This tip is for web developers, consultants, and also for webmasters that rely on other entities to provide content for their site. In my experience, getting quality & relevant content for the website you are working on is one of the most challenging tasks in the project cycle.

A friend and a partner of ours, Burns Smith, (who had a previous guest post on this blog), showed me an email he sent to a joint client of ours asking him for updates on content. I thought Burns’ note was very creative, funny, and effective. Check it out below (name of client was removed for privacy purposes):

———————————–

Hello

Let me introduce myself: I am your new website www.domainname.com. However, I am very sad because I am content poor and do not have any pictures of the great products you build. I feel very naked and the other websites on the internet are making fun of me. Can you help me out?

I know articles are being published in two Magazines that will highlight your products. That will undoubtedly cause people to come view me. I am going to be very embarrassed for them to see me like this.

If you will just help me out then I promise I will make you money. I really do know how to entice internet door buyers to come see me but I need more content and images to be able to tell your story properly.

Yours truly,

———————————————–

Burns, this was very creative!!!

This is a post by my friend and a fellow Internet Consultant, Burns Smith, in Madison, MS. We have known Burns for almost two years now and we have worked together on several projects. Burns continues to impress us with his ability to educate his clients on the need to invest the time and effort upfront to better scope the opportunity so all parties are aware of what is involved and expectations are set accordingly. We’ve asked Burns to share his approach with us and below is what he wrote. We hope you find it of benefit to your business as well!

Burns says:

As a professional Internet Consultant, one of the dilemmas I face is at what point should I be charging for my time. I understand that any business relationship must go through an introductory stage. I also know that I must invest enough time to establish my credibility with the buyer. However, what I am selling is my time, my knowledge, and my access to a tremendous network of resources. At some point I should be on the clock and get paid for what I do. To do otherwise is not fair to me and encourages non-serious tire kickers to waste my time.

So when should I start charging for my services? After experimentation with several different approaches, I decided that the best one was to charge for my proposals. It takes a lot of my time to meet with a client, understand his or her needs, match those needs up to the correct Internet solution, and then meet again with the client to review the proposal. However, I make sure I share enough information in the initial appointment that it is very clear that I will bring value to the process. I also encourage potential buyers to check my references. If the project is not overly complex, I explain to the client that the next step of the process is going to take a significant investment on my part and the end result is that he or she will be much more educated about website design and internet marketing.

I usually throw out a nominal fee. I quite often get responses such as “I understand” or “That’s not a big deal.” For those who object, I believe I have just weeded out a non-buyer. The fee does not truly compensate me for all of the time required to generate a proposal. However, I believe these are the benefits to be gained by following this process:

• It enhances my credibility.
• It establishes from the beginning that I get paid for my time and knowledge.
• It screens out non-serious buyers.
• It helps me to understand if I am talking to the decision maker.
• Buyers will better value something for which they have paid.
• If they do not buy, I have at least have been compensated in some fashion.

If the project is going to be more complex, I explain that it will take quite a bit of time and analysis to scope out the project in order to set a price and that I will be charging an hourly rate in this initial stage of the project development. The client will in turn receive a detailed project definition and a price.

J. Burns Smith, Jr.
Internet Consultant
(601) 853-4449
P.O Box 1213
Madison, MS
39130-1213
www.wsistarwebsolutions.com

Internet Consultants (ICs) have different strategies in running their companies, some are very hands-on, and like to implement programs on their own, while other ICs tend to outsource project management and implementation to production centers, authorized suppliers, and third party vendors. In his training workshop, Feras Alhlou emphasizes the need for consultants to determine what business model best fits them and stick to that model.

I believe in on-going education though, and below is a list of recommended resources and reading for ICs to keep their skills sharpened and continuously quality internet marketing service and drive business results to their end clients. Even if an Internet Consultant (IC) decides to outsource most of their implementations, a sound understanding of marketing strategies and tactics as well as emerging internet marketing trends is vital for the success of their business. Below is a list of sites, blogs and articles on topics such as pay-per-click (PPC), search engine optimization (SEO), web analytics (WA) and other related internet marketing programs.

• Keyword Tools
  • Google Adwords Tool: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
  • Google Suggest: http://www.google.com/webhp?complete=1&hl=en
  • Yahoo Keyword Selector Tool: http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion
  • WordTracker: http://www.wordtracker.com
• Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
  • Google Adwords Learning Center http://www.google.com/adwords/learningcenter
  • Adwords Optimization tips: https://adwords.google.com/select/tips.html
  • Content Guidelines: https://adwords.google.com/select/guidelines.html
  • Google Help Center: https://adwords.google.com/support/bin/topic.py?topic=29
  • Google Adwords Blog: http://groups.google.com/group/SEM2 (need a google account to access)
  • Google Inside Adwords Blog: http://adwords.blogspot.com/
  • Google Adwords Landing Page and Site Quality Guidelines: https://adwords.google.com/select/siteguidelines.html
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
  • Google Webmaster Guidelines: http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35769
  • Google Webmaster Central: http://www.google.com/webmasters
  • Bruce Clay: http://www.bruceclay.com
  • SEO Book: http://www.seobook.com
  • Search Engine Watch: http://www.searchenginewatch.com
  • Matt Cutts, a Googler that blogs on SEO: http://www.mattcutts.com/blog
• Web Analytics (WA)
  • Chapter 4 in Google Adwords learning center http://www.google.com/adwords/learningcenter
  • Google Analytics www.google.com/analytics
  • Eric Peterson’s website www.webanalyticsdemystified.com and Eric’s yahoo group
  • Web Analytics Association www.waa.com
  • Google Conversion University http://www.google.com/analytics/conversionuniversity.html
• General Useful tools:
  • Google Spreadsheet: http://spreadsheet.google.com
  • Google Blog Reader: http://www.google.com/reader

If you have a tool that you think it is helpful to other Internet Consultants, feel free to email Feras and let him know about it. For more information and help on Internet Marketing programs such as Pay-Per-Click (PPC), Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or Web Analytics Services, feel free to contact us or drop us an email.