[spp-player url="https://episodes.castos.com/wpbuilds/wpbuilds-episode-128.mp3"]
In this episode:
Interview - Getting content from clients.
If you've building WordPress websites for clients for any length of time then you'll know that getting content from clients can the a real thorn in your side.
In an ideal world you've got a roster of lovely clients who deliver the content that you need to populate their website on time, or dare I say it, before time! They will provide it in formats that you've requested. It will be clearly labelled so that you know where it's intended for. Images will be perfectly cropped and video, just the right length. The copy is exactly what Google wants to see and it's the right length, and in keeping with the tenor of the website.
Then you wake up, because all of that way a dream. In the real world it's rarely this simple. Content that you want simply does not show up, you have processes which rely on a variety of channels and platforms - so chasing it up becomes a full time job. You wait and promised deadlines go unmet. You wait some more... crickets.
When the content does arrive, it's the wrong format, the images are too small so you cannot even crop them down with Photoshop. The text is not usable, because it's too long or short and it's full of grammatical errors that (I suppose) the client is hoping that you're going to fix in a jiffy!
Temperatures go up, profits go down and you're left wondering if you are building websites for people or just active a full time hand holder!
What you need is a process, a system that is completely bullet proof, one that will make this problem go away and ensure that content arrives on time and how you need it.
In my case, the solution is pretty basic - get on with something else and wait a bit longer. I know that this is hopeless and somewhat akin to digital 'burying your head in the sand', but it often works! Sometimes the client just need a little reminder and a little extra time and that's all there is to it. Whilst that's going on, I just move to another project and do some work on that and then come back when (or if) the content arrives!
But this laissez faire approach can't always be the best way, in fact I'd argue that's it's almost never the 'best' approach... but what is?
We talk about some of the systems that we've used over time, email, dropbox, SaaS apps and the phone. None of it's perfect and we're always tweaking this process to make it work better.
I've created images which explain exactly where their content is going to go on the site. "This is what a hero image is like", "This is what a UVP is and how long it ought to be", but the root of the problem is that these people often don't have much interest in interacting with you, the WordPress website professional. When we buy most things, we just show up at the store and then hand over some cash, in exchange for which we get a commodity, and then we leave. Web design is not like that, and it's quite likely that your client will not be familiar with your process, or the fact that there is any process at all. They just want to hand it over to you and then get it back when it's done; shiny and perfectly formed!
David has a unique approach to this issue in that he's working from the get-go with the clients, teaching them how to use the tolls that he uses in WordPress. So he's showing them how to use a Page Builder and guiding them on how to use it right from the start. This encourages the client to take some interest in what they want to go on their website as well as have an understanding for things like images sizes and the length of their copy. It's great.
My greatest tool for getting content is called... wait for it... the phone. The good old fashioned phone. In my case I always make sure that I have one point of contact in each company that I deal with. This means that I get to know the one person quite well; well enough that we often get quite friendly and this seems to assist the who process. It's not always perfect, but if sure does work. The big problem with this is if the person is just not available, is unfriendly or the point of contact in the business keeps getting swapped, then you're back to square one.
The long and short of this is that you've got to do what works best for you. It's more or less guaranteed that what you have working will not work for me and vice versa. I think that a conversation about what we all do is the best that we can hope for, so please, please add your comments so that we can see what you all do, and try some other things out and see what sticks.
As always, it's fun chatting to David and I hope that there's something of interest in here for you and your WordPress website business.
Mentioned in this episode:
Content Snare
Project Huddle
WP Feedback
