Hey, guys. A couple of questions...

Ok, I re-worked the services and rates section. Take a gander, if you would, and let me know if what I have now id better, too much, just right. [link]

(Note: website is still in beta; if you have any feedback about other parts of the website, I welcome them, too.)

Is it still too complicated? I tried to make it simple, information and friendly.

Question the 2nd -- How do people deal with payment issues? My Paypal account is through my personal email and goes into our general checking account; do I need to set up a merchant account, with a button and everything, or do I just give out PayPal info to clients when we have a contract? I think I need to start a separate business account, and sync that account to my wordslinger email addy.

Also, I know some people don't use PayPal. I don't want to get into the complicated world of credit cards, and I certainly don't want to be dealing with e-transfers; I don't want to give my account number out.

I'm thinking PayPal, check or money order. And I am going to require 1/2 of the payment down before I start a project.

Does this jibe with standard practices? Advice, warnings, good ideas?

Thanks!

I'm mainly paid in checks, and I have a business account with my dba name. (That reminds me. I need to change banks for that account, because it used to be free and now there's a $10 monthly fee.)

Half up front and half on completion is pretty standard, although a lot of people take a third down, a third at some stated midpoint and a third at the end for bigger projects.

And I can be flexible with that, since I am (thanks to y'all) keeping things vague enough.

I gotta call our bank tomorrow and see what kind of deals they offer. I should get a debit card to use for business-related expenses, too, for easier tracking.

Ginger, have you ever had problems with checks? One of the things I'm worried about is invoicing -- I've got a system set up (although I'm open to suggestions) but mainly I'm worried about non-payment and having to chase people down to get them to pony up.

Does this happen a lot?

I haven't had it too often. I think it depends entirely on the client and scope. The start-up/new businesses have been the iffiest, although it did take forever to get the last payment from one client who entirely changed what he wanted over and over.

I'm gonna include rewrites in my contracts, although I'm sure I'll have a few learning experiences down the road.

(Can I just say this thread is saving my freaking sanity! LOVES.)

Erin, I'm a bit pressed at the mo, so I don't have time to sift down through the text of your rates page, but I wanted to say that I really like the look of the site. And 'wordslinger' awesome.

Two comments: It may just be my browser, and my aging eyes, but the text showed up super small. The grey is great (I use it as my text color as well), but the bulk of the extensive text is blurring together for me.

You could create some breaks by bolding important phrases and/or putting those lovely, big quote marks in a different color. Perhaps the fuschia of the testimonials tag.

This is important...you have two pages that talk about you and your background/abilities, which is critical, of course...but I don't immediately see why _I_ should put those abilities to use. For instance, am a harried coach who freezes when it comes to publishing my ideas? (why, yes, I am!) Could I use your help as a 'back-stop' to ensure accuracy and clarity in my web copy? (I bet I could).

It may be different in the editing/writing world, so others may have better wisdom, but landing on the first page, I would want your potential customers to know exactly why they should be your customers...and sadly, that has little to do with your background.

You could accomplish this with snappy case studies, (I did it for them, I can do it for YOU), top 5 things to look for in a great 'ghost', (you'll look great and they won't even seem me on your page), 5 mistakes non-writers make (play to their pain because we've all made those mistakes and are willing to pay to avoid them in future).

That sort of thing.

No, that's a good point, and I am still heavily working on those pages. I actually think I am going to transfer my first blog post on there to be the bulk of my home page, with a little tweaking.

This is exactly the type of feedback I need; thanks, bonny!

Ok, I re-worked the services and rates section. Take a gander, if you would, and let me know if what I have now id better, too much, just right. [link]

I love your descriptions of the services, it's very clear and will be helpful to customers who don't know quite what they want.

I notice that the text was a little small as well, but overall, I love it.

I actually think I am going to transfer my first blog post on there to be the bulk of my home page

My web person suggested this too. I've done it, and feel that it's good to have the fresh material...but I don't keep it fresh enough!

Must get on an effective schedule somehow.

Right now, I don't know if I can adjust text size or color of quote marks.

I probably could code it...but I could PROBABLY decode a bomb with a handbook too. That's something that will have to come in a bit, I think. Coding scares me, and I know almost nothing about it so far.

Vortex, thanks! I'm glad it was navigable and understandable.

Bonny, I'm going to try to be blogging at least once a week; the home page I plan on keeping static, but having an active blog not only keeps you more searchable, it pings people who have a RSS feed or are subscribed to your site.

For me, it will also be where I can showcase my writing skills in addition to the portfolio.