Web Consultancy UK

I’m going to let you in on a naughty little secret that most developers don’t want you to know about.  It’s called rentacoder.com, and it’s been a lifesaver for many an overworked UK coder over the past few years.

Rentacoder is essentially a middleman between UK developers and coders/designers in developing countries.  It provides a safe, easy to use, and above all cheap, means of outsourcing work to countries where the dollar is still strong enough to hold sway.

Now, if I were to tell you that by using Rentacoder UK developers are able to get quality work done at a fraction of the price it would cost in this country, you might reasonably ask why you too shouldn’t give it a try?  Well, the simple answer is, that actually, you probabaly should.

Rentacoder is a fantastic means of getting a project completed to a  high quality, whilst at the same time actively helping coders in disadvantaged areas generate some much needed income.  I see it very much like Comic relief, but without Lenny Henry in a garish red jacket.  Coder Relief in fact.

But it does come with some pit falls…

1.  To really work on a low budget you have to be prepared to take a chance on a low scoring coder.  This is someone new to Rentacoder who has yet to build up a reputation score (much like Ebay’s Power seller scoring system, based on client feedback) or a network of clients.  This doesn’t work out everytime, so avoid projects with a tight deadline.  If the coder isn’t up to the task, don’t worry.  So long as you’ve set a rigid brief that hasn’t been met, Rentacoder will mediate in your favour and return all escrowed funds.  If however you haven’t briefed the coder correctly with your requirements, or have renaged on your side of the bargain, beware, as you are likely to lose your deposit.  Either way, just re-submit your job, and try another coder.

2.  Using a coder whose first language isn’t English can at times be very tricky.  Using Rentacoder is harder work than using a UK coder, as you will often have to micro-manage the project via email.  This isn’t a problem if you’re technically minded, and know exactly what you require - however, for those that don’t know their HTML from their CSS it can be very tricky.  There are of course Rentacoders on the site that have an excellent understanding of English, and will be every bit as savvy as their UK counterparts, but these are generally the coders than have high reputation score,a nd you will therefore find yourself paying a  premium (it will still be far cheaper than a UK agency however).

3.  There are of course dubious characters on rentacoder, as there are in real lige.  with some 1/2  million coders on the site this is inescapable.  However, Rentacoder.com are very wise to this, and so long as you follow their advice to the letter, you can’t really go wrong.

So go on, give it a go.  I can assure you that once you get the bug you’ll never want to do your coding any other way

A little while back I attended Brand Republic’s email marketing conference, and very useful it was too.  We had some cracking industry speakers and I have to say I learnt a lot from it.  Now, if I was the greedy sort, I’d keep all that lovely best practise all to myself.  But I’m not.  So here’s a load of best practise video footage Brand republic kindly sent me this morning, that features advice on:

• What is the business case for email in today’s turbulent economy?
• Should email marketers continue mailing non-responsive data?
• What style of content is most effective in generating ultimate sales?

Enjoy

E-marketing conference speaker notes

Oh, and whilst I’m at it, check out for more of the same, but in blog form, by clicking Emarketing best practise.

Now this is going to sound cruel, but I was actually quite dissapointed at the poor quality of the Email marketing products I saw at TFM&A yesterday.

The combination of companies being pushed to provide accountable ROI on every marketing campaign, and marketing budgets dropping faster than you can say sub-prime, seems to be driving everyone to E-marketing as the holy grail fix all solution.

Which should be a good thing.  Shouldn’t it?

Well, yes.  After all, we all know that the cost of sending an email is a fraction of the cost of sending a tradional DM piece, and that once an email has left the building, smart marketers embed java script into their websites to enable them to watch the customer journey from start to finish (God bless cookies).  Add the fact that it’s an almost immediate fix that has been proven to work time and time again, and you’ve got one of the strongest channels available.

So, why the sad face?

With so many ways to do email marketing well, it frustrates me to see it being done badly.  The proliferation of email marketing companies and products has resulted in a huge quality divide.  Those companies that provide a decent product , such as Pure or Campaign Master really sting you financially for the added features, more than your average SME can afford (but if you have the cash, I’d still recommend them).  Whilst lower down the scale, the me-too’s are trying to replicate the big guns, but without the customer services or functionality. If you think there’s nothing worse than receiving a poorly built email, think how frustrating it is for the poor marketer who’s trying to communicate with you but who’s stuck using inferior software!

What should you look for in your E-marketing solution?

1.  It needs to be user friendly.  So many HTML solutions are only developed for people that understand HTML.  Give me an FCK WYSIWYG editor anyday, that way anyone in your marketing department can use the system.  Seriously, if you can’t train a colleague on how to use the software within an hour, there’s something wrong!

2.  You need your own clean IP address.  If you then dirty it by sending out spam then I’m afraid you’ve got no one to blame but yourself.  But if you’re sharing a box with the guy who sell Viagra for a living, you’re going to get tarnished with the same brush as him.  Which frankly, ain’t fair!

3.  It needs to have a spam checker.  Most decent providers will link into Apache or an equivelent.  It’s Open source, so there really is no excuse.

4.  It should be feature rich.  Dynamic population, best time of day sending, adaptive subject headers, etc. all  make a difference to read rates.  I regularly see a difference of 15% open rate, just based on subject headers.

5. It needs to have advanced reporting.  Not just who read it, and who didn’t.  But who read it, forwarded it to a frind, clicked on a link, and then went on to buy a £2.99 pair of socks.  If it can’t tell you what your customer’s had for breakfast, then it’s not doing it’s job right.

This would be a great time to plug my own software - but that would be a cheap shot.  So instead I’ll leave you with these top tips for writing quality E-shots that people will read, and a word of warning,  try before you buy.  Most providers worth their salt will let you have a free (or greatly reduced) trial of their software.  Take advantage of this.  If after a week you’re still having difficulties - shop elseware!