Frequently Asked Questions | Rich Collins | Thirst Productions - Thirst Productions, LLC | New Hampshire Website Development & Technology Consultant

FAQs

Thirst Productions New Hampshire Web Developer

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Getting Started

What is the one thing you can tell me about you?

I deliver Trust. People that work with me trust that I will do the right thing, at the right time, in their best interest, at a fair and reasonable cost. Nothing builds business relationships like the concept of trust.

Do you charge for a consultation?

No. I love to talk with potential clients who have a serious interest in developing, maintaining, or improving a sound social/digital marketing strategy. This is the only way to understand if there is a fit and assure a strong working relationship. By establishing goals, deliverables, and expectations, we can develop a social media strategy that works for your business, and, more importantly, modify it as we better learn your customer’s behavior.

What are your hourly rates?

My standard 2021 billing rate is $100/hour billed in one-hour increments (no partial hours).

I provide discounts for current clients, hosted clients, nonprofits, and micro-businesses – at my discretion – if agreed upon in advance. Clients who take advantage of my hosting packages receive a reduced billing rate of $85/hr for any work outside of normal maintenance and upkeep.

Where are you located and do you travel?

I cover the corridor from the Portsmouth, NH area, along the NH Seacoast and up to North Conway, NH in the Mount Washington Valley. My primary base is the New Hampshire Seacoast including Dover, Exeter, Greenland, Hampton, Durham and Rye, NH. I will work with clients throughout the state and will travel locally to client sites at no charge when necessary. Frequent meetings or meetups outside the Seacoast area will require travel reimbursement.

Do you conduct all the work yourself or do you outsource/offshore/subcontract?

Generally, I’m the man. I tend to keep my fingers in everything and whenever possible I do the work myself. I have a terrific network of talented local and or global resources which I can recommend that I bring from many years in the IT staffing industry I can tap into if we encounter something out of my comfort zone. If I can’t do something well, I would rather give someone else the opportunity to deliver quality work than to pretend I am something I’m not. Typically, work such as intensive graphic design and major web development projects, high-end photography or Photoshop/Illustrator work I leave to the professionals. What I don’t do is slap my name on someone else’s work without being actively engaged and involved in the process 100%.

What is it that you do, exactly?

Good question. I tell stories using technology. I work with clients to design, develop, produce and report engaging content, both written and visual, that supports their company brand. Your goal may be sales, marketing, outreach or awareness, company branding or product development – to me – it’s all about the message and using the technology tools available to share it. This can be in the form of visual design elements such as your web page, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, targeted email newsletters, or via Search Engine Optimization and content marketing – a field I see growing in the current environment of social media backlash. social media is a terrific supplemental medium, but if you put your entire marketing plan in free tools online, you may be in for a rude awakening. Tell your story organically and let the tools and technologies share the message.

How do I contact you?

The best way to reach me is to open a line of communication by emailing me your contact info and an idea of what you are looking to achieve: rich@thirstproductions.com

Due to the influx of robocalls, I am generally not reachable by phone without a prior appointment.

If you prefer to talk by phone, I will gladly schedule a convenient time to discuss your project – please leave a message with a proposed time(s) to speak. I rarely answer my phone directly as it is often a distraction during billable hours for my clients – I am often knee deep in work and or fun. My time, and yours is valuble so I treat my client’s time and billable hours with respect.

Why Thirst?

I hired a killer website development firm, why would I need you?

The old phrase ‘build it and they will come’ does not apply to the web. You can have the greatest looking website in the world, but without strong, updated content and an active presence promoting that content, your website will hardly be seen. Search Engines feed on current, relevant content – frequent updates, video/media, photos, and through engagement by others (shares, likes, clicks, opens, etc.) Your website is just a parking space, without content you have nothing more than expensive online yellow pages. Content marketing media feeds ideas to a targeted audience – unlike a newspaper ad for example – and someone needs to understand the ins and outs of how to deliver content and generate consumer engagement to make it effective. Which may lead to the question – what is content marketing?

Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.

With so many easy to use web tools, why do I need you?

Do you change the oil in your car? Most of us don’t. And when you do, do you look for the cheapest mechanic possible? There are a ton of tools out there that claim to be “free” that do a terrific job of stacking your photos up nicely and putting text on the page that looks pretty. But the real power of a website lives in the “upside-down” – that is, the backend. A well-designed website seeks to impress – not just clients – but the tools that get you visibility. Think Google Search, Siri and other aggregate sites. To be successful on the web you need more than a pretty face, you need to be seen as the de facto subject matter expert in your field. Gone are the days of keyword stuffing to get top results in search, you need to be a part of the system that makes the system work. Confused? Good, that proves that it has gotten incredibly complicated and takes a ton of time even if you know what you are doing. I do it all and help you navigate the waters, from consulting to planning, strategy to delivery.

How is your business set up and how do you bill your clients?

Thirst Productions is an LLC registered in the State of NH. I work on an hourly basis starting at $100/hr as well as offer a number of service packages (monthly support and delivery of content and social media, SEO services, and Google Analytics) that are assessed based on the needs of your brand. I also am happy to provide a nonprofit discount (a significant discount) as my work schedule allows, work with micro-businesses on a small budget, and genuinely take pride in assisting community efforts when I can.

