CONTENT GUARDIAN

Making life easier for web developers and designers

Are you wasting time chasing clients for content?

How long did you spend last month just chasing your clients for content to complete the websites you’ve built for them?

Too much time?

 
If you design and develop websites, then chances are you’re all too familiar with this major headache.
 
Content.
 
Specifically, missing content.
 
Let me explain.
 
If you’re anything like me, you want to see projects completed and signed off as quickly and smoothly as possible.
 
But from my years of working with web designers and developers, I’ve come to recognise one key issue.
 

You’re wasting too much time, energy, and resources chasing clients for missing copy, images and video.

And while you wait, everyone loses.

Your client isn’t benefiting from all your hard work because you can’t finish the project. And because you can’t finish the project, you can’t raise your completion invoice.

Which means you’re not getting paid either. 


Sound familiar?

 
Then I can help.
 
I can bridge the gap between you and your client.
 
I can make sure they know what you’re expecting from them and what they need to do.
 
And I can make sure they know how to get that copy written, those images sourced, and those videos made.
 
I’ll be your go-between, your translator.
 
Your Content Guardian.
Yes, I agree. 

In an ideal world, this shouldn’t be necessary.
In an ideal world, your client should know how to write a few words, find a competent photographer, and sort out a video or two.
 
But I know and you know that we’re not in an ideal world.
 
Instead, this is what I see happen far too often…
 
  • Your client wants you to build a new website
  • They give you a brief
  • You follow the brief and build the wireframe
  • You ask them for the content
  • Nothing happens
  • You ask them again
  • Still nothing happens
  • You ask once more
  • A few bits of scrappy copy arrive, along with a couple of blurred images
  • You try a few more times
  • … and then you park the project and move on.
And once it’s parked, it can stay parked for months — sometimes even years! Empty pages, half-finished pages, pages missing words, pages missing media, pages missing both.
 
You keep reminding the client that you’re still waiting for their content. But nothing continues to happen. Emails go unanswered, calls go to voicemail, the cobwebs start to form.
 
The sad fact is your client no longer sees their new website as a priority.
 
And you know why?
 
Nine times out of ten they don’t know where to begin. They’ve lost sight of what they set out to do.
 
They’re genuinely struggling to come up with the content you’re patiently waiting for. The obstacle is the same whether they try to do it themselves or they hire a copywriter.
 
They simply don’t know what to say.
 
And they’re embarrassed to own up.
 
But that’s not your problem.
 
Your problem is a web build stuck in limbo and not getting paid.
I’m prepared to bet you hoover up at least a day of unbillable hours per project just chasing missing content. Multiply that by the number of projects you work on at any one time and you can see this costs you much more than your time.
 
In fact, let’s do some maths…
 
Say you charged out at £50 per hour and you spent an average of seven hours hunting down content during each build. That’s £350 per project.
 
And let’s say you’re working on four projects at any one time. That’s £1,400 you’ll likely never recoup.
 
Add that up over a year, and you could be losing nearly £17,000!
 
But we can change all that.
 

With me on board as your Content Guardian…

 

  • Your project brief will reflect what the client actually needs, not what they think they want
  • Copy will arrive on time and fit properly
  • Images and videos will be the right size and quality.
And the result?
 
You deliver the quality website you had in mind all along and your customer is over the moon.
 
You get paid superfast and all you need to do now is sit back and watch the referrals roll in.
 
So how does all this happen?
 

As your Content Guardian, I will…

 

  • Work with your client to fine-tune their positioning, so there’s clarity about how website works in their overall marketing strategy
  • Work with you to reflect this in the design and wireframe, so you’re not wasting more time going back and forth trying to pin down the basics
  • Work with your client to reflect this in the content, so they know what they need to say, and how best to say it
  • Oversee content creation, so everyone stays focused and there are as few revisions as possible
  • Make sure we all stick to an agreed schedule
  • Stay involved until the content is signed off.

But why work with me?

 
I spent years as a Fleet Street journalist and that means I’m hard-wired to…
 
  • Find the story fast and…
  • meet the deadline.
Now I use my journalist’s skills to help business owners tell their stories in all their marketing and PR.
 
And as this often involves a web build or makeover, I work with both the client and their developer. We work as a team and together make sure nothing gets lost in translation.
 
My Content Guardian service just comes at the relationship from another direction. Same process, same results, different entry point!
 
All well and good, but you want to know how much this is going to cost.
 
Well, I won’t lie. I don’t come cheap — but your client won’t need a second mortgage either.
 
Especially when they see how much faffing about and frayed tempers I can spare everyone. I can save you hours of hassle and frustration just by handling the copy and content side of things.
 
I can stop those costly breakdowns in communication.
 

And here’s what your client gets…

  • A 1-2-1 with me — face-to-face or via Zoom video call
  • A clear positioning statement to direct all their marketing, not only the web build
  • Practical guidance on how to write web copy and source media content
  • A full edit of two pages (up to 500 words each) of their web copy. This is usually their Home and About pages, to get them started.

So how does the charging work? You can either add my Content Guardian fee to the cost of your service or I can bill your client direct — whatever works best for you.

And if they want more help with their copy, then I can make that happen too and stay with them until it all gets written. The more of my time and support they want, the more they pay. Simple!

Want to know more?

Let’s set up a no-obligation discovery call and explore how having a Content Guardian could transform how you work — and how you get paid!

PS You don’t need to just take my word for it — here’s what the director of one digital agency has to say: ‘Some people are good communicators. Some are great organisers. Others know how to manage teams. Few people can do all of these things, and very few do them all brilliantly. Eugenie is one of the few. The web projects we’ve worked on together have run smoothly and efficiently and produced great results — due in no small part to Eugenie’s ability to understand the comms potential of a piece of work and co-ordinate everything necessary to turn that potential into a reality.’ — Eamonn Boylan, Director, We Are Herd, Oxford

PPS I can only work with a handful of designers and developers at a time. This is to ensure I maintain the quality of the Content Guardian service for everyone. So if you have a new project in the pipeline, this might be the perfect moment for us to talk. You can book your discovery call here. Or simply email me — eugenie@eugenieverney.com — or call me on 01344 834834.