Today's blog is about the two opposite sides that Web Designers deal with when working with clients. The two sides are Creative and Production. On one side the creative challenge and aesthetic decisions made with regard to marketing and brand information available is what excites most Web Designers. The other side of this is managing production, minor revisions or simply maintenance of a web site. Either of these opposite sides are called upon by client as a must do by the Web Designer. The creative aspect is not only more enjoyable but often more profitable since creative work tends to be billed at a much higher rate than production work.
What got me thinking about this was a post on Facebook from a friend I went to College with. We were in the same class at FIT and got our BFA the same year. Prior to that we also went to the High School of Art & Design. I mention this just to emphasize that she is a very talented and creative person. Her FaceBook post was along the lines that she was so tired of making so many edits on a web site that the client asked for. I commented in her post that I get my clients make their own edits unless they are fun or creative requests and then I do them myself. She did not comment back but I started to think about what was really going on here. I posted a comment with the thought process of how I deal and set up my clients. Basically I build, design and create web sites from scratch onto a platform that gives my clients the ability to go in and easily make edits and changes to content. With this platform my clients also have 24/7 access to toll-free Customer Support experts who will literally hold their hand and take as much time as needed to get the changes done. The client can interact with an expert in E-commerce or an expert in Social Media. There are Customer Support experts for content management and basic editing, Search Engine Optimization, etc. These experts are in the US, fluent (in fact they speak American, not English! lol) and show a lot of patience. Clients do not pay more to use them, its included in the low monthly maintenance fee that also includes all the tools to market, promote, edit, make contact lists, create e-newsleters, blog within the site, connect to social media, analyze stats, etc. There's a lot more but that's not the point... the point is that its all there to use, with expert help for a low monthly fee. (I always ask, "where can you get someone to work with you anytime, as long as you need and for so little, per month?).
Some people might argue that I am missing out on potential income from doing the more "production-type" edits myself. No, this could not be further from the truth. The obvious is that I do not wish to do the edits because I want more time to focus on and enjoy the creative aspects of web design or to find more clients. I make more money either being creative or selling a new site or new design services to a client. It also gives the clients a feeling of being empowered. By the way they can choose anyone they want to do this work if they want to delegate due to time constraints. Making the changes promotes ownership of content and flexibility. Even if I do charge them a "production" rate rather than the "creative" rate to do this work it is still much more than what it would cost for them do it in their spare time. Even more realistic is that they can hire someone at a super low hourly rate, part-time to do this, rather than pay the Web Designer, Web Master, Programmer, etc. Think of the cost savings over a long period of time. And we all know that a web site is never finished and will need regular maintenance and content management to be effective.
The other alternative is for the Web Designer to "take-on" the production work and simply farm it out to contract employees, or an employee they already have, or freelancer. Personally I do not like to play "telephone" and waste time and efforts explaining the tasks and work over and over. I also do not like to baby sit. I find it very frustrating to supervise workers and that takes me away from result-producing activities. This is why I do what I do best (create and design) and let the clients work with the Customer Support experts on their own. I DO like to work with business partners who will duplicate everything I mentioned in this blog post. They are not employees, they are their own businesses and they will get out what they put in. Ultimately I'll get a piece of the positive results for simply helping them become successful. Its working smart because once they get it right they will generate a continuous stream of income for for both of us. This is getting away from the original subject but I just wanted to tell you briefly why I rather show others how to do what I do rather than have employees to watch over. Hmmmm, reminds me of that story... don't give him a fish, teach him to fish...
If you would like more information or see if you are qualified to become a successful business partner please email freddy@usonconsulting.com or call (551) 265-8762.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Thursday, March 1, 2012
DO NOT send out a bad email to prospect new work
Been a while since my last posting on this blog. The irony is that I shake my finger at people who have a blog but do not post regularly but my time away was intentional. I moved my family from northern to central New Jersey near the Princeton Area. Between selling a home, packing, moving and getting settled into a new place I pushed some things to the back burner. I also enjoyed time with my daughter during the summer at the shore and I refocused my thoughts about my business. What is interesting is that for a while I had a steady flow of work and prospects but that started to slow down. Rather than people reaching out to me I found myself calling others. So I realized it was time to practice what I preach, energize my marketing and get back to blogging. I really do miss blogging!
So the topic I want to write about is effective emails. The reason I bring it up is because I just got an email the other day from a business person I met at networking event a while back. I will leave their name and personal information out of this but tell you that he is a one-person operation. I think for the point I want to make it doesn't matter. He is a musician and creates/sells music clips online for use on your web site, multi-media project, etc. People are familiar with purchasing stock images online. This is similar but its music and sounds rather than photography. He also provides music and video production services and teaches privately.
Keep in mind that I met him once, over six months ago, traded business cards and connected on LinkedIn. I got an email the other day like this...
