Or how about that the tiles on the floor are hand-painted ceramic from a little town in southern Morocco? You’re probably bored already, aren’t you? Just shut up and give me my cupcakes, you might say; I’m late for my nephew’s birthday party.

When you drown your clients in information they don’t need to know, they’ll usually have a similar reaction. Your clients are just as busy as you are – they have goals for their businesses, and they simply won’t care about details that aren’t important to them, even if you think they should be. Such is the life of a freelancer.

Following are three simple ways you can improve your communication and get down to the nitty-gritty with clients, so that you won’t waste time assuming that they need to know things they don’t, and instead focus on using that knowledge to benefit them without them having to strain their brains.

Getting Specific About Your Services

It’s super important to always be specific about what you offer as a designer. I know it seems smart to try to reach as many customers as you possibly can, but in actuality, this is one the things that can really hinder your career progress.

When a potential client asks about what kind of design services you offer, do you tell them something to the effect of “oh, a little bit of everything?” If so, stop doing that ASAP. Do you really do every kind of design? Do you design buses, baby carriages, and tea kettles? No you don’t – so there’s no need to tell potential clients that you do.

Don’t assume that they already know what you’re all about – they won’t unless you spell it out for them. This is the one time when providing more information is actually a blessing rather than a curse.

Now if you’re thinking that people won’t take you quite that literally, you’re probably right. However, they won’t really remember you as a standout choice for their project either. No one wants to hire the bland, generic designer who “does everything.”

They want to locate the service provider who’s perfect for their specific needs. Be specific about what kind of value you offer, and quality clients will be far more interested in your services.

Be The Brains Of The Operation

Do people a favor and think for them as frequently as humanely possible. They’ll love you for it. Don’t make assumptions about how much people know or what they want in a design.

You’ve probably heard of a book called Don’t Make Me Think, by Steven Krug. One of the basic premises of the book is that people have a limited reserve of mental energy, and the last thing they want to spend it on is figuring out how to use your website or information product.

This basic principle extends far beyond just web design and usability; it creeps into every aspect of every product that has ever been designed for use by a human being.

There’s a reason Apple products are so universally loved and constantly talked about by design-conscious folks. It’s not just because they’re attractive to look at – the real beauty lies in how easy they are to use.

If you force someone to work or expend valuable mental resources on the unnecessary, you risk destroying their “reservoir of goodwill” and making them frustrated enough to leave and never come back.

Marketing Out Of the Box

Another area where designers make broad assumptions is in their marketing strategies. Many designers assume that their potential clients are looking for someone who can give them a website, a logo, or a brand identity. But that isn’t quite true.

What they’re really looking for is someone who can think for them and come up with solutions to problems they don’t even know they have. They’re looking for someone who can take their business to the next level.

Quality clients don’t simply want to be known as the “generic law firm” or the “generic band” or the “generic dentist” any more than you want to be known as the “generic designer.”

Your clients are eager to work with a designer who understands their need for prime market positioning – because that’s what you want as well. If you have an intriguing personality or design style, you’re not doing yourself or your clients any favors by suppressing it because you assume no one is interested in your quirkiness.

Market yourself out of the box. Don’t be generic – you’re a unique designer, so make sure your clients can see that in everything you present to them.

Conclusion

By not making assumptions about what response you’re most likely to get or what you think people want to, need to, or should know, you can turn your clients into true fans.

People who feel as though you understand them will be genuinely excited about working with you, and will be eager to recommend you to anyone who will sit still long enough. Become a mind-reading rock star and no one in your niche will be able to resist you.

The post How to Improve Your Communication With Clients appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

Designing websites for other people can be a lot like rolling dice. Sometimes you get lucky and your client loves what you’ve done – no changes required. But more often it seems like a nearly endless process of making revisions until they’re fully satisfied (if that’s even possible).

It’s a common refrain for web designers. But we’re not totally helpless in this area. Even though we can’t fully control how our clients will react, there is one strategy that can help keep the situation from getting out of control: Explaining your design decisions, preferably right from the very start.

