CMD+Shift Design
Liz Andrade
Designer of print and web. Podcaster, Blogger, internet nerd and crazy cat lady.
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Got this question just recently via Facebook and decided to expand on my response for another installment of Ask A Freelancer.
Question
Liz,
How did you decide to specialize in wordpress design, and do you charge your clients for any time you spend training them on it?
WordPress isn’t something I decided to specialize in, it just sort of evolved. My first introduction to the software was with putting together this blog. In the months before leaving my old 9to5, I came home every night and spent hours at the computer slowly teaching myself WordPress and building what was version1.0 of the CMD+Shift Design blog. It was late 2007, I was working with WordPress Version 2.3 — which when I think about it now it was pretty primitive compared to what we know as WordPress today!
Time Lapse from Late 2007 of me learning WordPress and building V1.0 of the blog in the hours after my “9to5″ workday was over.
As I worked with the software more and with the big upgrade to features that version 2.5 brought, I was very excited about how vertistile WordPress could be and naturally started selling it to clients. It is not a solution for every type of site, but it is much more than just a blogging platform, for sure!
What I like most about it is how easy it is for my clients to use! Whenever I do a WordPress project I always include a tutorial session at the close of the process. The client has a chance to sit down with the software and get walked through how they will update and maintain their new website. As the software evolves more and more, it has just gotten easier and these sessions rarely last more than a half hour.
Over the last month, I have even opted to make screencast tutorials for my clients — in a 10 minute video I can walk them through all they need to know and they have that to reference back to whenever they need it! There are also some great resources for helping your clients get familiar with the software, like WordPress.tv.
I remember the days when having a content management system was an expensive process that was still not very simple for a casual user to pick up and for the most part — websites were fully static creations, meaning if you wanted to change something, you had to edit the code. I’ve dealt with teaching clients how to do basic HTML editing, it was awful! No client should have to deal with that stuff, they have businesses to run and they shouldnt have to shell out my hourly rate everytime they need some contact info changed.
Content manegement systems put the power into you clients hands so that they can grow their business in an efficient way and it ensures that the integrity of the design you have created with them is not compromised by any code blunders along the way.
WordPress isn’t the only game in town, there is a bunch of great CMS’s out there that can do a variety of unique things for you unique projects! There is Joomla, Drupal, Expression Engine, Movable Type, Magento, CushyCMS, CMS Made Simple and a lot more. Download and install and just try one out, see what it can do and think about how it may benefit your clients and you business!
Signs You Will Not Become My Client
Anyone who knows me knows — I LOVE my clients Seriously! My clients have some awesome businesses that I am lucky enough to play a part in growing… they are all really dedicated passionate people who truly love what they do. They appreciate and respect the work I do with them, they have kind hearts, open minds and great senses of humor. They tell me I am a pleasure to work with and I say the same back to them — and it is true.
I’m not bragging here — and I’m not some mythical freelance fantasy. Having awesome clients isn’t much about luck, but more about defining the client base you are after and not being afraid to turn down work with clients who are not desirable to you.
OK, i know — we’re in a tough economy! One cannot turn down an honest dollar! But, I tell you… if I worked as cheaply as 85% (that may be a bit of hyberbole,) of the people who email me wanted, I would work four times the hours each week and make a quarter of the money! How do I spot and weed out these less than amazing clients?
Streamline your Inquiry System
While my portfolio site does have a prominent phone number available, most make their first approach to me via the small contact form — they are able to specify that they are looking to get a quote and have space for sharing some details about their design needs.
By using a simple Google Mail Filter set up, I am able to track each quote request that comes in from my website, making responding to each a much more productive task. I will usually check in on these about 3 times a week and follow up accordingly. My follow up system has also been streamlined over time, mainly because of the large number of exremely vauge inquiries. Who else gets stuff like this;
”I need a website, how much will that be?”
I actually have a canned response for these that sends out a list of questions about the clients business, industry and specific needs, budget and deadlines. My first lesson I learned here? Most people who cannot be bothered to write a proper inquiry are not very serious about the project at hand. This simple step of following up with some questions weeds out a large percentage.. so … for those who follow up with a response?
Define Your Pricing and Policies
Clients who are asking for you to quote them on something WANT to know a price. Don’t be shy! Too many of us get weird talking about money, but it’s something you have got to get over. I rarely work on an hourly rate, usually define a project price. So once I have a general idea of what my client is looking for — I can get them an estimate. This is based on my experience with previous projects that may have been similar, and that clients particular needs. I send them a quote and if at this stage the project seems even a tiny bit undefined, I let them know that the pricing is based on the information they have supplied — if the scope of the project needs to expand, we can adjust the price accordingly.
