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By Stefan Arnold, December 24, 2009 4:19 pm

Newspapers have a lot of work ahead of them in 2010. They need to continue to find out what works online, and how to cross-promote from their Web site to the paper.

But what SHOULDN’T papers do? What may seem to be good moves could further sink a newspaper into the past, not allowing it to improve.

Here are a few actions newspapers should avoid in 2010.

Don’t put up a paywall if you’re not ready: Sure, papers want to make more money. But a paywall before your house is in order could be suicide. If your paper wants to put up a paywall, make sure  your Web site is ready. And you better have a good plan to tell people what they are getting for their money … just “our site” isn’t going to cut it. Your site should:

• Look good. If you haven’t had a re-design lately or, worse, failed to do a good re-design, then your old site needs an upgrade. And the advertising better be pretty, too.
• Be easy to use: Are your video or photo galleries difficult to find? Are there broken links? People won’t be happy paying for a sloppy site.
• Be able to be shared: Social media is here to stay. Let people spread your word for you. … which brings me to my next point.

Don’t run before you can walk: Many newspapers aren’t fully engaged with a social media campaign. The doesn’t mean your paper needs to dominate all services now. The two giants of social media are, of course, Twitter and Facebook. Your paper needs to have those two understood and in widespread use before moving on. All departments should have clear goals, guidelines and user expectations.  Twitter and Facebook are vital to your growth as a Web site and hopefully your paper.

2009 was the year of the newsroom skeptic. 2010 had better be the year of the newsroom believer. The health of your newspaper depends on it.

But, even with the focus on Twitter and Facebook, don’t neglect the other social media sites. Claim your name on YouTube, Flickr and other sites. Have your best users begin to understand them to prepare for your social media expansion.

Don’t get caught off guard in your own backyard: Take a look around. Your paper should dominate the local market. But there are other people, and organizations, covering your area. See what they are reporting. See what stories are popular. Then make sure you cover them.

However, just because you should be the biggest player in the area, don’t hold people (and readers) at bay. You want to encourage conversation. You need to drive the discussion. That means letting people see all the information, from all directions. Link to other blogs and reader photo galleries.

Local information needs to be like a wave that flows past your Web site. You need to get the news, build on it, add to it and let it keep going. The time for hoarding news is over. Your newspaper will be best served by being part of the conversation, not a speaker at a lecture. Done correctly, your newspaper and its Web site will be the place people go for news.

Fly on the news

Comments appreciated (button above).

Thanks! … Happy holidays and have a great new year.