A Proactive Approach That Yields Results

To clarify, we’re not advising that you craft a huge laundry list of every last detail. And certainly not before you’ve handed in a mockup.

What we are talking about is providing clients with a general rundown of what you did and, more importantly, why you did it. This is something that could be delivered along with your initial design.

This helps us accomplish a few things right off the bat:

It Provides Context

Clients are often more willing to accept something if they know the reason behind it. In the case of a website, this could mean anything from understanding why you chose a certain layout to why you reconfigured a navigation structure.

If your line of reasoning makes sense to them, it’s more likely to avoid the chopping block.

It Facilitates Productive Conversation

Once in a while, you’ll run into someone who is very quick to make harsh judgements of your work. This not only stings your ego, it can also make the design process that much more difficult. If nothing else, it kills your motivation and might make your client a little wary as well.

These reactions are often based on a client having a very different expectation for what they were going to see, as opposed to the design you provided. By offering up a clear and simple explanation, you can at least partially offset the element of surprise.

While they still might not love the design, the subsequent conversation can be much more productive. This will result in a better final product.

It Demonstrates Your Professionalism

Submitting a design for review with no real explanation is a bit like dropping someone off in the middle of a strange city without a GPS. Sure, they may find their way around, but it probably won’t be as pleasant of an experience.

That’s why, if nothing else, taking the time to help guide someone through a mockup reflects well on you. It shows that you put serious thought into your work and are willing to have an open line of communication. This is a great way to help build the ever-important client-designer relationship.

What You Should (And Shouldn’t) Include

There’s a delicate balance when it comes to spelling out various details of a design. If your writeup is too long-winded, you’re bound to bore or confuse clients. They may even skip it altogether.

Therefore, the key is to provide a document that serves as a general outline. Focus on the most important parts of the design, such as:

• Header and footer;
• Navigation;
• Hero area or other featured content;
• Anticipated areas that will use animation or other special effects;
• Mobile-specific elements;

For example, if you have set up an area of the home page for a specific type of content, make sure your client understands the intent. Likewise, if you expect to use a slider in the hero area, it’s something you’ll want to mention.

A good rule of thumb: What seems obvious to you may not be so easy for others to figure out. Don’t assume that everyone will automatically pick up on your thought process.

So, what should you avoid mentioning? That really varies based on the client and the project itself.

In general, it’s probably best to stay away from highly-technical aspects – such as how you’re going to build a particular feature. Most clients aren’t so worried about how you achieve something so much as they want it to look good. Start off with the basics and offer to elaborate on any particular areas of concern as needed.

Please Explain Yourself

In the end, writing out the thought process behind your design work is all about creating a more collaborative environment. Remember, when it comes to design, you’re the expert. When you provide clients with a better understanding of where you’re coming from, they can make more informed decisions.

Not only that, they will be more likely to make any changes within the framework you’ve outlined for them. That’s the difference between perhaps tweaking a font or color as opposed to ripping apart entire templates.

So, on your next project, try pointing out the design decisions you made along the way. While there’s no guarantee that your client will sign off on it without changes, you both should be in a better position to deal with what comes next.

The post Why You Should Explain Design Decisions to Your Clients appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

The truth is, people with poor communication skills often don’t even know they have them. A designer can be technically excellent, but if they fail to communicate with their client, they will not continue to get work.

1. Resentfulness

Let’s face it – being a freelancer is a tough job. Sometimes your clients can aggravate you to the point where you want to punch them or worse. However, if you’re on a job, it’s still your responsibility to keep the client up to date on your progress. If you don’t, you’re essentially stooping down to whatever level of immaturity you think they’re guilty of.

Remember that you have to earn your client’s trust, and regular communication is often the quickest way to do that. Many clients would much rather work with a so-so freelancer who is reliable and consistent, than a brilliant freelancer who can’t be counted on to communicate regularly.

If you’re upset with your client for some reason, the best response is to request some sort of change in the terms of the project. Not getting paid enough? Ask the client if you can transition to a project or position that pays more.

Simply want to quit? It’s better to cut your losses early and find a new client rather than suffer through a horrible project that will leave you drained of time, resources, and energy.