Clients who make it with me through the quoting step… go on to be one of my prized clients — the rest fall into a few categories…
The Disappearing Client
This is easy. Some dissappear after I email asking for more information about thier needs… but some hold on and then disappear after I send them a quote. Is it outside of thier budget? Did they just change thier mind? Who knows — these ones never respond. They disappear into the client abyss.
There is a small subset of the Disappearing Client, they do follow up to let you know they will “let you know” or that they will be starting the project “down the road.” 99.9% of this subset will never be heard from again, but that small sliver of them — they DO come back. I’ve had people write back and say flat out ”I want to work with you, but don’t have this in my budget right now. I’ll contact you once I do!” …and then one day, they do! (yay!)
The Cheapskate
Unfortunately, this category seems to be a crowded one and I have heard it all. “I was hoping to get something for about $200.” or “I watched a youtube tutorial on Dreamweaver and already did all the design and development myself, but the navigation looks weird on my husbands computer and I just need a blog added. Could you just fix what I have here? It shouldn’t be more than a few minutes work.”
Look. I am a small business too. I don’t own a home (I don’t even own a car!), I do not have a fancy office or a staff of hundereds. I understand that you have to be smart about the money you spend when you’re starting out… but I would never say anything like this to someone who I am looking to do legitament work for me that is going to help grow my business. For these folks, be polite — but you can tell them “thanks, but no thanks.”
And then there is…
“I saw this design here and I like it a lot, can you do my site JUST like this, but with my logo – of course!”
…Oh yes, of course, because otherwise that would be stealing! No. I can not will not do that.
“This is not in my budget, but maybe you could just walk me through my current website and let me know what you would suggest I change about each page to make it look a little nicer and be more user-friendly and then I can just have my grandson who likes computers do it for me.”
…Sure. This is called Consulting… here is my hourly rate for that type of work.
“I really like the work on your website, but could you mock up what you would do for me so I can see if I like it first?”
If you like my work, you can hire me to work with you on a design. I wor really hard to make sure my clients are happy (no, THRILLED) with the product they get from me — but if you find it isn’t working out with us, here is my policy on canceling a project…
My Final Thought
I don’t usually rant on this blog and I really dislike those who talk shit about their clients. But, here’s the magic — these aren’t my clients… and I intend to keep it that way.
Ask A Freelancer #9 (Lightening Round!)
For the past 3 weeks I have had a Formspring account and have been asking all sorts of anonymous questions that come into me about dealing with clients, marketing, blogging, etc. I have a backlog of questions in my inbox over there and just try to pop in and answer a few of them each week. (If you have submitted something and I haven’t got to it yet, just be patient – I am answering everything!)
This has become a bit of an “Ask A Freelancer” Lightening round, so I decided to pick a few each week that I think might be of interest to you guys and re-post them here. So here we go…
At what point in your design process do you start talking with the client in detail about their project? Before someone becomes a client or after they are under contract and are “officially” a client?
Before someone signs a contract and becomes an official “client”, we usually talk in pretty broad terms about the design end of their project. We usually discuss scale at the onset of things… how large the website they need, what print pieces need designed, how many illustrations. THAT type of stuff. After a quote – if they choose to move forward, they put down a deposit, sign off on a project agreement and then we have a “kick off meeting” or a “consult” where we go further into the philosophy of their business, their goals, their businesses aesthetic, etc. etc. If after this chat we find that the scope of what we initially discussed had widened – we adjust the project agreement to accommodate it.
Do you have a niche?
I specialize in WordPress Design and Development. That is what maybe 75% – 80% of the work i do. But, I have a background in branding and print design and lately have been doing a fair amount of that. I love print, i LOVE IT. But, i think I do love web a little more.
What do you say to tire-kickers to prevent them from wasting your time? And what do you say to red-flag clients to send them elsewhere?
A red flag for me goes off when the first correspondence from a prospective client is vague. Emails like “I’d like a quote for a website.” Usually, these people either never respond, or they really have no clue what they need or want, but they know they can;t spend much money on it. I have a collection of “canned responses” in my email to respond to emails like this. It explains that I need more info to quote and then gives some wide-range ballpark prices they might expect for different types of sites. This will weed out most of those “tire-kickers,” but if they respond with more details on the project, they will already have a general idea of where your quote might fall from the previous email, so take the time to send them a quote!
