It’s suprising how much of a difference it makes when a client actually goes out of their way to write you an email about how happy they are with the job you did for them. Completely unsolicited makes it even better…
Recently, I did a (very) small WordPress driven website for a friend of mine for his up and coming laptop and notebook repair service. Things went anything but smoothly in some aspects like moving from his hosts at the time (no names mentioned) and then some controversy three quarters of the way through when someone criticised me to him sparking some doubt in his mind over my costs. This is what caused me to write about lowballers in the web design industry.
I won’t paste the entire email as there are some bits that are not related to this post (and personal stuff), but since he said:
“Feel free to post any of this on your blog, with my email address as a ref. Will be happy to advise others to use your methods.”
I decided to use this one paragraph which sums up the tone of the email and what he was saying:
“Most importantly: Your sites work – you can quote me on that. I think the value of the site far exceeds what you have charged, and I really want to thank you for going out of your way to sort me out on mates rates there. That CMS is absolutely necessary, there’s just no contesting that.”
Well, to me, that makes me feel a whole lot better in an industry where there is a lot to get frustrated about and it’s nice to know there is more to it than just the pleasure of working with technology in these exciting times on the web.
“Try not to become a man of success rather try to become a man of value” – Albert Einstein
Ill add to that – if you’re being of value, you will be successful anyway.
Ross, your sites add value. Keep up the good work.
From a results driven customer happy with your results
Man, that is awesome.
Always rewarding to get unsolicited positive endorsements from people who matter to you. Just curious since you were talking about WordPress as CMS, have you ever tried ModX? I have been toying with it for one of my clients and I am impressed thus far.
@Shane, yeah it gives me the warm fuzzy feeling.
Regarding ModX, Ive had a look (now that you’ve pointed it out). It looks pretty decent. Added to my delicious. For now though, I’m pretty tied in to WordPress as my CMS of choice for light website requirements.
Ye man, there’s nothing better than a client praising you for the work you did, it’s the motivation needed to get that next project rocking even more!
Other than the basic advantages of your methods Ross, Ive found the fun I’m having with this site goes deeper. Its kind of addictive, and I sit about 3 times a week till late thinking of ways to better my content.
Its like any new toy, you want accessories, more performance, better ratings, and to rise amoungst your peers (or competition in this case).
Im now thinking of forums, inbound links, white pages, FAQs, link based content, client reviews etc etc. Before the site was up, I was thinking ‘Website’ and ‘How much’. I shoulda been asking ‘How much fun!?’
I even nicked my GF’s ‘Emarketing’ book and been reading it. For me to read a book is enough said.
Hope that now you’re a Natalian you’re not going to slack off like us Cape Tonians dont.