It’s the gift that keeps on giving: a new online marketing and promotion tip every week. As part of our year-long birthday festivities, we’re celebrating by giving away a new e-newsletter.

52 Web Marketing & Promotion Tips helps you energize your website with a piece of actionable advice delivered directly to your inbox every week, so you can keep your site fresh and vibrant. From writing and link building to best practices and strategy, we’ll help you reach your website goals in for the whole year.

One short and sweet tip each week, all year long. What could be easier?

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You’d never throw a party without sending invitations. Who wants to sit alone with four dozen spinach triangles and a couple cases of beer? (If you just answered, “I do!” then you might want to get out a little.)

That’s effectively what you’re doing if you’re like one of the many people I talk who aim to have an “interactive” website but don’t kick-start the festivities. They expect people to start participating, yet they don’t tell anyone what’s happening or make it a destination worth visiting.

It helps to think of your website as a venue where the party never ends. An always open house. How do you do this? By applying some of the same principles you would to any bash you host.

1. Send out invites.

If you know how to reach them online, you can invite them through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, listservs or however you normally chat with them. Are your partygoers the type to read a paper invite over an electronic one? Put it in the mail. The point is to invite them. Check out 18 Ways To Promote Your Website for ideas.

2. Keep inviting.

Remember, you website isn’t the one-time event of the year. It’s the ongoing event of the decade. Inform people they’re welcome to drop by any time. And then keep inviting them. People forget, have dentist appointments, get interrupted, so you need to keep the invites coming.

3. Plan something fun.

You don’t have to whack a piñata every time you throw a shindig, but people minimally expect snacks, drinks and good music. Why would they come to your website if there weren’t some kind of payoff? Make it worth their while, and they’ll keep coming.

4. Take pictures.

You know how weddings nowadays have disposable cameras in the middle of the tables? It’s because everybody likes to see themselves and their buddies participating. That transfers to your website too, whether it’s actual photos of the people you know or representations of them.

5. Make it pretty.

Picking up the dirty socks from the sofa and doing the dishes translates into fixing broken pictures and links and correcting typos. Read our Spring Cleaning guide so you can get everything sparkling before the party starts.

6. Plan for amounts.

In the event-planning world, you need to know who’s attending your party so you rent a big enough space, have enough canapés and staff appropriately. If you have the kind of website that’s likely to receive a surge in traffic, make sure you’re expecting it. If you aren’t, people might receive a message that the website isn’t available. Up your hosting account, talk to your webmaster about planning for what happens if 100 people try to click the same thing at once.

One of the first questions we ask during the kickoff of a new project is, “Who’s taking ownership of this project?” It’s incredible how many times that answer is, “Nobody.”

Unless you plan to let your website turn into a ghost town, put somebody in charge. Appointing no one as the website manager will have one of two outcomes: no one will do anything and your site will rot, or someone will do everything, but you’ll never respect or realize the amount of work they do.

Being a website manager is a big job. Bigger than you may realize. This is often the go-to person for all questions and updates for the website. If anyone wants something done, it falls to them. And the job doesn’t end. When the web development project is over, you take over updates and maintenance.

OK, now I’ve convinced you that you need to appoint someone as the website manager, and that their job is an important one. But who to appoint? Look for someone who …

Knows a little (not not necessarily a lot) about how web pages are built

Contrary to popular belief, whoever manages your website does no need to be a techno-wiz. If you need any heavy lifting done, it’s usually easier and cheaper to ask your web development company to help out. Of course, providing you have a good relationship with them. The majority of updates to your site will be tweaks here and there, which are mostly text changes. It is helpful if your web manager knows what a P-tag is and has monkeyed around with a content management system or two.

Is wildly organized

To work well with a computer, it helps to think a little like a computer. I’m still talking carbon-based life form, but that life form should be very organized. This person should be keep schedules and be good at documenting methods for updates and changes. They should have systems for organizing copy and pictures. They should remember passwords. They should be good at follow-through.

Is a good promoter

Your manager extraordinaire should also be savvy about promotion. Even if you have a marketing person on staff, your manager should know something about how to submit your website to search engines or repost blog entries. It’s helpful if they’re familiar with Facebook or Twitter, because they can help broadcast your message to a wider public. They can also be looking at new ways to promote your mission beyond what you might think up.

A good web manager can pay for themselves several times over. You’ll be glad you started taking this position seriously.

If you’re trying to sell a house, update the kitchen and bathroom. If you’re trying to get people to use your website, do it with these easy upgrades.

1. Most recent blog entry.

Some organizations have a blog, but hide it. An easy way to bring your words closer to your visitors is not only to provide a prominent link to your blog, but to also let the first few entries display on your homepage.

2. Twitter feed.

If you have a Twitter account, you should provide access to it on your website. It’s surprising how many organizations have an account, but you’d never know it by visiting their site. Treat your Twitter updates just like your blog updates, and show the most recent ones on your website.

3. Big Share buttons.

Any time you publish something worth sharing, you should encourage people to do so through e-mail or a social network. Big buttons encouraging people to share do better than small ones.

