How to use the Web to Promote your Club:
How do you use the Web to promote your Club? Have you considered the benefits of Community Websites, Club Websites and of course the District Website? Here are a few thoughts on making them work for you.

COMMUNITY WEBSITES:
Next time you’re on the internet try putting your place name or the town or village your Club meets into Google. It’s quite possible that your little village, town or suburb may have its own Community Website. And on that website you’re likely to find a little history of the area, some of the sights or tourist offerings - and a "What’s on" or community listing of Clubs and activities in the area.
Find the contact for the site, e:mail them or phone them and ask them would they list your Club, where and when it meets and a contact no. And now you have a presence on the Web - linked to your area. If you happen to have a site of your own then ask them to add a link. It's simple and it's usually free.

If you'd like to know more about Community Websites you will find an excellent presentation from Robin Chawner on the subject - along with some other useful PR tips at the foot of this article.

CLUB WEBSITES:
So if you are one of the lucky ones who happen to have a website do you keep it up to date ? There's nothing as off-putting as visiting a site that hasn't been updated in months or even years. If for some reason you don't have ongoing access to someone who can update it for you then perhaps you should consider making it more generic - i.e. don't include things which date the site. Include Meeting details, contact nos, a description of the Club and what your aims are, but perhaps avoid a Club timetable or events guide UNLESS you are confident you can keep it updated.

DISTRICT WEBSITE:
If you do have a website, please ensure it links to the District 71 website at http://d71.org . Many club websites link to the old address of toastmastersd71.org which is unreliable and presently unavailable. Changing to the new link increase your sites chances of being found.

Presentation by Robin Chawner