What do you tell clients who see to be “afraid” of white space?
Well, when dealing with any client who is not comfortable with a design choice I have made on their project – I would explain the reason for it framed in the language of business instead of design. Telling a client “this empty space gives balance and order to the layout and allows your eye to rest.” makes perfect sense to you and your designer friends, but a client might likely heard “Wah wah wah wah wah,” try something like. “This space is important to give your companies logo more dominance, establishing a strong sense of brand and making sure your customer doesn’t get lost in too many elements.” Try not to let your client focus too strongly on what they like, but pull it always to what the customer needs.
How do you say no to a client you don’t want to take while still keeping the door open? Or what if you have too many projects flowing in at once?
Just be honest. If you have too much on your plate, tell them you can’t accept new projects for another 3 weeks – but you would love to work with them if they’d be willing to delay the start of the project! ….If you just aren’t interested in doing the job they have for you, tell them you don’t think that the project is the right fit for your skill set or style, but that they should contact you again if they have other projects in the future that the 2 of you could work on together!
Clients from Heaven vs Clients from Hell
This week I got the chance to do a quick video chat interview with Niki Brown from the DesignOBlog. We talked about nightmare clients and having a GOOD client experience. Head over to her blog and check out what was said!
When Freelancer Met Client
Today is Valentine’s Day and while many would see me as a prime candidate for someone who might relish in this holiday (been in a happy partnership for 8 years now,) I have always strongly held the belief that Valentine’s Day is bullshit. I do not practice it in the least bit. No candy hearts, no expensive dinners, it is a day just like any other day… and as per our Sunday ritual I got a lovely homemade breakfast this morning — who needs a holiday to tell us when to be thankful for each other?
But – hey all this relationship hoopla has got me thinking and you know… the process of being a freelancer, it ain’t much different than being out there in the dating world. …You don’t believe me? Well… here’s how it goes…
How I met my client…
When you first get a lead on a client, you have to pay attention to the signs to see if this is someone you want to start a project with. You get the information on the project and give out your quote. Can they afford you? Are they throwing up red flags like asking for free work or wanting to micro-manage the process?
Beware! At this stage in the game it can be easy to get swept up in the excitement of a new project, but keep your head about you! If you are a good match for each other then it’s time to plan for the future…
I think I could spend the next 15 – 20 business days with this person…
You’ve got a new client! They have accepted your quote and are eager to get the ball rolling, but slow down… it’s time to protect yourself and your client by doing things right.
Get their deposit in the bank, draw up your contract and get both of you to sign it. These steps show that you are a professional and that you have a professional attitude about your business and their business. Are they in a rush and want to move fast? Allow for sign-offs to be faxed in or get a digital signature. You can accept payments through Paypal to speed things along. If your client is serious about getting to the next phase quickly, they will not bat an eyelash at taking the initiative to get your the proper items necessary to move things along.
They totally “got” me!
I love that first meeting with clients! You get to know each other a little better, you share a few laughs and find those common connectors. …You hate Flash intros!? Me too! :) HAHAHA!
I always leave kick off meetings on a bit of a high, I am flooded with inspiration and I usually have to race to my notebook or computer so I can start sketching out ideas, making notes and researching right away!
What do you think they’re doing right now?
Once the project is underway, I think a huge part of having a happy and successful project is to stay in good communication with your client. Don’t leave then wondering and waiting by the phone. Each of your interactions should end with you letting them know what the next milestone is and when they will be hearing from you again.
It just didn’t work out…
Every once in a while, things just don’t work out. It’s a possibility in every relationship and the designer/client relationship is no different.For whatever reason, there may come a time when you or your client decide to not see things through to the end of the project.
It is important to be professional, don’t take things personally! If you choose to sever ties, just keep in mind that you do not have control over how your client might take the news, but you can be in control of how you respond to them.
(All of the whose-whats of this break up should be easy, just defer to your project agreement!)
I’ll never forget how special they made me feel…
When your project is complete and it is time to part ways make sure you leave them feeling satisfied. Answer any questions they may have and let them know that you are available to them in the future.
Even clients who come for a small one time project can turn out to be those who send you the most referrals! Happy clients beget more happy clients.
Keep the flame burning…
Long after you and your client have completed your work together, they will always be your client. Don’t forget them when you send out promotional materials, holiday greetings, or maybe just shoot them a quick email from time to time to say hello! Not only will this remind you client that they are important to you, but you may end up reminding them that they’d been meaning to get a hold of you about some new work!