Free SEO
Proposal Template Software Review
By
Kalena Jordan
A few
years ago I discovered a terrific new business tool and I was so thrilled with
its potential that I wrote a review article about it to share my discovery with
others.
The product was Proposal
Kit. My review was called
Close the Sale With Proposal Kit and I’ve had a lot of feedback from
readers of that article, thanking me for introducing them to the product.
In case you’re not already familiar with the software, Proposal Kit takes
the guesswork out of drafting a proposal or contract. It automates the chore of
putting together a complex business proposal. Basically, Proposal Kit provides a
comprehensive range of templates to suit any business requirement and helps you
build a framework for your proposal to match virtually any product or service
offering.
You then flesh out the templates with your own data and contact
details. Templates are particularly suited to online businesses and include
documents for the initial sales pitch, the planning stage, estimating,
contracting, project timelines, analysis and even invoicing.
I’ve been using Proposal Kit for over 5 years now and I am still as
enthusiastic about it as ever. So when developers of the product (Cyber Sea)
told me of their latest upgrade this month, I was very excited.
You see, amongst the 40 new contract templates available in the new
versions of Proposal Kit Pro and Contract Kit Pro is a
Search Engine Optimization Services Contract, designed for SEOs just like
me.
More about that later, but first let’s take a look at what’s been upgraded in
the latest versions of the product:
Over 300 pages of new
material have been added to Proposal Pack (new templates, checklists, samples,
instructional material) adding over 60% more material to this version.
Added 61 new proposal
templates increasing the total number of templates to over 270. Templates
added: Profile, Client Summary, Abstract, Estimate, Significance, Activities,
Design, Planning, Approach, Innovativeness, Project Plan, System Plan,
Promotion, Site Planning, Environmental, Public Relations, Community,
Coordination, Responsibilities, Documentation, Authority, Measures of Success,
Dissemination, Budget Information, Wholesale Price List, Retail Price List,
Cost Effectiveness, Resources, Hourly Services Contract, Invoice, Memorandum
of Understanding, Credentials, Capabilities, Accreditations, Certifications,
Geographic Information, Key Positions, Contractors, Legal Eligibility,
Authorization, Board of Directors, Policies, Flow Chart, Board Resolution,
Contact Letter, Letter of Transmittal, Support Letter, Commitment Letter,
Collaboration Letters, Report, Tab, Worksheet, Supplied Form, Appendix F,
Appendix G, Appendix H, Appendix I, Appendix J, Fax Cover Sheet, Bid / No-Bid
Checklist, Grant Proposal Development Checklist.
Added a proposal
bid/no-bid decision checklist.
Added a government grant
proposal development checklist.
Added a complete service
level agreement to the Contract and Terms template.
Added an additional
manual for writing Federal government grant proposals using Proposal Pack.
15 general business
sample proposals have been added.
10 Federal government
grant sample proposals have been added (USDA, Department of Justice,
Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services,
Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Housing and Urban
Development).
New Title Page graphics
have been added for “Resume”, “Contract”, “Plan”, “Submission”,
“Presentation”, “Report”, “Study”, “Estimate”, “Response”.
The Table of Contents
has been updated to add all of the new templates.
Proposal Kit Pro 12.0
Over 500 pages of new
material have been added to Proposal Kit Pro (new templates, checklists,
samples, instructional material) adding over 50% more material to this
version.
Contract Pack:
Minor grammar changes
made to some documents.
Four new categories of
contracts have been added: Advertising and Marketing, Graphics and Printing,
Computer Systems and Internal Company Plans.
