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Aug 21, 2009 by Richard - Web Design
- 2 Comments
Solving the Hourly Rates vs. Project Fee Problem
Every web design and digital marketing consultant is going to have to solve the pricing problem at some time or another. This is not an easy problem to solve but if you have a defined scope of what the project will entail and the solutions you will be providing then you can price as a project fee. What’s more important that a defined scope is the knowledge that before you can price you must differentiate yourself.
In any negotiation the key is to be able to offer a solution that is different enough from other firms that they are more likely to go with you. Following that is the ability to demonstrate that you have both the right capabilities and the systematic process to be able to deliver on time and budget. Once this is out of the way you can then discuss price.
In some cases, even after presenting a project fee, client’s will asked about your “hourly rate” behind a proposal. We have found that by explaining that our rates are based on comparative pricing with other similar projects it is easier for them to digest. This focuses the conversation on outcomes and deliverables and not on time and materials.
If the client insists on some form of time-and materials pricing, and doesn’t see the value of your proposal, you may need to decide to walk away and reserve your capacity for the right kind of client who will appreciate and benefit from the value you bring. Knowing when to walk away is a hard skill to learn but I can tell you that in 15 years of doing consulting I have never ever regretted walking away from a project. Trust your gut. If the deal feels bad during the negotiation it’s probably going to blow up at some point. The good news is that simple supply and demand will naturally drive your rate up.
However if you are really pressed put out a proposal above your proven rate and if the client says “no,” then ask them why. Give them an opportunity to negotiate and even if you have to discount you are still a winner. When the client chooses to work with someone else and then runs into trouble, the rate proposed 6 months ago suddenly looks a lot more attractive.
Finally, a note on why time and materials doesn’t work over the long-term. If you are growing and your rates are increasing over time then you will have to explain to your clients why the rates are different across different clients.
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Aug 21, 2009 by Richard
- Economy, Innovation, Web Design, Wordpress
- No Comments
There really is no perfect website
In a world where things change daily or even by the hour there can be no perfection. Websites are not things you create, launch and ignore. They are out of date the day you launch. If you have a website or run a web business get used to the idea that perfection is the enemy. Waiting for the site to be perfect before you launch is dangerous. Launch before you are perfect and then make changes every day.
We recently relaunched our own site after months of nitpicking back and forth. Eventually we decided to just get it out there and deal with the consequences. Guess what, there were none. A few small typos here and there but nothing that we couldn’t fix in a few minutes.
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Aug 20, 2009 by Richard
- Articles, General, Rapid Prototyping, SEM, Social Marketing, Social Media
- 2 Comments
Twitter’s Activity Represented Visually
This is a great selection of graphics from the Information id Beautiful blog. It shows that Twitter posts are mostly crap but that like anything there is some value buried in there. The question is how do you access those good posts and avoid the insane ego trip garbage?
Art & Copy: The Movie
I haven’t seen this movie yet but it looks like it’s in the genre of Helvetica and Objectified. It’s a commentary on advertising and inspiration. From the trailer…
“ART & COPY is a powerful new film about advertising and inspiration. Directed by Doug Pray (SURFWISE, SCRATCH, HYPE!), it reveals the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time — people who’ve profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry. Exploding forth from advertising’s “creative revolution” of the 1960s, these artists and writers all brought a surprisingly rebellious spirit to their work in a business more often associated with mediocrity or manipulation.”
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Aug 18, 2009 by Richard
- Articles, General, Web Design
- 1 Comment
Elance and Odesk tracks jobs in demand
This tracking table shows which jobs are still on the rise in terms of demand and which ones are falling out of favor. Delighted to see that almost everything on the list is exactly what we offer:
- Design of the Times: Graphic Design (#1) has regained the top spot in the Index trumping PHP (#2) which had held the pole position the past four consecutive months.
- Tech Still Trumps: Technology hiring trends continue to reaffirm the open-source movement with PHP (#2), MySQL (#3), Joomla! (#8) firmly entrenched in the Top 10.
- Customers Are King: Demand for cost-effective customer acquisition is demonstrated by Internet Marketing (#7) moving up five spots and bolstered by the Top 25 placement of Search Engine Optimization (#21), Lead Generation (#22), and Sales (#23).
- Is Web 2.0 Dead? Probably not, but demand for Twitter (#71) expertise dropped 25 slots, with Facebook (#63) and Social Networking (#45) also falling this month.
