Coaxing Web Content: How to Get Your Clients to Get You the Content You Need
June 11th, 2008 in Business & Process
by: Matthew Griffin
Coaxing web content can be one of the most frustrating parts of being a web designer. It's a part of our work that's completely out of our control; and yet a job is never complete without it. No matter how well you stick to your time-line, or how hard you work to meet deadlines, or how on-top-of-it you are, missing content will shut you down. When you can't finish a project, you can't get paid. And when you can't get paid, potential bad situation start becoming reality. Unless you write copy for your clients, I'm sure you've had a bad experience with web content at one time or another. That's why the art of coaxing content is such a desirable skill. Here are some tips for sharpening that skill and keeping your projects rolling.
In the Beginning...
I'm referring, of course, to the beginning of the project—not the beginning of time. As early as possible, start asking for content. I usually, ask clients to start sending over content before they even agree to my proposal. That may sound a little fanatical, but I've found that it helps with research and usually adds a couple of weeks to the amount of time I have the content in hand. The earlier you start asking for it, the earlier you're going to get it. It's really that simple. An added bonus to aggressively pursuing content from the beginning is that it let's your client know you mean business and you're passionate about their project.
The Checklist
As best you can, keep a checklist of the content you need for every project. When you're juggling five or six projects at once, it's easy to forget what you're missing on a particular project. Every time I get to the end of the project and realize there's some huge piece of necessary copy missing, the cause is invariably that I didn't keep track of what I needed. Even though, it may not technically be your fault when this happens, you'll still suffer the consequences. It's better to stay on top of it throughout the project.
The Reverse Deadline
Clients are usually the ones setting deadlines for us. But in this case, it will help you and your client if you turn the tables. Of course, setting a deadline for you client doesn't look exactly the same as when they set one for you, but the idea is the same. The moment you start feeling the a hint of a content problem, just flat out ask when the it will be ready. This usually forces the client to set a time frame. True, they can break it with essentially no consequences (other than a delay of site launch), but just having one out there is an impetus to get it done. It also keeps you covered. In the event that the site launches late, there is no question where the problem was.
Send an Invoice
When the wait is getting ridiculous, I usually go ahead and send the final invoice. In reality, if a project is 99.9% complete and the only thing left is a three-paragraph writeup for the about us page; it's time to bill. Once the final bill is paid, the content will come pretty quickly. No one likes a free-and-clear piece of equipment sitting around rotting. Something about paying that last invoice seems to drive that concept home. Plus, once you've been paid, the pressure is really on them. Just make sure you stay true to your word and finish the project when you get the missing content. There's no need to blow your reputation over a little copy, paste, and format work.
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Comments
Posted By: Gary Good on 06/11/08
During my career, I've sometimes been the designer and sometimes the client, so I understand both points of view. There is so much that goes on in a client's company that the designer never sees. The more you can put yourself in the client's shoes, the better you can deal with getting content, approvals, etc. You probably will never know all that goes on in the client's office, but a few key things should be considered. First, as a designer, you spend 40+ hours a week thinking about your design work. As important as that work is to you (and perhaps should be to the client), it's a very small priority for them. It's very easy for the client to put off creating the content for their web site. Chances are, your client contact is answering to someone else. Sometimes your contact doesn't have as much authority to move things as long as you've been led to believe. Sometimes your contact has to fight through the internal politics. Managers and other stakeholders often have different views regarding what should be on the web site and how it's presented. As the arguing and politicking goes on, you're obliviously waiting for the client to get back to you. If you contact just sits back and waits for them to work it all out, you're waiting even longer. Since you're not part of the company and have no voice, there's no fail-safe solution to this problem. However, there are a few things you can do at the outset to minimize the problem. First, do what you can to find out what authority your contact really has in the company. Who does he report to? Who else in the company is going to have input into the website? Who has final authority? If there are too many people with input and no strong authority, account for this in your proposal. Rather than two payments (50% up front and 50%) or three payments, consider adding additional payments so that you're not waiting to get paid for work you've done because you don't have content. As stated in this well written article, giving the client a schedule is helpful. Take that a step further and write the schedule in your proposal based on client actions. For instance, you'll provide finished pages X days after receiving all content from client. Make a time line (in the proposal) that graphically shows your commitments and the commitments required of the client. Finally, make sure the client understands that they are a critical member of this project team. In order to meet the deadlines, all team members must meet their individual deadlines in order for the project to be completed on time.
Posted By: on 06/11/08
Thanks for the input, Gary. Your comment is almost an article in itself.
Posted By: Kat Rice on 06/30/08
I think a lot of this article is just common sense, unfortunately most of us need to be reminded. Having been on both sides, like Gary, I know stuff comes up but its easier to post deadlines for a client and coax them along then wait forever on something necessary. In fact, most clients thank me for reminding them and setting up timelines. Of course, I didn't always work this way. There is a learning curve. Wish I'd read this article last year. Thank you for sharing!
Posted By: Matthew Grffin on 06/30/08
Thanks, Kat.