4. One-click donation.

It’s a pity if you miss out on donations simply because no one can figure out how to donate on your site. Make sure it’s easy to donate by clicking just one link.

5. Search.

If you have more than five pages, include a way to search your website. And make search easy to find. No hiding it in the lower regions of your site.

6. CMS (Content Management System).

If you’re struggling with keeping a mass of single-file pages looking the same, give up and get a CMS. Your visitors will respond to the organization.

7. Call to action links.

Tell people what you want them to do whenever you provide a link on your site. If you want donations, name your donation button “Give.” If you want people to register for your newsletter, call your newsletter link, “Sign up for the newsletter.” People will respond if you make it clear.

8. Home link.

Always, always provide a clearly labeled link that says Home.

9. Feedback form.

If there’s no way for people to respond to you, they won’t. Make it easy with a feedback form.

The best thing you can do for your website is to keep thinking about it. Keep tabs on what people like and what they ask for. Make upgrades on a regular basis, and you’ll notice a difference.

One of the best ways to get people to use your website is to ask them. As simple as that. Of course you can, and should, personally ask people to use your site. Tell them it’s there and ask for feedback. But there’s also a frequently overlooked widget that does the job for you.

A Share toolbar or button (see ours at the bottom of this blog entry) is adept at asking people to brag about you. You can plug it into your website, blog, or social networking page, and give people one-click access to share your best resources with their connections.

It’s a fast, cheap and easy way for you to boost traffic to your site.

[This little gem is the e-mail newsletter our subscribers just received. Want a slice of this for yourself? Sign up now.]

Hi, Friends.

We’ve got some great tips for you in this year’s very last issue of Talance’s Friendly E-Newsletter for improving your website and online communications strategy:

• Start with our article on how to define your audience (including the most useful questions you’ll have to ask to do so).
• Sign up for our new Websites 1-2-3 package – super powerful websites for your organization that don’t take a super-sized budget (only $1999!).
• Read through highlights from our favorite advice that we picked up on Twitter.
• Find out what everybody loved from our blog in the last month.

Wishing all our friends happy holidays!

From,

Your Internet pals at Talance

Catch is not a one-person game. That game is called Throw the Ball in the Middle of a Field, and it’s no fun.

The same principle applies to launching a new website – you have to have someone to aim to, otherwise, you can expect poor results. That’s why your first step with designing a new website should be to determine your target audience(s) so you can customize your site for them.

How? Start asking questions and see what answers emerge. You can consult whatever demographics information (age range, gender, geography, education, income, hobbies) you already have, and then see if you can develop a clearer profile by asking these questions:

1. What does a typical volunteer/supporter/member look like?
2. What does an ideal volunteer/supporter/member look like?
3. What do many of our volunteers/supporters/members have in common?
4. When we started, who did we have in mind as a volunteer/supporter/member?

You’ll see what a huge difference it makes just knowing why you’re building. And your website visitors will appreciate it too.

Websites 1-2-3 gives you an easy to edit website – fast! Get started with a clean, super-powered website hosted on the Drupal content management system (CMS). Then load it up with a selection of free goodies (like a blog or interactive calendar – or both!). Then sit back while we bring it all together with your custom colors, pictures and logo.

It really is that easy.

» Click here to get started!

In honor of our new offering for congregations, here are some highlights from the Talance Friendly Web Tools Blog. Make sure you’re reading http://talance.com/blog and get automatic updates of new articles.

Reader Question: How Do I Add a Facebook Page to My Page’s Favorites?

How To Start a Blog in 14 Steps for Congregations

21 Ways Volunteers Can Help with Your Website

How to Scrap Your Paper Bulletin

How To Write Really Helpful Web Development RFPs

These are our most-clicked and most discussed postings on Twitter. Want to see what we have to say? Follow us: http://twitter.com/talance.

• For those of you wondering what Facebook Connect is “What’s More Awesome than Sharing? Publishing, with Facebook Connect” http://ow.ly/Ffco
• So much interesting info about Twitter, from Pew Internet & American Life Project http://ow.ly/BVKw
• From @rabbijason, on expanding your marketing message with voice mail messages: How about “We’re not in right now, but u can send us a message on Twitter or write a message on a paper airplane & throw it to us.”
• From @katzpdx You are 100% correct. [Social media] should be treated as another marketing channel/tactic

Need Some Help?

Talance has helped clients launch scores of projects, ranging from websites to online newsletters to CRM projects. Please click here to schedule a time to talk about your next project or to request a proposal.

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Don’t keep this good stuff all to yourself. Click that Forward button and send to a friend.