John Doe Company is now producing music for radio, TV, and business use as well as video for business presentations!
To listen to music samples what the promotional video at : http://companyname.com/blog/
Do you know anyone in need of music please contact me -- Thank You
I typed it exactly with the weird spaces, typos and odd language as I received it. I know that I have typos and incorrect grammar in my blogs but I am writing quickly as if I was having a conversation.
First of all, if I was sending out any advertisement, marketing piece, email, etc. I would not only proofread it myself but I have others read through it as well. Details like that make the recipient question the quality of work offered by this business.
Second thing that hit me right away is how impersonal the tone is. No reference to when or where we met or any indication that you care to know if I am well or hope that my business is doing well. Maybe a reference to the new year/season/long time-no-see... really anything would be nice. I know we met once but as a prospective client or networking/reference person you should be a bit more gracious. Now, I know that there a school of thought in marketing that says, "less is better/get right to the point", but you need to treat the email reader better. The more I read the copy the more it reminds me of what you might see on a business card.
Third thing that hit me was how short the email was. Its okay to be straight to the point but you need to give more incentive about going to your web site. What makes you unique and different from all the other similar businesses? What's your niche, specialty, etc?
Finally, I want to add that there is no "call to action". Don't write "contact me" and have the reader do work if they have that split-second thought about who could use your services. Don't make them go out of their way to find your phone number. Now you might argue that since this as an email the person reading it can simply reply. That works well in a situation when both parties are used to emailing each other. With someone I met once I can tell you that I would want to talk to him before referring someone. Also, the bottom line is that you need to build rapport and nurture relationships and that is always easier and more effective when speaking.
There are other things that I would question about this email but to be fair I also want to point out that this is from a one-person show who did not use any professional help and wanted to just get the word out. His web site could be another blog or two but I won't go there. Many small business owners skimp on spending when it come to advertising, web sites, email blasts, etc. This example is pretty typical.
If you would like a FREE review of your web site or other marketing materials with a FREE fifteen minute phone consultation please contact me. Call (551) 265-8762 10AM-6PM est, or email me at freddy@usonconsulting.com
So the topic I want to write about is effective emails. The reason I bring it up is because I just got an email the other day from a business person I met at networking event a while back. I will leave their name and personal information out of this but tell you that he is a one-person operation. I think for the point I want to make it doesn't matter. He is a musician and creates/sells music clips online for use on your web site, multi-media project, etc. People are familiar with purchasing stock images online. This is similar but its music and sounds rather than photography. He also provides music and video production services and teaches privately.
Keep in mind that I met him once, over six months ago, traded business cards and connected on LinkedIn. I got an email the other day like this...
John Doe Company is now producing music for radio, TV, and business use as well as video for business presentations!
To listen to music samples what the promotional video at : http://companyname.com/blog/
Do you know anyone in need of music please contact me -- Thank You
I typed it exactly with the weird spaces, typos and odd language as I received it. I know that I have typos and incorrect grammar in my blogs but I am writing quickly as if I was having a conversation.
First of all, if I was sending out any advertisement, marketing piece, email, etc. I would not only proofread it myself but I have others read through it as well. Details like that make the recipient question the quality of work offered by this business.
Second thing that hit me right away is how impersonal the tone is. No reference to when or where we met or any indication that you care to know if I am well or hope that my business is doing well. Maybe a reference to the new year/season/long time-no-see... really anything would be nice. I know we met once but as a prospective client or networking/reference person you should be a bit more gracious. Now, I know that there a school of thought in marketing that says, "less is better/get right to the point", but you need to treat the email reader better. The more I read the copy the more it reminds me of what you might see on a business card.
Third thing that hit me was how short the email was. Its okay to be straight to the point but you need to give more incentive about going to your web site. What makes you unique and different from all the other similar businesses? What's your niche, specialty, etc?
Finally, I want to add that there is no "call to action". Don't write "contact me" and have the reader do work if they have that split-second thought about who could use your services. Don't make them go out of their way to find your phone number. Now you might argue that since this as an email the person reading it can simply reply. That works well in a situation when both parties are used to emailing each other. With someone I met once I can tell you that I would want to talk to him before referring someone. Also, the bottom line is that you need to build rapport and nurture relationships and that is always easier and more effective when speaking.
There are other things that I would question about this email but to be fair I also want to point out that this is from a one-person show who did not use any professional help and wanted to just get the word out. His web site could be another blog or two but I won't go there. Many small business owners skimp on spending when it come to advertising, web sites, email blasts, etc. This example is pretty typical.
If you would like a FREE review of your web site or other marketing materials with a FREE fifteen minute phone consultation please contact me. Call (551) 265-8762 10AM-6PM est, or email me at freddy@usonconsulting.com
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