The decade has rolled over and it's time for a brand new year of web tips and tricks! Welcome to the January 2011 issue of of ZooNews, from professional website design company Zoonini Web Services.

I recently had two contrasting experiences that got me thinking about email frequency. In one instance, I signed up to receive weekly links to online store flyers, so I could stop depending on paper ones, but I only ended up receiving two out of three weeks' worth – not very reliable.

In another case, in the days and weeks after signing up for a free webinar I was absolutely bombarded with invitations to future webinars, reminders, follow-ups, and the like. (I even got a phone call from a webinar salesperson!) After weeks of nonstop mailings, I finally reached my limit and unsubscribed altogether, as that was the only option they provided. The company could have avoided all of this if they'd emailed me at a more reasonable frequency.

Don't abuse your privileges as an email marketer by sending too-frequent mailings. When someone gives you permission to send them email notices – whether it's a newsletter, discount coupons, or e-flyers – be conscious of how often you're taking advantage of that privilege. If you have a regular schedule for your newsletter – say weekly – let your readers know before they sign up so they can decide if that frequency suits them.

If possible, give subscribers a choice of frequencies (e.g. once a week or once a month) so they can receive your mailings at a pace that suits them. Don't inundate readers with endless messages that may cause them to unsubscribe. Think about compiling several offers, articles, or other goodies into one meaty message, which you send out on a predictable basis. That way, readers will look forward to seeing your name in the From line, rather than reaching for the delete key as fast as they can.

I've started to notice the term "like bait" used to refer to a Facebook phenomenon where a business rewards people who "like" their Facebook page by giving them some kind of gift, which might be a physical product or a free service. They may even restrict access to some special content – a music-video preview, for example – until you have "liked" their page. I recently saw an online contest that wouldn't allow you to vote for your favourite participants unless you first “liked” the Facebook page.

Is this a form of online blackmail or bribery, or just a savvy marketing tactic? Here's one article that ponders the ethics of Facebook "like bait": Views from a Corner Suite – Is a Facebook Like Button Click for Website Access Evil?

Got a technology term you'd like demystified in ZooNews? Send it to questions@zoonini.com.

Zoonini client Organized Success continues to get tremendous press coverage, with the latest coup being a feature interview on CTV News highlighting their money coaching services. Organized Success owner Susan Portnoy says that whenever she asks why a journalist has contacted her, it's a combination of being easy to find when they do a Google search and a high-quality site, reflecting the quality of her organizing services. In light of the recent spotlight on the company's financial organizing assistance, we've added a new page to the site devoted to how Organized Success' money coach can help people budget better, eliminate debt, and relieve other financial stresses.

It's been over four years since the Beyond the Box site launched, and in the interim the average monitor resolution has greatly increased. In practical terms, what that means for web design is that page layouts are being designed wider than they used to, and fonts are larger. To reflect these new norms, we widened the Beyond the Box site layout and increased the text size for easier reading at high resolutions.

Websites are also being accessed via mobile devices more and more frequently. We configured a mobile plug-in for J-organize's WordPress installation that displays a pared-down, text-only version of the site to visitors using iPhones, Blackberrys and other smartphones, making it easier and quicker for them to navigate the site and find what they're looking for.

This month I finally joined that ever-more ubiquitous social network, Facebook. My reasons for relenting – after being a Facebook resister for so long – are explained in a confessional letter to Twitter that I posted on my new Facebook business page, which is viewable to anyone – no like-bait hoops to go through.

As with everyone else with a business page on Facebook, I am now in the position of begging for Facebook "likes" – at least until I have the minimum 25 needed to allow me to replace my long and unfriendly default URL with a nice and short custom username. Pondering the best way to get the needed "likes" led me to pose the query, "Is begging for 'likes' the new begging for links?"

While you consider that question, would you please mosey over to Facebook and "like" Zoonini's new page, pretty please?

À la prochaine,

kp
aka Kathryn Presner