How can I use the Internet to Help my Organization Communicate Online?

Try the following resources:
Email | Online discussions | Chat | Online communities | Target Your Audience

E-mail

E-mail is still the most powerful online tool available for nonprofit organizations. The resources below will help you make the most of e-mail -- whether for internal or external communications.

• ONE/Northwest's Sending Effective Email contains ten helpful hints for organizational use of e-mail.
• WebFoot's A Beginner's Guide to Effective Email
• E-mail Newsletters by Not-for-Profit and Public Sector Organizations from Coyote Communications offers suggestions for using electronic newsletters in a nonprofit organization.
• How to Develop an E-Mail Newsletter covers the advantages of creating an e-mail newsletter, style issues and more.
• Jakob Nielsen is getting into e-mail. This famous Web site usability expert has published "Mailing List Usability" listing the Dos and Don'ts of e-mail distribution lists. As always, well done.
• Using Email Lists to Work Together, from the book From Workplace to Workspace by Maureen James and Liz Rykert, offers practical advice on setting up and managing an e-mail list.
• Wondering how to activate the people on your discussion list? Resources for Facilitators and Moderators of Online Discussion is an annotated list of articles and other materials to help you set up, maintain, and have a successful experience with online dialogue.

Online discussions

Online discussion boards ... newsgroups ... bulletin boards ... forum software -- all different terms to describe online discussions that don't require people to participate simultaneously. Use these resources to learn more about the different approaches to using this technology.

• Interested in adding a remotely hosted discussion forum to your site? Check out this great list of free forums: Remotely Hosted Applications: Bulletin Boards.
• Before investing in any forum software or service, see the Online Community Report's 30 Features to Consider When Choosing Forum Software.

Chat

And then there's "chat" ... while teenagers may be using this form of instant messaging to exchange the latest gossip, nonprofits have found ways to use it for their own work.

• Instant messaging, or "chat" can be a convenient and effective way to communicate online. Instant Messaging from NPTalk is a great introduction to the topic and lists several instant messaging tools.

Online communities

No matter what technology you are using to communicate online — email, bulletin boards or chat — building online communities is key to many organizations' success. What do we mean? Read on ...

• A great resource for managing online communities, "Building Online Communities: Transforming Assumptions Into Success", outlines four common assumptions that nonprofits make when building online communities and provides questions that can help nonprofits avoid falling prey to these assumptions.
• Online Community Toolkit from Full Circle Associates, covers the what, how and why of building online communities and includes inspiring case studies.
• Online Community Report is a twice-monthly email report on what's new in online communities.

Target your audience

After you get online, start using email, or build a Web site, you'll want people to know you're here. Here are recommendations for publicizing your online efforts.

• Getting Started: Outreach Via the Internet for Not-for-Profit or Public Sector Organizations from Coyote Communications. See also Advertise Successfully and Ethically on the Internet.
• Nonprofits and the Internet: Creating An Effective Online Presence by Michael Stein outlines methods for making the most of your organization's Web presence.
• In Tips for Effective Online Media NetAction shares their recommendations for getting your word out electronically.
• How to Use the Internet for Organizing, compiled by Martin Kelley of the Nonviolence Web, contains tips and tricks to build and activate your Internet audience.