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As a creator, I was really excited about using Billo. I had been on their platform for over a year but finally opted to delete my account with them today.
They have had issues on and off since I first joined them, some were resolved while others, such as their customer service only got worse. I tried to stick it out because I saw the potential there. Honestly, if they changed their ways they could have good value
So I guess I'll break it down:
**UPDATE** Billo response from TrustPilot 5/18/2022:
1) LOW PAY
While Billo starts at $59 for brands, creators only make $15-$30 per video. This is actually lower than the rates they were originally paying when I first started. Considering the amount of work involved, the pay rates are pretty low. However, sometimes the item you get from the brands can help offset the cost, but in more cases than not, it does not. Keep in mind, that creators are using their own equipment and software to edit and create videos. Not to mention the time that is involved. A 15-second video can take a couple of hours of various footage (depending on the task of course) to piece together for the final 15-second clip.
Additionally, a lot of brands have a lot of requirements for such a low payout. Now, from their end, they are paying a higher rate, so I could see why they would have a lot of requests, but from a creator's standpoint, it's a lot more work than it is worth for many items. Personally, I would avoid such tasks. For the low payout, I would look for the simplest jobs available that required the least amount of work. That way it was worth the pay.
**UPDATE** Billo response from TrustPilot 5/18/2022:
Hi Ashley, thank you for your feedback. I’m sorry to hear that our team did not meet your expectations and that you felt we were not able to provide the level of service needed. I will address your concerns one by one:
1. Low pay - a minimum payout for the creator is $25 for 15s video, not $15. We also offer bonuses for the creators who are productive and get 20 videos approved in a month. We are transparent and this information can be found here https://billo.app/payouts/. We understand that creators put their time and energy in creating videos, but when joining they are aware of the payouts we offer. if you feel that this job is not owth your time, I completely understand.
My response:
First, I'm impressed by such a quick response. They responded to my TrustPilot complaint than they responded to my inquiries for brands. So apparently, they raised their minimum payout to $25 since I first started in the beginning. Yes, it is mentioned, I never said it wasn't. I am merely remarking how low the payout is, especially compared to other influencer programs. Think about it, getting paid $25 to create a video and give copyrights of that video to a brand to use however they wish. So yes, it is mentioned, but still a rip off fee to creators.
2) NOT PAID FOR EDITS
On top of a low payout, there is no additional payment for edit requests. I'm not talking about if the creator makes a mistake, but if the brand wants more voiceovers added, more scenes added, etc. So basically, they want to force the creators to do extra work with zero pay. Around when I first started, they would at least add on an additional $10 for the fixes, but as I recently found, they are no longer doing that.
**UPDATE** Billo response from TrustPilot 5/18/2022:
2. Not paid for the edits - I agree, there are situatios when client asks for additional stuff, that creator was not aware off. We always relay this to the brand. If there’s no other way to provide the client a video that meets their requirements, we then increase the payout for the creator, so they could proceed with the edit. Unfortunately, in the situation wit your 2 last videos, you received multiple edits from our internal quality check team and then from the client. Your videos were simply not up to industry standards.
My response:
If the videos go through quality control, why at times when a brand asks for things that is to be completed by Billo itself, rather than the creator, is it still sent to me where I then need to go back and forth with a rep before it gets sent back to Billo to complete their end of the task? In the last 2 videos you are referring to, one was completed to the tasks listed. It had the first edit request come in to flip a video scene, which was something on my end and made sense. NOTHING else was mentioned that needed to be done. After that all of a sudden more requests came in, that was not listed in the task. This is common with Billo. As mentioned, I was happy to complete it if Billo was willing to pay for the edits as they have in the past. I asked about it, the Billo team looked at my message, and after 24 hours of LOOKING at my message, still never bothered to respond.
The thing with adding more voice than was originally asked, when I originally signed up with Billo and even now, Brands will list what their requirements are. Some are very scripted. Some tell the creators to be creative to come up with their own stuff. Some just have a couple of mention requests. This particular video, very little talking they requested for what to mention, wasn't much out of the norm. Some brands want to edit and do their own thing with the video the creators make. So it wasn't too odd to me. And if it was an issue, why in the first edit request, was nothing mentioned of it?
The other video had edits needed from Billo's end (adding music to the background) and another item that needed to be communicated with the brand. Billo never responded to my message in regards to passing along the information to the brand for a certain scene they were trying to get.
This has been an ongoing issue with Billo as far as lack of communication and poor responses that lead up to my frustration and leaving. Not just this particular instance. I'm not frustrated with the brands, rather than Billo itself for the way things are handled.
3) NO WAY TO DIRECTLY COMMUNICATE WITH THE BRAND
As a creator, I may have questions on how to pronounce the brand name, how the product is used, etc. I have NO way to contact the brand to discuss anything. I have to go through Billo. In fact, there is no contact information available for the brand anywhere. I have actually had to look brands up online multiple times just to get more information, and once, even on the pronunciation of their name. Completion time could be a lot quicker if I was able to communicate with the brand directly. This leads to my next issue.
