upgrade newsletter

[mike&dawn]

we've been given a task to upgrade a company's newsletter.It's a totally new path 4 us. what do we do now? how do we get started, we're actually a small signage co. we do want to extend ourselves a little so therefore we took on this assignment, it also includes upgrading an existing website (another thing we're clueless on, but very eager to learn) any help and suggestions very welcome.

[mbangel]

I was just going to ignore this post, and hope you got discouraged and went back to signage. But the more I thought about it the more it just makes my blood boil.

The choice of a newsletter tool is based on your client's needs - Will they be adding the content? How well can they operate the web? How will they provide the content to you if you're going to be doing it. There are many ways to do this, based on the answers to those questions. How big is their newsletter mailing list? How often will newsletters go out?

You say you're going to be upgrading an existing web site, but you're clueless as to how to even start. Many questions apply to this topic as well - How capable are your clients at updating their own site? How often will the site need updating? Will the site need to "do" something, like a shopping cart, web forms, music postings. You don't even know what a web site can do, let alone how to make it do it.

I have been a web designer for 15 years, and make great effort to stay up to date with the new technologies. I am good at SEO, so I can add that value in to my clients. I am able to assess my client's ability when it comes to the web. I can gauge how much their web site should do, and how to set up the right tools for their abilities and time contraints.

I have cleaned up after the messes of the likes of you for many years - wannabe web designers with front page installed, a "friend" who knows how to build a web page, the "new professional". It takes hours of work and frustration trying to clean up a mess from people like you, costing my client untold hours and dollars. You're not doing them any favors at all by offering to do this and learn it.

The hours it will take you to learn this... will you be charging them for it?

My suggestion is build your own web site first. Learn by doing it on your own site, and skrewing up your own business first, before you go costing some poor soul all the stress and hassle. Look into GoDaddy's "web site tonight" tools. Joomla and Mambo are good starter tools as well. My suggestion is to go back to signage, and take some courses from your local community college before you start charging people money and ruining this industry for us all. And how about an english course too?

[Weedy Lady]

On behalf of those of us who have participated in this Forum for several years, I want to apologize to you for the rudeness of mbangel who has only made a very few postings.

There is no excuse for putting people down, telling them to take English lessons when the person's rude post has misspellings in it, etc.

However, the gist of what was said: Please do not take on a job redesiging a web site when you do not know anything about the process - learn lots and lots about it first and practice on your own site.....................and: Newsletters are a whole different "thing" with their own learning curve.

This request is a good impetus for you to get started learning how to do either/or both things, but please realize that learning the skills necessary for good web site design and SEO (which should really be part of the design process if you are going to give the person good value for their money) and the skills for newsletter design/usage all take time. Some people learn faster than others, but no one can learn these things "on the fly".

Good luck in expanding your business, in whatever direction you decided to go.

[GP200]

However many posts have been made here and by whom, I agree with both of the above replies, W'Lady was more polite is all and nothing wrong with that.

However, It's all very well telling "clueless" people to go build a newsletter, but what about the poor client? Although he/she has responsilbilities too if they don't do their research, of course UNLESS they are know your experience and you price respectively and their expectations reflect your skill level.

That said, we all start somewhere ...

You need to help yourself first before others. Start a sample project (and not some poor saps business marketing) , a dummy mini website...whatever. A newsletter is going to tie you in knots if you start with that. Google for something like Constant Contact and do your client a favour on that one.

Start with Google if you really are clueless.

Then ask specific questions as you come across problems and you will get great help.

If your reply would be that you don't know where to start, then you are not ready to work on third party client projects.

If you want someone to hold your hand from day one, your best initial bet would be to outsource to someone who you can sit in with. You get the job done properly and get paid without messing with a client and you learnt something for next time.