2. Making Them Think Too Much

Your client is paying you to think for them. Even if they don’t specifically put it in those terms, your goal as a freelancer should be to make the experience of working with you as painless and simple as possible.

For the majority of back-and-forth correspondence with your client, all they should have to do is say “yes” or “no.” People get confused when they have too many options, so don’t make the client pick or choose or decide anything that’s unnecessary.

They can – and will – always let you know if they have any feedback or additional comments. If it’s within your ability, and you can use your professional experience to simply make an executive decision, do it for them.

This includes things like scheduling meeting, sending reminders, taking notes, following up with members of the team, and anything else you think might make your client’s life easier. Presenting your client with a clear option to approve or deny allows them to maintain control of the project without having to worry about the details.

3. Under-Communicating

When you’re doing a job for a client that lasts longer than a week or so, it’s absolutely imperative that you keep them up to date on your progress. I’ve worked with many people over the years, when I emailed them with a status check, told me they hadn’t wanted to “bother” me with too many emails. Nonsense!

Over-communication is always, always, always better than under-communication. Your client should never have to check in with you to see where you are and how your work is coming along – that should be your job.

You can establish a rhythm of regular updates – an email every Tuesday and Thursday, a weekly update to a Google Doc, or check-in with someone you know reports to your client.

Of course, some clients may not want you to communicate with them so regularly (though I have yet to meet one who didn’t prefer it to weeks of silence). If that’s the case, they will let you know. The absolute worst that can happen if you communicate too much is that the client will simply ask you to cut back. That’s it.

They won’t yell at you or deduct from your fee – and if they do, they are a terrible client and should be fired immediately. Quality clients always appreciate your effort to keep them informed of your progress.

4. Not Being A Consultant

As a freelancer who works with many different clients, often in different sectors of an industry, you have an intimate knowledge of the best practices and successful initiatives of multiple clients.

Especially as you gain years of experience, you know what works and what doesn’t, and you are in a unique position to offer your expert opinion to any new client you work with. However, many designers ignore this golden opportunity, preferring to keep their ideas to themselves and just complete a project without any feedback.

Being a trusted advisor or consultant for your clients will open doors that you never even knew existed. Your clients will value you not only for your technical skills, but also for the valuable advice that helps them increase their profits or avoid costly mistakes.

Always back up your opinion with hard evidence and numbers whenever possible. It makes for a more compelling argument and reinforces for your client that they made a good decision in hiring you.

5. Being Uninspiring

For all you designers out there who made the switch to freelancing from working in an office, think back to when you first decided to become a freelancer. What, specifically, made you want to strike out on your own and never set foot in a cubicle again?

Perhaps you wanted to set your own hours or control the flow of your own income. But chances are that you also felt uninspired working for someone else. Your boss and co-workers simply showed up day after day and ground out work that had no passion or emotional drive whatsoever.

If you’re not challenging and inspiring your clients with each project you take on, you’re essentially doing the same thing you attempted to escape in your day job. Don’t just be an employee who shows up and gets paid. Send new ideas your clients’ way – be a constant source of inspiration. Challenge them to consider their own business in new ways.

Share your research with them and point out ways they can reach their customers that will make them stand out from their competition. Providing inspiration can be a form of consulting as well, and you can use both in tandem to guarantee your clients will be buzzing about you to anyone within earshot.

6. Not Managing The Project

Even if you’re not an official project manager for your client, it’s still part of your job duties as a freelancer. Let me explain what I mean. Say a client needs you to finish a website design by next week, but still hasn’t provided you with the copy.

You’ve asked them repeatedly to send it over, but they simply keep forgetting. Frustrated, you continue to pester them and wait.

Eventually, the deadline comes and goes, and, predictably, your client is furious. You show them all the email correspondence you collected over the last several days, which may embarrass them and make them apologize for holding you responsible for their slip up.

The client-designer relationship may have been saved but the bottom line is: this scenario is avoidable far more often than many designers think.

Instead of simply waiting around for the client to get back to you with important data, you can often take the approach of simply going forward with your end anyway.