41 new contracts,
agreements and related documents have been added (over 144 pages of new
material): Authorization to Start Work, Replication Quote Order Form, Email
Marketing Creative by Agency Agreement, Email Marketing Creative by Designer
Agreement, Pay Per Click (PPC) SEO Campaign Services Contract, Signage and
Printing Order Form, Print Quote Form, Colocation Hosting Short Form Contract,
Managed Hosting Service Level Agreement, Web Hosting Change Addendum, Pocket
Photo Release Agreement, Photo Reprint Rights Agreement, Photo Credit Waiver,
General Services Agreement, Repair Estimate Quote, General Contractor Work
Order, Right of First Refusal Partnership Agreement, Right of First Refusal
with Non-Disclosure Agreement, Works for Hire Agreement, Project Acceptance
Partial Signoff, Project Acceptance Simple Signoff, Software Development Plan,
Reprint Rights Agreement, SEO Services Reseller Contract, Disaster Recovery
Plan, Software Disaster Recovery Plan, Human Resources Guide Update Addendum,
PDA Usage Policy, Wireless Networking Usage Policy, Application for
Employment, Employment Non-Compete and Non-Disclosure, Drug and Alcohol
Testing Consent Form, Employee Promotion Authorization Form, Employee Notice
of Salary Increase Form, Employee Injury Report Form, Expense Report, Hourly
Services Agreement, Company Equipment Checkout Form, Agency Photo Shoot Model
Release Form, Employee Grievance Form, Employee Demotion Form
Many existing contracts
have been updated with new replaceable tags and consistent usage of terms.
Added 20 new standard
mail merge tags to many documents: <<ContractCompany>>, <<Approver>>,
<<Month>>, <<Amount>>, <<Supervisor>>,<<Department>>, <<InsuranceCoverageAmount>>,
<<Credits>>, <<SSN>>, <<HREmail>>, <<HRPhone>>, <<HRContactName>>, <<TimeZone>>,
<<Date>>, <<Minutes>>, <<Hours>>, <<Days>>, <<Months>>, <<Years>>, <<Weeks>>
Estimate Pack:
Updated HTML organizer
to help find and open documents easier.
Added Customer and
Proposal Number tags to all spreadsheets for helping organize estimates by
customer and proposal.
Updated line items in
existing spreadsheets with additional material.
Click
Here for details on Proposal Kit pricing, a product comparison chart and
information on how to upgrade.
Now, about that SEO Services Contract that I’m so excited about. Having
run an SEO business for over five years now, I KNOW how difficult it is to
produce a reliable, standard contract to give to SEO clients. Search engine
optimization can be such a complex process that it is vitally important your
client contract spells out your services, delivery schedule, responsibilities
and campaign expectations while addressing all areas of potential client
confusion.
Such contracts take time to develop and can be very expensive if drawn up from
scratch by a law firm. Many SEOs, especially those just starting out, simply
don’t have the time, resources, knowledge or budget to have a high quality,
water-tight contract developed for their business. That’s why I see the
inclusion of an SEO Services Contract in the latest Proposal Kit upgrade as a
boon for SEOs everywhere.
Even if your
business already has a contract in place, the purchase price of Proposal Kit
Pro or Contract Pack Pro, (both which come with the SEO contract
included), is well worth the investment to be able to compare your contract with
the detailed sample provided. Something important to keep in mind is that legal
contracts in the Contract Pack should not be viewed as binding legal documents
until they are reviewed by your lawyer. Because every business has different
products, services, clients and operates in different geographical environments,
legal requirements vary widely. By all means use the contract templates to draft
your contract, but make sure you have the document carefully reviewed by your
company law firm to ensure it meets your specific legal requirements. This is
emphasized within the templates.
Not all sections
of the SEO Contract will apply to every SEO business, particularly those listed
under “Services Provided”, but the document is so comprehensive that you can mix
and match sections and clauses that are specifically relevant to your business,
such as “Delivery Dates and Milestones”, “Web Page Creation, Edits and Custom
Programming” and “Keyword Selection”. I’ve already spotted three or four
important clauses that our existing client contract overlooks. Not to mention
the benefits of having access to hundreds of professional proposal templates
from which to pick and choose to match your own business requirements.
For smaller SEOs or those just starting out in the industry, the latest version
of
Proposal Kit could save you a fortune and give your business a much
needed injection of professionalism. Of course that goes for non-SEO businesses
too :-)
The above article may be
re-published as long as the content remains unchanged and the following
paragraph is included at the end of the article, including the URL links:
Article by Kalena Jordan, one of the first search engine optimization experts in Australia and New Zealand, who is well known and respected in the industry, particularly in the U.S. As well as blogging her own Search Engine Advice ColumnAsk Kalena, Kalena manages Search Engine College, an online training institution offering instructor-led short courses and downloadable self-study courses in Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing subjects.
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