Advertising people will tell you that before anyone will act on an ad, they have to be reminded 18 times. That’s a lot of dead-horse beating. It’s all the more effective if you can find online and offline places to promote. To get you started, here are 18 ways you can tell people to visit your website:

1. Put your website address on your return address labels
2. Mention your website on your voice mail recording
3. Add your site to your e-mail signature
4. Mention any new development any time you talk to someone
5. Update your business cards with your address
6. List yourself in directories
7. Ask partners to display literature with your website
8. Open a Facebook, MySpace and Flickr page and send people back to your website
9. Create a custom background on Twitter and make sure it has your website on it
10. Wear your web address – have it printed on T-shirts, hats, bags or even cheap buttons
11. Put a custom magnet on your organization’s car
12. Send out press releases
13. Encourage paper newsletter subscribers to read issues online
14. Send an e-mail with your new website to everybody you know, and as them to forward it to anyone they know
15. Have a website launch party/fundraiser
16. Start a blog – more pages means better online coverage
17. Add a Send This Article to Friends button on your website
18. Hang posters with your web address

[Photo credit: Megaphone. by Mal Cubed, on Flickr]

Twitter messages (aka tweets) may be limited to 140 characters, but have an impact greater than your typical sentence. Follow these tips to make sure your efforts aren’t the equivalent of online mumbling. (Curious about what Talance is saying? Follow us @talance.)

Make sure people are listening.

Just because you’re tweeting doesn’t mean anybody knows about it. Make sure to tell them. Announce it in your bulletin. Mention it during meetings or services. Upload your contact lists to see who in your network is using Twitter. Take steps to make sure people know about your Twitter initiative.

Say something worth saying.

Even if everyone in the world is listening, they’ll tune out if you don’t say anything worthwhile. Plan what you’re going to say, and make sure it’s worth saying. This doesn’t mean you need a daily Twitter script, but it does mean you should think about what topics you’ll be covering. I keep a sticky note on my monitor that has a list of the topics I want to make sure to cover in Talance’s communications.

Repeat your tweets on your website.

Your website should be the central hub for all your communication. This means that any Twitter, Facebook, e-newsletter, etc., project you have should lead back to your site. Since you can keep deep stores of information on your site, this is your opportunity to point people there for more details. In terms of Twitter, this means showing your most recent tweets show up in a Twitter feed, and also providing a link back to your Twitter account on the homepage.

Repeat your tweets everywhere else.

Most social networking services, including Facebook, Delicious, LinkedIn, MySpace, Wordpress blogs, all have Twitter plug-ins, which allow your most recent tweets to show up on those services. Use them!

Energized?

Start bragging about your tweets by telling us about it in the comments box below.

Building a website is only half the job – promoting it is the other half, and it never really ends. Luckily there are several things you can do to make your site promote itself, freeing you to do more relationship-building and hands-on promotion.

Here are some things you can add to the site to encourage people to visit and share what they find there.

Add a Tell a Friend feature

Sure, you can encourage people to tell their buddies about your site, but you might as well make it easy for them. Create a tell-a-friend feature that makes it simple for them to forward your site or a resource they found there to a multitude of readers at once.

Add a Link to Us page

Empower your visitors to create links to your site, replete with your site icon, on their site with a Link to Us page, available on every page. Provide the HTML coding they’ll need, and make sure it includes well-formed SEO links (including a full title, alt and anchor text). Put together a variety of text links, images of different sizes and everything someone would need to link back to you.

Maintain an engaging blog

The single best way to build engaging information on your website that attracts a following is to start a blog. I mean, you’re reading this right now, aren’t you? So give people a reason to keep coming back. Just make sure it’s tightly focused and worth reading.

Encourage people to follow your social media

Once you’ve got a blog, tell people how to follow it. The beauty of blogs are RSS feeds, which let people receive updates of articles as soon as they’re posted. (See how to get updates of this blog.) This is the same for Twitter updates, which is really a microblog, and any social networking accounts you have, like Facebook.

Present tools for sharing

If you have an article-rich site, give people tools for sharing your resources with their friends. Try some little buttons like this:

Ask people to spread the word

Remind people, again and again, to tell their friends about you. Sooner or later, they’ll act on your request.

Add a calendar

Show people you have stuff going on that’s worth tracking. Your calendar might have trainings, appearances, fund drives, special events – surely you’re doing something that people can react with.

You should never stop promoting your site once you’ve built it, but invest smartly in tools that do the heavy lifting for you. While you focus on other promotional activities, your investment can multiply.

Many people will take the time to set a simple auto-response to go out when someone writes them an e-mail. It’s usually something like “I will be out of the office until Tuesday, 4/14. If necessary, I can be reached at …” Talk about a missed opportunity!

Why not get a little fancy with this message and do a bit of promotion while you’re at it? After all, you have to write something there anyway, how about adapting one of these lines for your next out-of-office reply:

1. I’m out of town and can’t respond to your message until next Tuesday. While you’re waiting for me, check out our blog at http://talance.com/blog
2. I’m not checking e-mail while I’m out of the office until Tuesday, but I’m still Twittering! You can get a daily dose of what I’m doing at http://twitter.com/talance
3. I’m out of the office until Tuesday, but I’ll be celebrating our latest website launch the whole time I’m away. Check out http://massmentors.org and tell me what you think.

The best part? You don’t have to do any extra work to do a little promotion.