How Animalz cut hours of manual work with a content pipeline app for 30+ freelancers

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The Problem

Animalz has relied on Airtable since 2016 to manage its internal processes, but as the content marketing agency grew—and shifted to working with 30+ freelancers—the limitations of its project management system became clear. Airtable’s interface was difficult to navigate for non-technical users, and giving freelancers paid editor seats was costly. 

“We were paying over $1,000 a month just to give freelancers access,” said Julia Melymbrose, Director of Strategy and Operations at Animalz. “And if someone new came in or left, it was easy to lose track and let costs balloon.”

The agency tried patching the problem with Google Forms connected to Airtable (via Zapier), but the setup was clunky: writers had to copy article data into forms to update project statuses, which often led to formatting errors and submission failures. 

“It was a terrible experience for everyone,” Julia explained. “Writers would try to update something, get an error, and not be able to move forward with their work. I’d get multiple messages a day about it, and I’d have to go fix it manually whenever I logged in, which would delay the process further.”

Animalz needed a system that would:

• Give freelancers access to assignments without paid Airtable seats 
• Move freelancers through assignment workflows with Animalz editors to meet strict deadlines 
• Eliminate system errors that required manual fixes (and caused internal data to move through emails)
• Deliver a clean, branded user experience

The Solution

Julia turned to Softr to build a dedicated project and freelancer management system on top of Airtable—also known as a content pipeline. Now each user group (writers, editors, copy editors) has their own tailored experience mapped to their workflow. 

The application provides: 

• Faster freelancer onboarding: New freelancers get immediate access to the portal without needing an Airtable seat or setup. From there, they’re able to view the company’s knowledge based and pinned resources to help them get up to speed faster.
  
• Granular view/edit access: Freelancers only see what’s relevant to them from the Airtable base, with edit access restricted to specific fields like project status or comments. They can update only the statuses that apply to them—internal statuses are hidden to reduce errors and simplify the interface.
  
• Custom assignment workflows: Assignments appear in the freelancer portal as soon as an idea is approved and assigned. Writers and editors can review key details—like due dates and pricing—and accept or decline assignments with a single click, right from the app.
  
• Automated notifications: Status changes made in Softr (like accepting an assignment or submitting a piece for edits) sync to Airtable and trigger automatic notifications to the right Animalz team members to move projects forward. Integrations with Zapier also auto-generate assignments and create Google Docs for freelancers, removing the need for manual handoffs. 

Each step moves the content pipeline forward while updating everyone involved, without the need for manual admin work or back-and-forth emails.

The Impact

The new content pipeline system has dramatically improved the freelancer experience and reduced operational overhead for the Animalz team. 

“Freelancers started using the portal, and there were zero issues,” Julia noted. “Not a single freelancer has emailed me saying they couldn’t get something done.”

The system has also provided: 

• An always-accurate pipeline: A two-way sync between Softr and Airtable keeps the content pipeline up to date in real time—no lag or manual updates.
• $700+ in monthly savings: By moving freelancers out of Airtable, Animalz eliminated extra seat costs, saving over $700 a month.
• 3-4 hours of Julia’s time saved per week: Before Softr, Julia often received 2-3 system error alerts per day, which she’d have to manually update. Now that number is zero. 
• Fewer delays in content handoffs and deadlines: Writers and editors no longer waste time on status updates or administrative handoffs, so they can stay focused on creating exceptional content.
• A cleaner, branded experience: The portal provides a branded, intuitive interface that’s easy for freelancers to use.

Next up, Animalz is planning to expand the system for clients and other internal team members to make daily content operations even more efficient.

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