**UPDATE** Billo response from TrustPilot 5/18/2022:
3. No way to directly communicate with the brands - I completely agree with you. This causes a lot of stress and delay. Our team is already developing this possibility and it will see a light of day really soon.
4) TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE & RESPONSE
This has been the BIGGEST issue from the beginning. As a creator, if I'm trying to complete my tasks, it is important to get information as quickly as possible. The response rate is poor. Sometimes you get a quick response, however, if something is an issue, it seems they can take days to respond or simply they ignore your message unless you basically end up harassing them. I've had quite a few times where I will see that my message was 'seen' however, not get a response for another day or longer. If you saw my message, why not respond?
**UPDATE** Billo response from TrustPilot 5/18/2022:
4. Terrible customer service & response time - our team always tries to respond as soon as possible. I aknowledge that our response time can increase sometimes, I am sorry that this caused you stress or left you feeling unheard. I can assure our support managers never ignored your messages on purpose, that is not the level of service we provide.
My response:
So what do you call distinctly looking at my message, since we can see when our messages are seen, and not responding? I did not get a response for either of my videos before I removed my account from your platform. One message was seen, the other trying to communicate a message to the brand just never got looked at. While a lot of times you do respond, there are times you do not or the time it takes to respond is terrible. Again, this isn't the first time this has happened, but quite often and is a consistent complaint I see about Billo from brands and creators alike.
5) INCONSISTENT
I've mentioned a couple of things above which can lead you to think this, but let me explain a bit more. Billo seems to change what's okay and what's not based on the representative that you talk to. One customer service agent may tell you one thing, then another will tell you something different. I learned real quick to start taking screenshots of everything until any issue is resolved.
I had an instance some time back where a brand requested a certain edit. No problem, it was simple. Job done. Then they wanted more that was not even listed on the task. They had mentioned the video was great and they loved it, but just wanted whatever else added in (I can't remember the details - I think they wanted to change the orientation of the video). I told Billo I would require additional payment for the edits as the job was done per the task. I had to go back and forth before one of the reps finally agreed it was done correctly as per the task terms.
Other times, if a brand wanted something done, Billo would offer an additional $10 for the revision. Now, today, they aren't offering that. Basically, it depends on the day and who you talk to, and when on what happens. Also, another creator and I could have the same exact issue, address it, and get 2 different answers. It's frustrating as well as confusing to know what is to be expected in certain circumstances.
**UPDATE** Billo response from TrustPilot 5/18/2022:
5. Our quality check team is repsponsible for assuring the quality of the video. They only return video for the creator to fix, if there’s a solid reason for that. Yes, this delays the video delivery time, but we can not show video to the clients that do not meet requirements.
My response:
That's great, except when the videos are in fact done as per the task requirements and you do not pass it along for the brand to decide. I've seen a few brands leave reviews about Billo complaining that they actually asked for no voiceovers in their videos but Billo made the creator add them anyway.
Is Billo a good side hustle?
Simply put, it could be. But be warned, you may end up putting in more work than the pay is worth. Don't undervalue yourself. It's thrilling to get cool products and to get paid for it, but it is important to not allow yourself to be taken advantage of. Even before now, I found the opportunities of getting hired started to lessen. I've seen many creators have that same complaint. I was getting hired regularly, however after the updates they did, which some did help improve while others made the app more annoying to navigate and use, the number of items worth doing an add for a low rate went down a lot. So, for me, once upon a time, it was a nice little side gig, but as of recently, over the past few months, I found it was no longer worth it.
CONCLUSION
I hated the idea of deleting my account. I love trying new things and getting a few extra dollars, but the treatment by Billo makes this feel like slave work. They make creators look bad to the brands. I've seen so many brands complain about creators, and to be fair, some I am sure are justified. However, the length of time it takes to get their video, lack of quality, etc, I blame a lot on Billo because of their response rate. For example, if I upload my video within 24 hours of receiving the item, I submit my video. It then has to sit and wait for Billo's quality control check, then if THEY think it needs edits, then that's another wait for the edits to be done. It can take DAYS before their quality control check and more days if edits are needed before the brand even gets to see the video. So it may look like the creator takes forever, when in fact, at least in my case, that is not so.
Between what I'm seeing other creators say, I'm finding that it wasn't 'just me' - but how Billo treats creators as a whole. And quite honestly, the complaints from Brands, I don't blame them either. Overall, Billo really isn't worth it for either side. Great idea, poorly executed.
WORK WITH ME
I am now offering my services outside of Billo so I can work directly with the brands rather than using a "middle man" who doesn't care about either party. Check out my media kit for pricing and contact me to discuss further.
