Archive for the ‘Ask A Web Developer’ Category

Part 4 in series “Ask a Web Developer”.

One of the things I find most interesting about working with small business owners is that I get to do a lot of general business consulting. I see how each business operates from the inside. No two businesses are exactly alike and they each have a unique perspective on marketing; in some cases marketing is actually non-existent.

According to this CNN article, the Small Business Administration claims 70% of small businesses fail before their 10th anniversary. After speaking with hundreds of small business owners over the past few years, I honestly think the problem is that many of these people don’t understand business – they literally have no idea what they’re doing.

As a web developer, I obviously get to help small businesses create an online presence through their website. I also offer a variety of other consulting services like Email Marketing, Pay-Per-Click (PPC) marketing and Social Media assistance. But in many cases these small businesses have completely forgotten about offline marketing – and wonder why their business isn’t booming.

Why Offline Marketing?

Online marketing is fantastic – it’s relatively inexpensive, and many customers (particularly younger demographics) look for products and services online first. A website is an absolute must for every small business if they want to attract new customers, and the Return on Investment (ROI) for any online marketing effort can be easily tracked.

Offline marketing is often a bit more time consuming and (depending on the method chosen) it can also be expensive. The key to success in offline marketing is knowing where to spend your time and money – something many small business owners struggle to do.

Web Design and Offline Marketing

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m no expert in marketing – I don’t have an MBA, and I obviously spend most of my time buried in code. But being a small business owner myself has taught me many lessons and I’m prepared to share a few of those with you.

Lesson #1: Know Your Target Customer

When I first started working as a freelance web developer I was desperate to get any work I could find. Unfortunately, I wasted a lot of time chasing crappy leads for low paying projects.

Once I decided to target a specific group of clients within a nearby radius my sales volume increased dramatically.

Lesson #2: Don’t Wait for Customers to Find You

After I learned who my target customers were, I decided to try a variety of offline marketing tactics (in addition to my online campaigns) to attract new clients. I took out an ad in the local paper, I direct-mailed postcards to my target customers and I waited for businesses to contact me. I waited… and waited… and waited…

After a few weeks of waiting, I learned that I had accomplished only one thing: wasting my time and money. I’m not saying that newspaper ads and direct mailings are a bad idea – but it was obvious that those methods weren’t going to work for me.

I then decided to start attending local events like the 2010 Fox Lake Business Expo. I spoke directly with the business owners and within days I had a handful of new clients.

Lesson #3: Ask for Referrals

I take a great deal of pride in every website I build, and most (if not all) of my clients have expressed their gratitude and appreciation for the work I deliver. But in the beginning, I didn’t often get new projects as a direct result of a referral… and I didn’t understand why.

Not long ago I read a book called The Referral Engine, and it totally changed the way I approach referral business. The key (believe it or not) is to actually ask for referrals!

Your Thoughts

I obviously only cite a handful of examples, and they’re somewhat specific to my area of expertise.

What successful offline marketing tactics do you use?

Part 3 in series “Ask a Web Developer”.

This question comes from Nykc on DreamInCode: “How do you deal with bad clients?”

What is a bad client?

Let’s be honest – not all clients are ideal. Although the vast majority of my clients are wonderful (and I would do anything for them),  others are rude, inflexible, have unrealistic expectations and don’t pay on time.

Depending on the client and the situation, my advice might vary. Here’s a general list of solutions I use for bad clients:

Rude Clients

Rude clients are (in my opinion) the worst kind. I generally cut ties with these people early on in the relationship because I won’t be disrespected.

I once had a guy pressure me to do something quickly by saying “If you can’t get this done today I’ll find someone else.”

You know what I told him? Hire someone else.

Inflexible Clients

I’ve dealt with some clients who aren’t very flexible when it comes to taking professional advice, and it’s frustrating to know that they don’t value your opinion despite the fact that they’re paying you.

For example, I built a website a few months ago for a guy who wanted me to use some of the ugliest colors I’ve ever seen. I tried to reason with him but he wouldn’t budge – he liked his colors.

