Clubs and the Internet

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Clubs and the Internet

• Karen Kerns 97
• Assistant Director of Clubs

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Is there a Wellesley club in my area?
How do you find this out?
Wellesley College website
E-mail
(Of course you can always call the Alumnae
Association, too!)
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Our club is having an event soon and we need to
get the word out!
How do you do this?
1. Send an invitation
2. Put it in your newsletter


4. Send a broadcast e-mail
3. Post the event on your website
FREE!
FREE!
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Clubs and the Internet

• Goals
• to give you the information your club needs to
  take full advantage of the internet as a
  communication tool
• to convince even the technically challenged
  that its easier than you think!

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Clubs and the Internet

• Agenda
• Broadcast E-mails
• Discussion Groups
• Online Surveys
• Web Pages
• Including alumnae who dont use the internet

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Broadcast E-mail

• Effective and free communication tool
• Reaches all alumnae who have an e-mail address
  listed with the College
• Carefully coordinated with other e-mails sent
  from the College
• Should not be over-used!

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How to Schedule a Broadcast E-mail

• To schedule an e-mail
• 1. Plan ahead! Contact Karen Kerns at least two
  weeks before you want the email sent this will
  get you on the Colleges e-mail calendar.
• 2. Send Karen the text of the message about two
  or three days before the scheduled date.

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What should be in Your Broadcast E-mail?

• The essentials
• A clear, concise subject beginning with
  Wellesley
• Info about to whom and from whom the e-mail is
  being sent
• What, where, when, and RSVP info about events
• Contact info for questions
• Reply-to e-mail

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Broadcast E-mail Tips

• Make it personal Dear Alumna -- sign it!
• Keep it short!
• Make it friendly and inviting
• Make it easy to RSVP
• Include a link to your clubs web site
• Ask yourself
• If I received this e-mail, would I read it or
  delete it?
• Does this e-mail make me want to connect with
  the club?

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Why cant I just make my own club e-mail list?

• Email addresses change frequently
• Privacy
• Category Opt-out
• Reply All
• Legal regulations regarding group emailing and
  SPAM

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Wellesley Discussion Groups

• What are they
• Why do we have them
• How to request one
• How to subscribe to one

Examples Apartments Autism Forum CA San
Diego Class of 1997 Performing Arts
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Online Surveys

• Click and Complete!

or
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Online Surveys

• Survey Monkey www.surveymonkey.com
• Free service if survey is 10 questions or less
• Very easy to use
• Generates a link you can use in an e-mail
• Have a paper copy available in newsletter for
  those that dont use e-mail
• Example SE Connecticut Wellesley Club

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Clubs and the Internet

• Options
• Build a website and host it yourself
• Build a website and have us host it
• Use chapter pages
• Email us updates and well post them on your club
  web page

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Club Websites Option 1Do it Yourself

• Build your own website and well link to it from
  the Alumnae Office website
• This method requires some level of website
  expertise on the club leadership team
• Costs associated with using a third-party web
  hosting vendor
• Example Los Angeles

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Club Websites Option 2Build It, Well Host It

• This method works for clubs where someone has the
  website building expertise, but you cannot find a
  web host or dont want to pay for it.
• Clubs can create websites in HTML, zip the files
  and e-mail them to us for hosting
• Examples Philadelphia, San Diego, New York, West
  Bay

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Club Websites Option 3Chapter Pages

• Pre-formatted web pages that a club officer can
  access and update herselfin real time, whenever
  she wants.
• Only basic technology skills needed
• Added security - only those with an Online
  Community login and password can access Chapter
  Pages
• Ideal for posting newsletters and other
  information for alumnae eyes only

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Club Websites Option 3Chapter Pages

• Interested?
• Visit the Clubs Resources web page and click on
  Requesting Chapter Pages.
• E-mail Karen Kerns the information needed to set
  up your account.
• Once the account is set up, Karen will send you
  the link to the administrators tool.
• Enter text into the page templates
• When done, e-mail Karen and she will make your
  website LIVE!

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Club Websites Option 3Chapter Pages

• Options for how people access your clubs chapter
  pages
• Directly from the link on the WCAA website
• From a standard, public webpage (recommended)
  Examples Baltimore, Boston, New Haven

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Club Websites Option 4Club Web Page

• No web expert?
• Each club is supplied with its own webpage on the
  Wellesley College Alumnae Association website.
• To request one, send an e-mail to
  kkerns_at_wellesley.edu
• To update it, e-mail the information directly to
  kkerns_at_wellesley.edu and I will post them to your
  clubs page.

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What Should You Put on Your Web Page?

• Club contact information (WCDelaware_at_alum.wellesle
  y.edu)
• Other contact information use
  alum.wellesley.edu emails instead of personal
  emails
• Information on upcoming and past events
• Pictures, or a link to a picture viewing service
  such as shutterfly.com

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What Should You NOT Put on your Web Pages?

• Personal information about an alumna without her
  permission
• Address
• Phone number
• Directions to her house
• Anything you would not want available on a PUBLIC
  webpage, searchable by ANYONE on the internet
• Always keep in mind privacy issues when putting
  information on the internet

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Newsletters on Web Sites

• Delete any personal information such as addresses
  and phone numbers (unless you have permission).
  E-mail addresses are ok.
• Chapter Pages is a great tool for posting
  newsletter information since its more private
  than a public web page.
• If you dont want to post your clubs newsletter
  on your website, let people know how they can
  request a paper copy.

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For Alumnae That Dont Use the Internet

• Dont forget them!
• Its always a good idea to use more than one
  method for club communications besides e-mail and
  the internet
• Snail Mail invitations and newsletters
• Phone very effective!

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Summary

• Internet easy and inexpensive!
• E-mail effective when used appropriately
• Discussion Groups another way to stay connected
• Online Surveys click and complete
• Web Sites Google your club does your club have
  a good web presence?

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Thank You!