Transcript 2003 – 2004 ASHRAE Region XI CRC Chapter Summary Report

Chapter Communications
Connecting with your members
Presented by:
Devin A. Abellon
Karine LeBlanc
Chapter Communications
• Goals
•Identifying your Members
•Chapter Publications
•Publicity
•Email
•Chapter Website
•Networking
Goals
•Increasing meeting attendance
•Increasing chapter participation
•Raising awareness within your chapter
•Raising awareness within your
community
•Research Promotion
•Attracting new members
Identifying Your Members – Key Points
• Membership Database
•Consolidating Databases
•Managing Databases
Identifying Your Members – Questions
•Who are your members?
•What is the best way to connect with
your members?
•How?
Chapter Publications - Newsletter
•Printed or Electronic
•Advantages
Physically delivered
Periodic
•Disadvantages
Cost
Time
Scheduling
Mailing Lists
Newsletter Committee Responsibilities
•Publish a monthly newsletter to promote the
activities of the chapter.
•At least 10 issues per year
•Communicate with your chapter president and
chapter officers / committee chairs to
obtain current information relating to
the chapter.
•Schedule distribution so that members receive
it at least one week before monthly
meeting date.
•Include Regional Officers
Format
1. Meeting Information
2. Calendar of Events
3. President’s Message
4. Activities of the Chapter /Society
5. Meeting Minutes
6. Articles from ASHRAE Journal and Insights
7. Articles from chapter technical committees
8. Chapter History
9. Contact Information
10. Sponsors
Format
11. Human Interest Stories
12. Business Card ads
13. Photos
14. Employment Classifieds
15. New Members
16. What’s Next?
Rules and Guidelines
•Must comply with ASHRAE Commercialism
Policy and Guidelines
•All chapter meeting announcements must
clearly identify chapter name and
location
•Society new releases should be distributed to
chapter members
•Disclaimer:
“Statements made in this publication
are not expressions of the Society or of
the chapter and may not be reproduced
without the special permission of the
chapter.”
Rules and Guidelines
•The publication content must be consistent with
the purpose of the Society
•Advertising shall be limited to the reproduction
of business cards.
•Contributors to educational or resource
promotion funds may be acknowledged.
•No subscriptions shall be solicited.
•A copy of each newsletter should be sent to the
Regional Chair, the chapter president, and to the
Director of Member Services.
•Mailing lists may not be sold.
Tips
•Set deadlines!
•Format should be creative, yet consistent
•Presentation should be clean, professional and
conservative
•Engage members by including articles about
other members and events
•Use pictures!
•Proofread!!! Use Spell check!
Software
•Microsoft Publisher, Adobe InDesign, Print
Shop Deluxe, Print Shop Pro
•Adobe Acrobat, Cute PDF, PDFConverter,
PDF995
•Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop Elements, Paint
Shop Pro, Adobe Illustrator
•Microsoft Office
Form
Appendix CC: How to Write Effective Newsletters
• Work with a print shop
• Solicit information from Chapter Leadership
• Set Deadlines
Chapter Publicity
• To be the “voice” of ASHRAE.
•To procure and review biographical sketches on upcoming speakers, presenters,
and guests.
•To promote the chapter to the local media, or other industry groups
•Forward articles or notices to the editor of Society Insights.
Email
•Meeting Announcements
•Meeting Reminders
•Chapter News
•Sponsorship Solicitation
Email - Challenges
•Maintaining Database
•Dealing with Spam Filters
•Annoying Members
Email - Benefits
•Easy to Send
•Low cost
•Immediate communication with
members
Email - Solutions
•Constant Contact
•iContact
•Campaigner
•Bronto
•Evite
Chapter Website
• The Importance of the Internet
• The Importance of the Chapter Website
• A useful resource for Chapter members
• The primary means of contact between a chapter and
it’s members
ASHRAE Hosting
Benefits
•No cost
•30 MB Free Webspace
Disadvantages
•Websites must use ASHRAE Template
•Links only allowed to ASHRAE and non-commercial sites
•30 MB Webspace
•50 GB Bandwidth
•Not available for Student Branches
ASHRAE Policies and
Procedures
1. Hosting
2. Web Site Designation
ASHRAE ® Central Arizona Chapter
ASHRAE ® UC Santa Barbara Student Branch
ASHRAE ® Region X
ASHRAE Policies and
Procedures
3. Multiple Sites
4. Disclaimer
“This web site is maintained by the San Diego Chapter of the American Society
of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE). It
does not present official positions of the Society nor reflect Society policy.