Send the client a quick, polite message explaining that you understand they’re busy, but since you know this deadline is important, you’re just going to go ahead and fill in the missing info yourself, contact someone else in the company who might be able to help you, or simply omit it and be ready to fill it in later when the client has more time.

It may seem presumptuous, but this technique works wonders in a lot of cases. As they say, it’s often easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, and clients love freelancers who take initiative and help them be more efficient. If something’s not right, the client can always ask you to fix it later, but that’s nearly always preferable to missing deadlines entirely.

7. Not Asking for Feedback

Every freelancer should be constantly asking for feedback from as many clients as possible, whether past, present, or future.

Feedback is what allows you to adjust your approach to design, marketing, and self-promotion, and it is the key factor in growing your career to the heights you desire.

It allows you to incorporate new ideas you learn from others, improve something you weren’t aware you were doing wrong, and confidently raise your rates and narrow your client base when the time is right to do so.

Ask for and incorporate as much feedback as possible, from wherever you can get it. Client surveys sent through email, or collected through your website or blog are crucial, as well as simple questions throughout your entire experience with the client. Don’t forget to leave your ego and defensiveness at the door!

If you keep getting the same kinds of critiques in a particular area from many clients, that’s a good sign that you need to reevaluate your approach in that area. Lastly, regular feedback allows you to not only track your own progress and growth but also that of your clients.

Always be asking questions that determine your clients’ specific fears and challenges they have with their businesses, and incorporate their answers into your killer problem-solving strategy.

The post The Deadly Communication Sins Freelance Designers Commit appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

Today, we’re going to look at some of the subjects of debate that have taken on a life of their own. Some are completely organic to the industry, while others have been adapted from society at large. Regardless, they have resulted in some epic arguments.

So, let’s poke the bear and bring up those topics you may not want to discuss during an after-work get together!

Page Builders vs Old School Design

If you use a page builder – does that make you something less than professional? Does it mean that you’re taking unnecessary shortcuts?

These are among the questions raised by the use of the popular class of drag-and-drop tools. They’re most often associated with DIY providers like Squarespace and Wix, in addition to WordPress – thanks to a plethora of available plugins.

Part of the appeal of a page builder is that, in theory, it should allow a non-designer to put together a complex layout full of high-tech goodies. In practice, this isn’t always the case. Even an advanced tool can’t fully make up for a novice user who makes questionable decisions.

For web designers, some see the use of this type of tool as akin to making a frozen pizza. Sure, it’s easier. But the final product may miss some of that authenticity that would make it truly stand out. In some ways, it’s a similar argument to the one we had way back when WYSIWYG tools like Dreamweaver first hit the market. It’s the classic battle of tradition vs progress.

Eric’s Take: This one still elicits a lot of debate – including from yours truly. I’m proud to say that I’ve stood firmly in both camps at various times. I used to have plenty of reservations regarding page builders. It seemed like their aim was to replace professional designers (although, they were kind of lousy at it). Lately, however, I’ve warmed up to them a little. Like most relationships, this one is a bit complicated.

React vs Vue

The future of the web is said to be based on JavaScript. At least, it certainly seems that way, what with all the hype surrounding Gutenberg and other JS-based interfaces. And it’s easy to see why. The thought of a website as a lightning-fast, completely interactive application certainly sounds exciting.

But we’re not necessarily going to build those UIs of tomorrow with vanilla JavaScript. Instead, we’re going to leverage a top front-end framework like Vue.js or React to help us get there. That’s where this argument gets real.

Both of these packages are quite capable. However, there are core differences that tend to split the development world into two camps.

Vue is widely thought to be easier to learn and is much more of a traditional community-based open source project. In some ways, it seems to be the feisty underdog that is always nipping at React’s heels. Never underestimate this kind of appeal.

React, on the other hand, uses a more hardcore JavaScript syntax and is a great fit for highly-complex applications (such as the aforementioned Gutenberg). It’s also built and maintained by Facebook – which is either wonderful or terrifying.

Eric’s Take: Frameworks, regardless of language, are always hotly debated. It doesn’t seem like either project (or competitors like Angular) are going away any time soon.