What did I do? I build his website, and I got paid. But I definitely didn’t put my name anywhere on the site, and it’s not listed in my portfolio. The client is happy with the final product – which is sometimes the only thing that matters.

Unrealistic Clients

There are many people in this world who are oblivious to the realities of everyday life: they want things done yesterday, they always think things are “easy”, and they expect quality work for cheap prices.

Dealing with unrealistic clients can be very tricky. On the one hand, you want to make them happy. On the other, you want to stand up for yourself and your work. As hard as it may be, you need to start saying “No” to these clients when they ask for something unreasonable.

A long time ago, I had a client who seemed shocked when I gave him a quote for his website. He tried to counter my price with something lower (a price he saw on Craigslist) but I told him no and explained why my price was more expensive. He backed down and agreed to my price.

Clients Who Don’t Pay on Time

These clients are sneaky and you often don’t know they’re a bad client until your invoice goes unpaid for weeks at a time. I’ve been burned by this problem once and I’m hell bent on making sure it never happens again.

Generally speaking, I’ll ask for a 50% down payment on any project over $500, and the remaining 50% is due before I deliver the final code.

But for clients who are late with a payment, I follow these two steps:

1. If a payment is more than a week past due, I respectfully ask to be paid ASAP. Most times, the client just forgot and sends payment immediately.
2. For clients who said they’d pay me in step one (but never did), I “respectfully” threaten to take my work off their server.

Step 2 is the beautiful part of being a web developer – I’ve been given access to their servers, and I have the ability to remove my work if I’m not paid. I actually had to do that once… and the client paid me the very next day.

Ask a Web Developer!

Have a question you want answered? Contact me through my website or send me a message on Twitter (@arthurakay). Then stay tuned to my YouTube channel for the answers!

Part 2 in series “Ask a Web Developer”.

This question comes from Nykc on DreamInCode: “Where do you find inspiration?”

This is a fantastic question because it allows me to dive into the different aspects of web development and web design. I generally separate the two disciplines because design is more creative while development is more mathematical. However, these fields are very similar and I often have to wear both hats on any given project.

Inspiration for Web Design

When my clients ask me to build or redesign their website, my goal is to deliver something visually interesting – but also something that effectively markets their brand.

More often than not, my inspiration for the creative designs on any given project come from other websites. Seeing other peoples’ work challenges me to think differently about my own layouts or designs.

At the same time, I often have to create designs that match existing logos or artwork. This presents me with another set of challenges, and I have found that the best inspiration in this case comes from asking my clients to explain the story behind their branding or the significance of their logo. Their responses usually open a huge world of creative possibilities.

Inspiration for Web Development

My inspiration for web development projects usually comes from an entirely different place.

As a small business owner, I’m always looking for ways to improve my own processes. As a consumer, I’m keenly aware of how I’m treated by the software I use. As a software developer, I know how time or technical limitations affect my projects.

My goal as a web developer is to always present a polished User Experience, and to do that I have to balance each of these POVs. In short, I use my own personal experiences as inspiration to build a better tool.

Ask a Web Developer!

Have a question you want answered? Contact me through my website or send me a message on Twitter (@arthurakay). Then stay tuned to my YouTube channel for the answers!

Part 1 in series “Ask a Web Developer”.

I’ve been asked this question a hundred times: “How do I get started as a Web Developer?”

The answer to this question is a bit complicated because “web development” has many facets and no one can possibly master them all. With the rise of mobile platforms (like the iPhone and Android) this statement has never been more true.

That being said, I think a lot of web developers have a similar story regarding how they got started. Maybe the best answer to this question is to tell the story about how I became a web developer.

With any good story, we need to answer: Who?, What?, Where?, When?, Why? and How?

The only questions I didn’t cover were Who and When… but those just mean you and now.

The one thing that you’ll find is that the web development landscape is always changing, which requires all developers to constantly refine and learn new skills. You need to make it a priority to read a new blog everyday. Also follow relevant people on Twitter – I see great resources posted several times a day.

Ask a Web Developer!

Have a question you want answered? Contact me through my website or send me a message on Twitter (@arthurakay). Then stay tuned to my YouTube channel for the answers!