GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR WEBSITE

Not just “brochureware”

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Overview• Websites

• What are they really for?• Who is my audience?• Starting from Scratch on a new site• How does a website fit in with Facebook, Twitter & YouTube?• Google• Useful tips & tricks

• Effective Newsletters

• Memberships

• Online entries

• Questions

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What are they really for?• Websites are a fantastic source of information for:

• Immediate future information• “What time does the race start on Saturday?”

• Immediate past information• Race Results

• Historical information• Can store vast amounts of information, results, photos, etc

• Information for potential newcomers to the sport• “My son wants to get into the sport, but I have no idea where

to start”

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Who is my audience?• Potential newcomers

• Single biggest omission for most sites• “Paddling for All” is an excellent initiative• Need only be a single page on your website• Don’t just say “we do this …”, but list the activities that would be

appropriate for each demographic at your club

• The “regulars”• What time is today’s race• How do I enter for xxx?• What is the latest news?• Did someone put a photo of me on the website?

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Starting from Scratch• Don’t form a Committee!

• Ask forgiveness, not permission• Any more than 2 people is a problem

• Don’t get too hung up on graphics• Requires a minimum standard, but after the first few visits, people

tend not to see the graphics• Draw a structure chart of the final(ish) product, then mark the

minimum required to launch. 20 pages is the maximum• Set a deadline for release and stick to it• Design from the top down, but build from the button up• Collect club documents (Constitution, Club Rules etc) to pad out your

website

• And finally …… Don’t form a Committee!

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Structure Chart

Home Page

About the Club Disciplines

Flatwater

Whitewater

Getting Started Admin

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How does a website fit in with Facebook, Twitter & Youtube?• Facebook

• The place where a younger audience gets all their information• Fulfils much of the same role as a website, but also has “push”

capabilities• Twitter

• Great for events with quick updates• Information can be input by multiple people at an event, and

display can be duplicated on the event website• Doubles as an email “push”• Generally links back to more information on the website

• Youtube• A website for storing and streaming videos• Can be embedded in your website• Can easily setup a “group” of videos

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Overview• Improving your Google ranking

• Make your content relevant• Regular updates to your website• Links from other similar, well respected sites

• Google Analytics• A measurement tool to evaluate the effectiveness of your website• How does it work?

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Tips and Tricks• Uploading multiple images

• EventID• Changing the type of news on the front page• Shortcuts• Including Team lists in your web page• Cutting and Pasting from Word• Sharing menus

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Newsletters• The single most effective tool to

• Drive members to your website• Increase event participation

• However, Newsletters must be:• Informative• Regular, but not too frequent• Summarised, so users can skim over and drill down for more

information where it suits• Available to ALL, not just paid up members

• If people see an active club, they will eventually join

• If they don’t fulfil these first three points, people will soon tune out and unsubscribe

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Memberships• Two methods of taking online memberships

• Invoice to existing members• Direct website entry

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Online Entry• Online entry through BvIT

• Not just for events• Attendance at a Committee meeting• Social function pre-purchase

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Questions