Personally, I always advocate for peace. Therefore, I think everyone should use what they’re comfortable with. If you can build what you need with your favorite framework, go for it! Otherwise, we’re arguing about apples and oranges.

Mac vs PC / iOS vs Android

Okay, this argument goes well beyond just designers. It’s been going on for decades – even before the web was a mainstream medium. But it’s still quite relevant in our industry.

Back in the day, many creative professionals chose Mac as it offered a lot of tools that simply weren’t available on a Windows PC. Photoshop, for instance, was Macintosh-only until version 2.5. Not to mention that, from the very beginning, it seemed that Apple courted a cult-like following of devotees. Bill Gates and Microsoft weren’t in the same league when it came to the cool factor.

These days, the Apple-faithful also battle another juggernaut – Google. When it comes to the mobile device wars of this decade, Microsoft is nowhere to be found (at least, not in the OS market). Therefore, Google and its Android OS have taken over as the boogeymen.

In both segments, Apple has a much smaller (yet, not insignificant) market share. When it comes to traditional computers, Windows has a commanding 87% of the market, compared to just under 10% for Mac OS. Mobile is a little closer, but Android still dominates with a 70% to 28% edge.

Eric’s Take: The differences in hardware on these various platforms seems negligible. On the computing side, Apple charges a premium for slick industrial design, while a Windows PC can be built on the cheap and still look decent enough (for my tastes, at least).

Still, whenever I attend events such as WordCamps, I see those ultra-expensive MacBook Pros everywhere. Yes, they are quite beautiful. But my vote still goes with the PC for providing much more bang for the buck.

The mobile competition seems a little closer. On one hand, there are a number of cheap Android devices available for the budget-conscious among us. Yet, you can still waste a few paychecks on a Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy – just the same as you can with an iPhone. The difference is that Android provides a wider array of options (along with varying degrees of hardware quality).

Whichever you choose, you’re still getting a high-quality operating system. That said, it’s mainly a matter of how much you’re willing to pay in order to look cool.

This Way vs That Way

Finally, we have arrived at the one category of argument that will never go out of style. One of the truisms of design and development is that there is more than one way to achieve a desired goal. Whether you want to make your site responsive or add a shopping cart – there are no shortage of options and approaches.

Not only are these debates ubiquitous (just post a question in a support forum and see how many different answers you receive), they are perhaps the most entertaining and useful. People will often try to one-up each other and might even boast of their solution over others.

What’s really fascinating is that we can take wildly different approaches and still reach the same conclusion. Some are more efficient than others, but still worth discussing nonetheless.

Eric’s Take: Usually, this is all in good fun. It shows the true nature of the community and its passion for solving problems. And these solutions also serve as an archive that is there for us whenever we need a helping hand.

A Sign of Caring

The classic arguments above can sometimes become tired and even a little less than friendly. Yet, they are a representation of just how passionate the designer community is. Sure, some people just like to butt heads (see what I did there?) – but in most cases, these debates come from a place of genuine caring. It’s also a healthy part of any open society.

So, feel free to join in a debate. Sometimes it takes you around in circles, but there’s a chance that it may also help push things forward.

The post The Biggest Designer Debates appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

I started using WordPress around 2010. It was a difficult time in my career. Things had grown stagnant. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to stay in web design.

But the software connected with me in a way other apps hadn’t. It empowered me to take on larger projects. Building highly functional, custom websites was finally within my reach.

However, the software wasn’t what kept me going. It was the community. The guidance of other WordPress developers made me eager to explore. And seeing the challenges others faced made me feel part of something bigger.

With that, I’d like to share a few valuable lessons I’ve learned from the WordPress community. Some may sound basic. But they’ve impacted both my career and life.

You Don’t Have To Be an Expert To Share Knowledge

The willingness to share is what makes a community thrive. But members are more likely to share when they feel comfortable doing so.

Sometimes, that feeling of imposter syndrome creeps up. It can keep us from sharing what we know. And it’s particularly relevant in tech. You may feel like your knowledge isn’t worthy of sharing.

