Q. How do I go about engaging you?
I generally recommend an initial 1.5 hour meeting for which I charge $150 plus GST. It gives me the chance to understand you and your business from a personal perspective. It also allows me to ask the critical questions that will underpin the purpose and outcomes of your web content.
You don’t need to be in Melbourne. Depending on your budget, I can travel or we can communicate online.
Q. Do you work to a brief or is a meeting or conference/Skype call sufficient?
A meeting clears the way for a written brief on which the project will be based. The brief contains the structure of the website, with an agreed site map covering numbers of pages, their names, and any drop-down sub-pages.
I can supply you with a brief template that quickly and easily takes you through the eight steps to composing a web content brief that really works. Or I can build the brief for you after our meeting/conference/Skype call.
If the latter, I charge a further $150. The reason for the brief is to ensure that all your needs and wants are clearly set out and met, and to reduce or eliminate any misunderstandings. The perfect result is to delight you first time. A written brief goes a long way to meeting that objective.
Q. How do you charge?
I work on a fixed price quote according to our agreed written brief. I don’t charge by the hour or the word because you deserve to know what you will pay before commissioning the work.
Q. Do you require a deposit?
I ask for payment of 50 percent of the quoted fee prior to a start, and the balance on completion of the project.
Q. Do you charge for additional meetings?
Your time is precious, so I keep meetings to a minimum. I prefer to stay within the fixed price quote for research and writing, with free email, phone and Skype contact. If a subsequent meeting or meetings are unavoidable, I charge $100 per hour plus GST.
Q. What if the scope of the project changes?
The scope of the brief can change. Either party can come up with new angles or additional ideas spurred by the creative process. I let you know the impact on cost and timing before doing the additional work.
Q. What is search engine optimisation (SEO) and do I need it?
SEO is jargon for the use of keywords and phrases that are close to or exact matches of search queries people key in to search engines like Google and Yahoo.
I recommend SEO for maximising the right kind of traffic to your website. I use SEO specialists whose cost is built into my fixed price. If you prefer, you can use your own.
Q. How long will my web content project take?
The size and complexity of the project governs the timing. My fixed price quotes always come with a timeline that I will meet unless the brief changes.
Q. How do you deliver content?
Once we agree the brief and I’m clear on the extent and depth of content you require, I proceed to copywriting. I first submit a sample page to establish that the content, tone, and language meets the brief.
You can nominate how you would like to receive drafts: a page at a time, a menu item at a time, or the whole of the content in one submission.
Q. How many amendments can I make?
As many as it takes to delight you, providing the brief remains the same.
‘Roger McDonald is a wordsmith par excellence. He eschews obfuscation and espouses elucidation and prunes pointless pontification. He has an uncanny ability to weave paragraphs so supple and nuanced that the words would pirouette off the page if they were not bound by ink. With the attention of a watchmaker Roger will assemble your thoughts and transform them into literature. I highly recommend his services.’ Rachel Hill, Chief Executive Officer, AccessMotion, Melbourne
If you need great web content that makes search engines happy, give me a call on 0438 935 905.