Agencies offer a lot more in the way of specific deliverables and packages, why are your parameters so loose?

Because every client is different, has different requirements for their marketing campaigns, and every small business has different goals. In other words, one size doesn’t fit all. Since I don’t have to pay a full creative staff, I also provide a much more one on one experience and do not require huge outlays of capital. If the product works, more business comes organically.

Tell me more

What’s the deal with your blog?

It is a showcase of my writing abilities based on topics I believe to be of interest. There are no rules or restraints, and the content is my own. My portfolio page represents certain work that I have done for clients and employers over the span of my career that can be shared. Many times I work as a behind the scenes ghostwriter so much more content is merged with a company’s general communications.

What Tools and Technologies do you use?

The de facto tool of choice for the web is currently WordPress – a content management system (CMS) designed to allow users to take control of their own content. Using WordPress as a base, I leverage a myraid of tools that intertwine with all of the major social media channels (Facebook, Google +, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, Hootsuite, Buffer) to promote customized content. I use numerous SEO tools like SEMRush, Google Search Console, Google Analytics Suite, Bing/Yahoo Search Console, Canva, Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator, and customizable wordress themes like Divi or Powerpress.

In addition, I use a couple of dozen select WordPress Plugins that do everything from adding easy social sharing functionality, to providing full backup and recovery of your WordPress site. I can implement basic security, scan your installation for viruses, and manage pages and posts at your request. In the background, I keep your site running strong, content fresh and keep you up to speed in this ever changing reality that is the world wide web.

What is customized content?

Customized content is pages, articles, or blogs written for and with a company’s primary players in mind. I am a storyteller and build stories out of ideas that are interesting, engaging, and easy to read. Generic content is reusable content that you will find on any website in your chosen industry. It is cheap, easily recognized, and typcially seen as filler – rarely consumed by the people it was developed for. Engagement is often low, but pages tend to ‘look pretty’ and slide on by the managers who fail to monitor closely what their expensive agencies are producing!

What you want to present is real content for a real audience and present information people come to rely on. Period. Call it organic, call it holistic, call it authentic – but above all – be who you say you want to be and learn to be a subject matter expert in your field, vortually.

Yoast helps to explain: “Google has become better at determining search intent: why people conduct a specific search. Are they looking for an answer to their question? Are they looking to buy something? There are several reasons for searching and Google really wants to offer the best fitting search result. And here’s your chance: let Google know your answer fits specific search intent! If it actually shows what they’re looking for, you will rank higher.”

Which areas of business are your specialties?

I am particularly experienced in general BtoC businesses, with a focus on entrepreneurial/startups and small businesses looking to move to the next level. I have a background in retail, technology, training, and staffing/recruiting and carry an MBA from the University of New Hampshire. I enjoy learning new things and make the effort to best understand the market that your company wishes to serve. My most typical clients are in the business, staffing and recruiting space, but I have worked with dentists, nonprofits, lawyers, wineries, physical therapy, newspaper/magazines/media, podcasters, fishing charters, outdoors industries, PR firms, nonprofits, and other small businesses. My Portfolio can help shed some light here.

Fine Print

What are your terms in regards to contracts/commitments?

Currently, I do not require long-term commitments outside of work agreed upon and completed and the understanding that this type of work takes time and effort. There is enough demand for my type of services that I would rather be producing great work as opposed to arguing about contracts and who paid when. If at any time my work does not meet your expectations, we shake hands and move on. At such time that you outgrow my capabilties (and my goal is to get you to that point) I am happy to work with whomever you choose to hand over the keys to the kingdom.

Why are you cheap(er) than agencies? You pay for what you get, right?

This is true. However, it’s all relative. Without the overhead of staff, I can work directly with a limited set of clients. My goal is not to take on more work than I can handle but to be the best I can be and provide personalized services. I also do more with less. You can have a $40,000 website that no one goes to and wonder why, or have a simple website that does precisely what it was designed to do for a lot less money. These days, you should redesign your website soup to nuts every couple of years, not cling to one that you overpaid for way too long ago. Refresh, renew, reinvent. Always be evolving. Always be adapting. If you aren’t trying to keep up, you aren’t keeping up.

Will you charge me if I have a question or correction/update?

Typically, as a service to my clients, I am happy to assist with questions, share knowledge, and provide basic support – provided it is not a time-intensive task. I only bill for agreed upon deliverables. A recommendation or a referral is priceless.

What is your value-add?

Unlike many agencies or independent contractors, copywriters and creatives, I have a very strong background in technology (IT) so I can leverage the technical tools available not just drop content or technology on your lap and run. This is huge. Technology changes at a furious pace, and staying on top of current trends is key to getting the best web content delivered efficiently. In addition, I am an experienced trainer. Not only can I ‘do’ but I can teach and mentor others. I have over 20 years of personal experiences working for and with Seacoast businesses. I have a significant network, both personally and socially/digitally, and I can teach your company how to build and leverage yours. Also, this type of work is difficult. Most web developers simply don’t want to do this type of work; it’s an underserved talent that has recently shown to be in high demand.