The open and informal nature of WordPress helps immensely. It has made me feel comfortable sharing ideas. Even though I don’t consider myself an expert, I can publish what I’ve learned.

And I can also engage with other members. Some are more experienced than I, others less. Regardless, there’s an opportunity to learn from each other.

Interacting with the community has been reassuring. It let me know that I could be a part of something. Whether it’s at a WordCamp or on social media – I feel a sense of belonging.

You Can Be Yourself

The WordPress community is diverse. It consists of people from all backgrounds, identities, and geographic locations.

But it’s by no means perfect. Diversity is celebrated, but not universally. We sometimes see a lack of representation at WordCamps. And not all voices receive equal time.

Still, I feel like WordPress is ahead of the curve. I find that most people are accepting and welcoming. Not every community can say that.

The project has helped by setting an example. WordPress 5.6 featured an all-women release squad. And WordPress 6.4 will consist of an all-women and nonbinary group.

The benefit is that members can be themselves. This ties in with the willingness to share. It also makes people feel at home. Thus, they’re more likely to stick around.

There’s Joy in Paying It Forward

When we think of contributing to WordPress, it’s often in an official capacity. Writing code or building new features, for example. But there are other ways to give back.

The great thing is that everyone can participate. You can do so regardless of skill level. Good deeds like answering a question in the support forums count. As does publishing a blog post about your favorite plugins.

There are ways to contribute that don’t require formal commitments. You can give in a way that fits your personality and schedule.

It also provides an incredible feeling. Knowing that you’ve helped someone is satisfying. And it compels you to do more.

I’ve received help on several occasions. Others have taken time to provide advice or a code snippet. Their kindness has gotten me through some difficult situations.

The result is wanting to pay it forward. I think it’s a big reason why this community has thrived for 20 years.

Connections That Are Worth Keeping

The biggest lesson I’ve learned? It’s that this community is worth being a part of.

As with any group of people, there are ups and downs. Passionate debates can get out of hand. And not everyone will behave appropriately. But the vast majority of members do.

Plus, the resiliency of the WordPress community is impressive. It has evolved alongside the software. It continued to thrive through a worldwide pandemic.

Overall, it’s been a key to a successful open-source project. Without the support of the community, WordPress wouldn’t dominate the market.

So, pat yourself on the back, WordPress community. You’ve earned it!

The post Things I’ve Learned From the WordPress Community appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

It’s hard to keep track of who’s working on what, which projects have been properly billed and whether or not jobs are actually turning a profit.

Why Integrate?

Consider all the processes going on at once in your agency. At any given moment, your team could be capturing leads, sending quotes to clients, working on projects or generating invoices.

In the face of such a diverse set of processes, traditional time tracking and workflow management software fall short. When you integrate every aspect of your projects, however, work begins to flow more smoothly. Instead of juggling multiple tools, you can access all the information you need in one place. This not only saves valuable time but also ensures that administrators, supervisors and team members are always on the same page.

As time goes on, patterns begin to emerge in workflows that can be applied to future projects, making the creation and management processes even easier. This increased efficiency, along with tracking and analytical tools available in integrated platforms, offers the opportunity to expand your client base and increase profitability.

Tips for Successful Project Management Integration

The goal of integration is to facilitate a more productive and profitable operation by keeping your teams on task and your projects on target. This requires a solid foundation in good management practices supported by the right tools to meet the needs of your agency.

Choose the Best Software

The best integration software is whatever solution will support your regular workload and the types of projects that your team handles the most. This includes not only creating projects and assigning roles but also the associated tasks of time tracking and invoice management.

Look for applications that include communication tools to make it easier for team members to stay in contact throughout all phases of each project.

Set Up Smart Workflows

Every project follows a logical progression toward completion, and many use the same tools and processes at various steps along the way. Make note of these processes, including how each step leads into the next, which employees or teams handle particular aspects of creation and any changes that might be made to improve efficiency.

Build workflows using this information so that all team members have a logical path to follow that boosts productivity and speeds project completion.