ASHRAE chapters may not act for the Society and the information
presented here has not had Society review. To learn more about ASHRAE
activities on an international level, contact the ASHRAE home page at
http://www.ashrae.org.”
ASHRAE Policies and
Procedures
5. Site Webmaster
6. Content
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Reviewed for appropriateness and timeliness
Rosters
Copyright Policies
Technical Committees – Working Drafts
No material offered for sale by ASHRAE
Technical Committees - Programs
ASHRAE Policies and
Procedures
7. Discussion Groups
8. Commercialism
• Content may not violate ASHRAE policies with regard to
commercial and proprietary interests
• Websites may not endorse, describe, or name products,
services or companies
• ASHRAE-hosted sites – No commercial links
ASHRAE Policies and
Procedures
8. Commercialism – Permitted Links
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Business card type ads only
HVAC-related only
Redirect notice
E-mail directly from site
Isolated section
ASHRAE Policy Resources
1. www.ashraechapters.org
2. Manual of Chapter Operations
3. ASHRAE Policy on Commercialism
CONTENT! CONTENT! CONTENT!
1. Meeting Information
2. Calendar of Events
3. President’s Message
4. Activities of the Society
5. Meeting Minutes
6. Articles from ASHRAE Journal and Insights
7. Articles from chapter technical committees
8. Chapter History
9. Discussion Boards
10. Contact Information
11. Sponsors
12. Chapter Roster
13. Newsletter
Form
Software
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Microsoft FrontPage
Macromedia Dreamweaver
Coffee Cup
Homestead Site Builder
• Adobe Photoshop / Photoshop Elements
Form
Things to Do
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Maintain site / links regularly
Make sure that titles make sense
Clear navigation – Understand conventions
Browser Compatibility
Use of Fonts / Colors (Web 2.0)
Use pictures!
Be very careful when using frames
Use a good graphics program
Makes sure that contact information is easy
to find
• Don’t Forget CONTENT!
Form
Things NOT to do
• Try to avoid using page counters, scrolling text, animated
gifs, tiled backgrounds, excessive images or fonts
• Avoid using “Under Construction” pages
• Avoid opening new windows
• Flash Intros
• Use PDFs for printable documents, not for online viewing
“Don’t Decorate – COMMUNICATE!”
Using Your Website to Communicate
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Make sure your members know how to get to the website
Use email or newsletters as reminders
Direct members towards your website
Monitor traffic
Solicit Feedback
New Ways to Communicate
• Discussion Groups
• Podcasts
• Webcasts
Challenges
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Building your page from ground up
Keeping your website up to date
Getting information from your chapter
Maintaining updated contact information
Working with your web host
Transition to new website coordinators
Solutions
• Build templates for your site
www.monstertemplates.com
• Get help from your chapter officers
• Hire an outside firm to build and maintain your site
Benefits and Opportunities
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A good website will keep your members informed.
A good website will educate your members.
A good website will maintain/increase meeting attendance.
A good website will encourage members to get involved.
Sponsors can help offset costs and may become a source
of income for your chapter.
• Web space can be used by the chapter to store files.
• Use your site to acknowledge new members, thanks sponsors, etc.
• Third Party Sites (i.e. Photobucket, Mapquest, PayPal) can
make your site more useful.
Networking
•Attracting new members through other
organizations
ASPE
ACCA
SMACNA
AIA
USGBC
Thank you