The Biggest Mistake You’re Making With Getting Website Content From Clients

And How It’s Impacting Your Income

As a self-taught designer and business owner, I’ve basically been “figuring it out” the ENTIRE time I’ve been in business. I count this as a HUGE positive for myself and I hope you do, too.

Because here’s the thing: as designers we are one of the MOST primed industries to thrive as entrepreneurs.

We’re innately awesome at a lot of skills that come in handy for business owners: 

• We’re great at creative problem-solving.

• We know that most often the simplest solution is the right one to move forward with.

• We can see the big picture and the small details at the same time.

We’re GREAT at figuring things out along the way :)

Which is why when I first started my business, I was SO CONFUSED as to why web designers (both freelancers and big agencies) were getting tripped up when it comes to getting website content from clients (myself included).

We all know that collecting website content is a HUGE problem in our industry. It’s a thorn in our collective side -- but at least have good company to commiserate with!

Like I said, this isn’t just a “little guy” problem (aka it’s not only happening to small freelancers). Web design agencies with huge teams and big-budget clients also struggle with this problem. There’s just something about the typical content collection process that clients tend to resist.

I personally wanted to give up on my business MANY times because of this issue. Content delays tend to extend your project timeline which can add stress to other projects. They also affect your bottom line if it extends the client’s payment schedule. Delays can also add tension at the beginning of the project which can sometimes set the tone for the rest of the project. It’s the worst!

But back to me being a self-taught designer and business owner…

About a year or so into my business, I started learning more about copywriting for my own website. I was growing, becoming more confident in my design skills and wanted to freshen up my website. As I was updating my portfolio I realized I knew virtually nothing about writing strategic copy. So I took a deep dive and obsessively learned as much as I could (classic “figure outer” tendencies).

Now, I’m not a natural writer. The process generally takes forever because I obsess over every little detail and it takes me FOREVER to form coherent thoughts around what I’m trying to say. Writing is a pretty arduous task for me.

But what I realized about writing website copy is that it’s actually pretty formula-based.

As I learned from professional copywriters and paid attention to my own behavior online, I realized that good copywriting, at its core, is all about showcasing key information in a way that simply helps someone make the next step. It’s a little bit art, a little bit science. But for the most part it can be templated out and systematized!

I realized that my current content collection process was NOT working for me or my clients. I saw that the entire web design industry was somehow dealing with the exact same problem. I was tired of doubting myself as a business owner and not wanting to show up for work each day.

I realized I was making a HUGE mistake (along with missing a HUGE income opportunity) by not sharing my personal copywriting system with my clients.

So I tried it with one client and it worked. 

I created a new type of homework (something I call my “Website Content Guide”) with bite-sized prompts that correlated to each page of his website. He answered them (on time, might I add 🙃). I plugged info from the website content guide into his design, making sure to edit it and give it life along the way (it took less than 2 hours of extra time). I presented the website to him, he sent me his design and copy edits (which really brought his copy to life ✨) and we finished the project right on schedule.

(Side note: I charged the client $1,000 extra for this which equals $500/hr for the extra time this added to my workload. Not too bad!)

I don’t want you to make the same mistake I was making! If you’re tired and frustrated with getting website content from clients, don’t be afraid to at least CONSIDER taking on copywriting for your clients!

This is absolutely the BIGGEST mistakes web designers are making because:

• It can be completely systematized, and

• There’s so much extra earning potential with a service like this — you can make more money per project without having to work harder! It’s awesome!

Remember, I’m not a natural writer. I even struggled with the IDEA of implementing my copywriting hacks with clients (writing isn’t my favorite, I just like to design 🙃).

You might think you need to be an amazing writer too if you want to take on copywriting for your clients and actually charge lots of money for it. Or maybe you haven’t even considered it because you know your wheelhouse lies in design!

A designer who understands website strategy, design strategy and content/copywriting strategy is a powerhouse web designer who can easily charge premium rates and build trust quickly with her clients :)

Remember, often the SIMPLEST solution is the best solution :) Writing copy for your clients doesn’t have to be complicated or take a lot of time because it can be formulated.

Even if your client range is super diverse, most websites always need to have the same underlying foundation:

• You need a clear understanding of your client’s site visitor

• You need to be clear about how your client helps them

• You need to clearly lay out your client’s products or services

• You’ll need to make important policies and details about your client’s business easy to find on the website

• There needs to be a clear way to book or buy

This is why writing website copy is not like writing a novel. Meaning, even though you’ll need to infuse your client’s personality and “voice” into the copy, you don’t need to start from scratch each time and there are sooooo many ways to gather info about your client’s personality and tone. Easy ways to gather exact verbiage from your clients that you can put directly onto their website!

When you take on copywriting FOR your clients, you become the ultimate website expert. You’re coordinating the strategy between 1) design, 2) content and 3) copy. This naturally produces a better website for your clients that helps them grow!

Writing copy for your web design clients allows you to more deeply support them. You’re able to deliver a complete website that includes design, content and strategy which is worth thousands and thousands of dollars.

You ready to take the next step?

If writing website copy for your clients is something you’ve considered and you wanna keep learning from me, I’ve got a mini-course just for you:

Quicker Content Framework

A mini-course that shows you how to streamline your content collection process so you can get content on time and increase your prices by offering copywriting support to your web design clients.