- Find Your Voice: Companies care how they sound, with Telemarketing (up 22 to #55), Telephone Etiquette (up 6 to #86) and Voice Over (#97) entering the Top 100 for the first time.
- Gaga for Google: Lots of upward mobility in Google-land, with Google Website Optimizer (#31) making a huge 28 spot leap, and Google Analytics (#93) and Google AdSense (#68) both debuting in the Index for their first time.Elance tracks jobs in demand
Fixing $5 Haircuts
Today I had two calls from people telling me they had really horrible experiences with cheap web designers. There are lots of so-called web designers out there. Building a website is pretty easy. Creating a memorable web experience is really hard. There are no short cuts. There are no good $5 haircuts.
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Aug 13, 2009 by Richard
- General, Web Design
- No Comments
Social Analyzer: What Social Media Websites Are Your Visitors Using?
Social Analyzer (www.social-analyzer.com) is a web marketers go-to tool, answering the age old question every website owner wants to know: Of the total amount of online traffic my website receives, what types of individuals are represented among this traffic? Social Analyzer (S.A.) allows additional insight into the types of visitors your website obtains, based on pre-existing websites your visitors have already viewed. All you have to do is sign-up for an account by entering your email, domain, and established password and your done… badda-bing, badda-boom… AND do you know what the best part is? It’s Free.
Once you set-up your free account you will be able to choose from a variety of social media sites you would like to monitor, or even add additional sites to your own personalized list. After choosing all applicable social media sites, you will then be given a code (much like that of Google Analytics) that can be installed directly on all webpages of your site. The presence of this code, will in-turn give you the ability to monitor which social media sites your website visitors have viewed. Simply log into your own personal dashboard, that displays your very own “easy to read and follow” website visitor statistics.
So, What’s the overall benefit of Social Analyzer, you might ask? It gives web marketers the tools to gain additional insight into what types of individuals are viewing their website. Allowing you to access, and possibly re-evaluate, your current social media campaign strengths and weaknesses, in order to gain additional business, leads and increase your overall profit through social media marketing.
To sign up for your free account and/or learn more about Social Analyzer, please visit the following link: Social Media Analyzer Tool
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http://www.freshtilledsoil.com Aug 12, 2009 by Dan Allard - General
- No Comments
Wufoo – Brilliant Web Usability and Information
When Richard and I logged into our Wufoo account the other day we were happy to find out about all the changes which were made since the last time we logged in. Every web application should take note of this strategy. Companies can’t expect every user to stay updated with on-site changes and updates. A clean message box with the latest and greatest is the best way to keep people informed. Great Job Wufoo.
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http://www.freshtilledsoil.com Aug 12, 2009 by Dan Allard
- General
- No Comments
Desired GMail Contacts Feature
I’m a loyal Gmail user and Fresh Tilled Soil uses the GMail exchange server and we all love the service.. Well, except the ads, but that’s another conversation. In my contacts folder I have 1000+ contacts and numerous duplicates. It would take hours and days to merge all the duplicate contacts I have. A simple solution to this problem would be to add a merge button next to the left of two of the same contacts. Clicking this button would merge the two and then the user would be responsible for cleaning up any of the information within single contact.
Does anyone else have this type of problem? Have you figured out how to fix it?
Update: I was able to find the solution.. Click on one client and then hold down shift and click the duplicated client and the merge feature will come up in the clients contact area.
100 Books in 2009
I’m trying to read 100 new books this year. I’ll be cheating a little because I will also be listening to several books on my iPod. Below is the list of books that I’ve already read or have started to read this year. I’m looking for more suggestions (please).
- Business Stripped Bare – Richard Branson
- How to get rich – Felix Dennis
- The Medici Effect: What Elephants and Epidemics Can Teach Us About Innovation – Frans Johansson
- Deep Survival – Laurence Gonzales
- Talent Is Overrated – Geoff Colvin
- The Invention of Air – Steven Johnson
- Force of Nature – Laird Hamilton
- Outliers: The Story of Success – Malcolm Gladwell
- The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life – Alice Schroeder
- Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely
- Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman
- Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein
- The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures by Dan Roam
- Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious – Gerd Gigerenzer
- Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies – Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff
- What Would Google Do? – Jeff Jarvis