Do you have a proven strategy for encouraging clients to hand over site content?
I work with trades people and getting them to understand that content is important is a difficult task.
I normally get a piece of paper with a half a dozen lines at best.
Do you require content from the client before you start
Do you offer content creation as an optional extra - what’s the average cost for this on ie. a 5 page site .
Do you create your own
Wing it a bit and hope they come up with it by the end of the project
Or do you/would you use AI content writers. I must admit these are a very tempting option when faced with a blank page or site.
I ask for it and very often get nothing or just random thoughts that make little sense. In that case, rather than wasting time, I just create the content and wait for them to correct it. Some don’t even read the site.
Generally, trades people are the worst at knowing their business and string together a form of words that anyone could guess from the business name.
Same with images and logos. By all means try and charge for it but most in my experience will offer to provide it.
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“Some don’t even read the site.”
Ain’t that the truth !
Ultimately I do the same - write it and then let them correct the content. It seems once they see the site, they suddenly become experts at content writing.
Yes. Same with images and colours.
The other thing to find out if it’s a real functioning web site they want or a vanity project as I call them. I. E. when they just want a tick in box site so that the url Yell stencil on the back of the Transit has somewhere to go.
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50% upfront. 50% once the structure of the site is ready and the content is ready. This means, often, projects never get past the initial structure, but I get 50% of the fee.
Then it’s a case of clearly defining how the content is going to be produced, from three options.
- They produce it all and send it to me in a format I can work with. Not photos of handwritten pages! Or better still, photos of photos on other websites (I kid you not). Example price for content adding: £500.
- I produce it all, lock stock and barrel based on conversations with them. Examples price £2000.
- Hybrid of 1 and 2. They send me what they can, written notes, email etc., I edit it all into something usable. Example price £1000.
Most opt for 3, and meand the process of getting content is much easier.
The example prices are not real, but put there so you can see how each options compares in terms of costs.
And yes. It’s saturday, and I’m having to work all weekend, cus a project that must go live coming Friday only got the content to me last night. A week late!
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