RipplePop Review (2022)
Need website, client breathing down my neck, freelancer disappeared into the myst and I’m stuck holding the bag… *panicking*… “f*ck”…
I’ve been in this situation more times than I care to admit.
Wish I would have known about RipplePop then.
Oh yeah… this is a review…
I’ll go over the fears that are probably in the front of your mind, so you can move forward, happier, more carefree, and with your agency *humming*, instead of grinding.
Fear #1: Unreliable Service, Slow Turnaround Times
This is notorious with outsourcing web design and development.
Slow turnarounds will kill an agency. The pace needs to stay brisk, so clients keep their excitement, and there’s positive cashflow & scalability.
RipplePop’s solution to this consists of two main points:
- RipplePop’s leadership team in USA that makes sure work is getting done and that freelancers are clear on their tasks.
- Freelancers are heavily vetted, so that only the best in attitude, skill, and integrity can work with you. This goes a long way in and of itself.
- RipplePop encourages you to be clear with your expectations, so hours, tasks, skills needed, skill level, experience, tech stack, etc. are all perfect.
Fear #2: Time Zone Differences
RipplePop’s freelancers are mostly in the Philippines, which initially brought up uncertainty in my mind.
“Aren’t our business hours in central time super, super late in PH?”
“I can’t stay up late to talk to these guys and work out issues”
“Is it healthy that they stay up super late working? Isn’t that some kind of violation?”
A lot of questions went through my mind, honestly.
However, when I talked to the founder, he was very understanding and explained that the hours of their freelancers are actively selected by the freelancers themselves.
They love to stay up and work late, as opposed to working normal hours for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they want to spend more time with their kids, sometimes their naturally night owls, etc. – but they had no problem with it.
I was assured that they have tons of freelancers with the skillsets I need that will work the hours in CST that I needed, and they delivered on their promise.
So, bottom line, tons of integrity here and the hours work out – many of the freelancers are totally open to managing clients as well.
Fear #3: Salary vs. Per Hour/Per Project
I was used to paying per project.
I was wrong.
There’s two ways to make this a no-brainer (and they’re both great for other reasons too):
Subscription Web Design
A website is never truly done.
Marketing takes time to work efficiently, and especially with a new site, or a remodel, the client is going to want to tweak, add to it, and run small tests on it.
The subscription model, then, fits web design like a glove. There’s so many value-added services you can offer, and even just maintenance, speed optimization, and the occasional SEO/PPC landing page.
Get creative with this and you will have a very valuable agency on your hands.
Delegate & Hustle
The other option is more old-school, but for those of you who outrightly reject the subscription model – it’s a good way to go.
Sell, sell, sell. Always be closing. The works.
Get out there and prospect in a large, hungry niche that needs websites / digital marketing.
Build prospect lists and hustle cold email and close multiple deals per month.
Value-added services come in handy here also. A great SEO program can change a business owner’s life.
Just always remember to niche down, down, down and always be prospecting.
Fear #4: Bad Design/Development Quality
This is one fear that you have more control over than you think.
With clear expectations, you can cut out about 90% of this fear/worry.
- Always have samples of finished projects and make a video or do a video call where you review the aspects of it that make it “done”.
- If your design standards are very high, consider creating more in-depth training that walks through your process and provides resources like images, fonts, etc.
- Know your process and teach it. No one can read your mind. You’re going to have to make it as simple as possible.
Working with RipplePop is one of those really nice experiences in business, where there’s clarity, talent, and great service behind it – get your needs/expectations clear and they’ll help you along.
Quick Note on the Importance of Clarity
To that point: as long as YOU’RE clear in what you need, the standards you’re after, the needs of your clients, etc., these guys are a godsend.
If you’re not clear, of course you’re going to experience some mistakes and multiple revisions – totally normal for agency owners with less years in the game.
When working with any recruiter, staffing agency, freelancer, agency, or anything else is the same – if you have your expectations clear, and training on exactly how the result should look, feel, and function, you’ll start to see “thinking on their feet” and problem solving happen within a couple of months.
It’s always good to set proper expectations.
That being said, RipplePop is an excellent WordPress (or Tilda, Wix, and just about any tech stack you can imagine) talent resource for agency owners looking for website development and design.
Final Thoughts
Pros:
- Super easy process
- High quality talent
- Great communication
- Variety of skillsets including project managers
- Awesome founder you can talk to
Cons:
- If you’re not 100% clear, you will experience issues (true for any outsourcing)