Utilize Reporting Tools

Good project management software includes in-depth reporting that shows important details about time, resource allocation and profitability. With these reports, you can see:

• Which team members are the most efficient workers.
• Which services are the most popular.
• The types of projects that generate best profits.
• Which clients bring in the highest volume of work.
• Whether projects are on track to finish by the prescribed deadlines.

View these reports regularly to ensure that all available resources are allocated where they’ll be the most useful and that nothing is being wasted on a project that extends beyond the original estimated scope.

Create Profitable Teams

With the insights you gain from reports, it’s easier to build teams of employees that work well together and to determine when you may need to hire outside help to round out the pool of available talent. Once your groups have been created, use project management tools to set deadlines, assign tasks and share the files and resources to necessary complete each job.

Facilitate Communication

Integration only succeeds when all team members can communicate effectively.

Administrators have to talk to supervisors, and supervisors must stay in continual contact with their teams. Project management solutions offer extensive benefits in this area by putting all of the important information for your projects together in a central, easily accessible location.

Team members can view and manage jobs, mark tasks as completed, upload relevant documents and send messages to others from the main portal of the software. Supervisors and administrators get a bird’s-eye view of how every project is progressing and can step in with changes if need be.

Get Proactive with Billing

True integrative project management includes solutions for creating and managing invoices. Information from the initial quote and the actual time spent on each project can be accessed by the invoicing tools to generate accurate branded invoices that may be sent directly to clients. Payment histories can be viewed from the administrator dashboard, allowing you to see which invoices are still pending, which clients have paid and who has a tendency to be late with payments.

Be Mobile-Friendly

Your project management solution should have an associated app that works on multiple mobile platforms. This allows you to make use of your teams no matter where they are and manage projects while you’re on the go.

With all information updated in real time, team members at the office can see changes immediately and build upon what their mobile colleagues are working on. If the results of a client meeting alter the way a project needs to be approached, the details can be corrected right away so that no precious work time is lost waiting for the information to be brought back to the agency.

Stay Connected with Clients

Some integrated project management platforms have dedicated portals that allow clients to view digital proofs and make notes that are added to the information associated with each job. Without the necessity of making a call or send an email, projects go along much more quickly, and clients appreciate being offered an element of control.

When you keep these considerations in mind as you implement an integrated project management strategy, you lay the foundation for a more productive and efficient agency. Full integration increases time spent on projects, speeds turnaround times and reduces the instances of late payments. You’ll have a more satisfied team, happier clients and greater growth potential for the agency as a whole.

The post Project Management Tips for Creative Freelancers appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

Always Respond to Questions and Inquiries

One of the biggest communication mistake is to ignore questions and inquiries. This is not only rude and can really irritate the other party but it also interferes with the work process. Just imagine how it feels, when you need an answer and you aren’t getting it.

Two Choices Of Green Highway via Shutterstock

Additionally, when you don’t respond to questions and inquiries, this could be interpreted that there is something fishy to hide and this is why you are not responding. So, if you want to be a good communicator, always take the time to respond when somebody is asking.

Go For Email Communication When Possible

My observations are that marketing people (no offense, guys) prefer face-to-face meetings or in the worst case – (lengthy) phone calls. These grounds aren’t the top choice for techies because we usually don’t excel in live communication. This is one of the reasons why you’d better stick to email and go for face-to-face meetings and phone calls when you really must.

Additionally, all equal, email communication takes less time than in-person visits and is more accurate than the phone. With email, you have your conversation in writing and when in doubt, you can check later what you discussed. Anyway, if you have to use phone calls, always make sure you have confirmed in writing what you agreed upon because if there are arguments later, everybody can claim they did or didn’t say a particular thing and dispute resolution becomes quite tricky.

Mail Keyboard Button via Shutterstock

Email is great for communication but you also need to be aware of its downsides. First, you need to make sure that your emails are as clear as possible because it is so easy to be misunderstood when you use written text – you don’t have gestures, facial expressions, even vocal exclamations at your disposal, so you need to make your text easy to understand, while at the same time avoid ambiguity.

