Your New Site Is Live and On Stage!

When we launched our new Almost Everything site, it was important to me that we follow our own best advice. We always say, “Your website doesn’t work by itself,” so I wanted to announce the new site in an efficient and engaging way. I also have to say I was incredibly excited about the new site - I had wanted a new site for a long time, and was convinced that it would get a great response. For both practical and design reasons, I had new business cards made and printed to pass out at the same time – which I think added an extra level of excitement to the process.

Here's the process I used:

1. Announced the site first to a handful of friends and colleagues. I asked them to email me if they saw any errors or typos. Believe me, I got some valuable feedback. For instance, one friend said, www.almosteverythingweb.com is hard to read, and suggested writing it like this www.AlmostEverythingWEB.com. I've been doing it that way ever since.

2. Changed my email signature line to say:
Karen Nierlich Principal/Web Copywriting & Marketing Almost Everything Communications
www.AlmostEverythingWEB.com 510 527-9920 (office & fax)

Please visit our new Web site at www.AlmostEverythingWeb.com! Find short articles about on planning a website for your business on the Free Resources page. 

3. Started telling everyone I know that I have a new Website and new business cards. I'd say, "May I give you one of my new cards." This included friends, people I see daily at my kids' school, work colleagues and clients.

This was where the excitement part of the equation really came in to play. I felt that I could use my pleasure about the new site to refresh my marketing — I was so eager to tell everyone about our business! I didn't know how long I would feel the website was new, so I really capitalized on that sensation.  I'm probably a 6 on a scale of 1-10 in my ability to shamelessly self-promote, but during the first 5 weeks or so with the new site I was a 10.

4. Mailed or emailed an announcement letter to clients and colleagues. I probably managed to get about 10 print letters into the mail. Then I switched over to email. I really like the idea of written letter, though, and I had a great response from them, so in the future, I might outsource the task of sending a printed letter through the mail to a virtual assistant or a service like sendoutcards.
The letter described the new site and gave a sample list of last year's clients to help illustrate the kinds of service businesses we serve.

5. Announced the site and business cards at my business groups. I wanted to assure my associates’ familiarity with my new site – and infuse them with some of my excitement. And, on a practical level, I wanted to be sure that people knew they could send contacts to my site as a prelude to calling me.

The results of these promotions definitely met my expectations. We've seen a 50% increase in referrals and inquiries.

Websites don’t exist in a vacuum. It's hard to say which, if any, of our new clients the website is directly responsible for. But the increase is most definitely attributable to the new site, new business cards and the dollop of enthusiastic self-promotion inspired by these changes.  Your website doesn't work by itself, so be sure and tell people about it.

Almost Everything Communications    510-527-9920    karen@almost-everything.com
627 Evelyn Avenue, Albany, CA 94706