a lot of money by forgoing the costly service fees of other websites.
Thanks for reading and don’t forget to checkout my #1 recommended work from home program if you are serious about making money online.
I read your article and decided to become a member on Contena and it was the worst decision ever. The $600 for the gold tier service got me nothing. Outdated materials on the training such as a screenshot for Streak that was from 2015. My “coach” would take the entire week to review my portfolio, which included links to pictures, and she would tell me that she could not wait to see the pictures. There was not any real “coaching” just a review of my portofolio. I also needed to defer a payment, because I have not found a single gig through Contena, they agreed and then drafted me a week early. Unsatisfied 100%. Most of the jobs were stale links that stated no jobs at this time and a lot were from job sites like Indeed, which is free. Don’t waste your money unless you are an already established freelance writer with a portfolio, it is not for people that actually need help getting started in freelance writing. I am also finding that a lot of people have had to remove their reviews of Contena, being that they have been threatened by Kevin for legal action. If this is a valid usable service, then they should not have a problem with FREE SPEECH and people giving an honest opinion of their services.
Definitely not a problem to share your opinion Melanie and I’m glad you shared it with with us.