I believe most techies know this but it won’t hurt to remind again. Email isn’t lost frequently but it does happen for legitimate messages to be wrongfully classified as spam. This is why, always check your Spam folder for messages that don’t belong there. I myself frequently dig nonspam messages out of my Spam folder. Even though I mark them as Not Spam, messages from the same recipient continue to be classified as spam. You can imagine how frustrating is not to get an answer because your message ended in the Spam folder, so just develop the habit to check this folder at least once a week.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Stupid Questions

There are many cases when miscommunication occurs because the parties involved make the wrong assumptions. In order to make everything absolutely clear and leave no room for uncertainty, when in slightest doubt, always ask to clarify. Even if the question sounds stupid, you’d better ask it. It is much worse when you assume rather than know and when you or the other parties take the “It Is So Obvious” approach that can lead to real misunderstanding.

Girl Thinking via Shutterstock

Limit the Use of Technical Lingo

For a non-technical person, technical jargon is one of the things that makes it the hardest to understand a techie. This is why your only option is to avoid technical jargon when communicating with non-technical people. Of course, sometimes you just can’t avoid a tech term but in these cases, you might have to explain in layman’s terms what the technical term means, so that the other party can understand.

Follow-Up

If you don’t get an answer, don’t be shy but follow up. The reasons for not getting an answer can be numerous – starting from the other party not getting your email at all, to forgetting to answer it, to needing more time to prepare their answer, to not answering it on deliberately. You are not a pest, when you follow up – you just need to do it in order to know the answers that you have to know. You should do it politely but do follow up, if after a reasonable time (i.e. one or two business days, for example), you have no answer.

State Your Availability

While there are some reasonable times when you are supposed to be available for communication (i.e. workdays 9 to 5 in general), this doesn’t mean you must be available at these times. For instance, if you start work at 10, or finish at 4, or work in shifts or at weekends, make the other parties aware of this.

Available Now Office Note via Shutterstock

If you are on vacation, a business trip, or you are absent for whatsoever reason, set an autorespondent. It is best, if you inform about your absence in advance, when this is possible, of course, so that the other party can plan what to do while you are not available. If you work at weekends but take days off from Monday to Friday, you also need to state this.

Sometimes we tend to make ourselves available to clients at all times. This is wrong because we do have a personal life and nobody expects you to be available 24×7. However, if clients get used to the fact you are always available, they will start to expect you to answer emails anytime.

Don’t Allow Others to Manipulate You about How Poor Your Communication Skills Are

Finally, while very often techies aren’t the perfect communicators, there are also cases when we are good enough but somebody is just trying to make us believe we are not. For instance, in one of my jobs before I became a freelancer, I had a co-worker who had such an acute attention deficit disorder and who wanted everybody’s life to revolve around her that I joked I needed a restraining order against her. She was constantly demanding my attention on all possible counts – starting from what clothes to wear, to how to clean viruses from her computer, to how to make friends, etc.

She was not only a pest but she was also very malicious and when after a couple of weeks of being terrorized by her constant presence around me, coupled with some dirty tricks, I just stopped paying attention to her and simply ignored her, unless work was involved. She complained about this to the owner of the company and I had a very unpleasant conversation with him about not being a team player and not being able to communicate with my peers. Since I knew this cheap trick, I didn’t fall for it – I’ve witnessed too many times how somebody is accused of all mortal sins because he or she doesn’t obey all the idiotisms a crazy boss and stupid coworkers can come with.

So, if you do know how to communicate, don’t allow to be manipulated. In another company, a coworker of mine, who was fresh from university and this was her first job, believed she lacked communication skills and was almost suicidal. She worked on a joint project with an external company that ended in failure because the reps of the other company just didn’t give a damn and were hard to find, not to mention do some work on the project.

My coworker was flawless in her communication but when the other party is always sneaking and failure falls upon, there must be somebody to blame. So, my tip is learn how to communicate in order not to become victim of all sorts of manipulators, who want you to take the blame for their mistakes. We’ve learned much more difficult things that this, so it isn’t that hard to get some communication skills and make our lives easier at the office or when communicating with clients.

The post Communication Tips for Techies appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.