So, at the MNS meeting/xmas party/auction in Box Hill tonight (yes, there were bargains to be had, definitely), the conversation drifted towards membership numbers and promotions and ultimately the need for a website.
Now it seems that a certain well-known IT guy who sometimes moonlights as a coin photographer, vendor and all-round good guy may be in a position to help the club get online with minimal effort. If that doesn't pan out, there are numerous options out there, from free to really cheap. So that part can be considered basically sorted.
But I'm much more concerned as to what a club website should have in the way of content.
As I see it, any club website (and I've built and run a few over the years) needs to address three audiences:
1. Members
2. Prospective Members
3. General Public
#2 is the easiest to deal with. The club's location, meeting calendar and contact information, plus maybe a little background and history is all that's really needed here. The sort of guff that all manner of directory sites cram into half a page or less.
#1 is mostly administrivia I guess. Announcements, minutes, all the minutiae at the heart of any organisation's functioning. Maybe transcripts of talks, piccies and the like.. think the sort of stuff you find in any trade magazine.
But what about #3?
What content would be useful to a random passer-by, which might tempt them to stop and maybe even revisit occasionally? And, one would hope, eventually become a prospective new member?
I brought up the Tasmanian Numismatic Society website and their awesome online newsletters, which apparently have now fallen on hard times (its been a while since I looked, I freely admit). Loads of content available to all and sundry. Is that the sort of thing which might attract visitors?
Or just pages of links to other resources? Or a full-blown blog like Mark's?
Or something else maybe?
Any and all ideas would be welcome.
So what would that target visitor search for or be interested in to get to the site?
I would suggest some beginner type articles. Eg things like "coins you can find in change", "why collect coins", equipment, storage, reviews of coin forums/sites/blogs/dealers info on mints, etc.
Think about "what would someone search for" and cover those terms.
The Numismatic Society of South Australia has a public and private section of their website.
1. The private section contains minutes, agendas, and newsletters that contain the full names of members. This area is password protected.
2. The public section contains information such as contact details, meeting locations and so on. It also has a "blog" where we post up items of numismatic interest that were present at meetings that have been anonymised (full names removed) and images of said items.. Also numismatic news items are posted when members suggest items.
As to what might attract visitors, that's something that PPH and I are probably uniquely qualified to answer with regards to the Aussie numismatic community. The answer is....almost nothing. Most articles that you and I find staggeringly interesting are of zero interest to the public as a whole. Our blog has thousands of articles and most of them see zero traffic. Same with the four different numismatic society websites that I manage. The content that is most likely to gain traction are "what is X worth", "what X can I find in my change that is valuable", and "the RAM is releasing some new widget". People find those and some few of them make the transition to actual collectors and potential club/society members. So, my suggestion if your club wants to garner new members then you concentrate on generating that sort of content and make sure your meetings actually discuss that sort of stuff from time to time. The trouble is most club members have moved WAY beyond that and have no interest in writing about or talking about it.
By the way Fulvio if the MNS wants to know what the NSSA's website cost just drop me a PM. I did it cheap, but I didn't do it free. I don't like doing things for free because "free" is too easily ignored and neglected, whereas a society who has paid something at least for a resource is likely to value it.
Quote from: 'markn' pid='82519' dateline='1449785774'The content that is most likely to gain traction are "what is X worth", "what X can I find in my change that is valuable", and "the RAM is releasing some new widget".
I agree, also the type of numismatic content that at times is seen in the newspapers which does heighten levels of intrigue for the reader. These subjects usually centre around the more iconic items and some of the more famous hoards that have been accidentally stumbled upon, as well as more modern items of inflated value that can be found in circulation.
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Oh yeah.....and some info directed at a totally unrelated subject.........like model railways :blush::biggrin:
Quote from: 'markn' pid='82519' dateline='1449785774'"free" is too easily ignored and neglected, whereas a society who has paid something at least for a resource is likely to value it.
True. I did point out the other night that .org.au registration and el cheapo hosting (not ad-supported "free" sites) would likely run $60-80 a year. I'll give this thread a while longer to run, and get back to you later.
Quote from: 'autocoupler' pid='82551' dateline='1449829911'the type of numismatic content that at times is seen in the newspapers
Oh yeah.....and some info directed at a totally unrelated subject.........like model railways :blush::biggrin:
Yeah, there's nothing like a newspaper article about hidden fortunes to bring the get rich quick croWd out of the woodwork. :/
How about a totally unrelated subject.. like cryptocurrencies?
Another topic that brings out the avaricious, come to think of it.
I think list maybe what they can learn and benefit out of these meetings as well. When I came a few times when I could, I learnt about storage of coins and the do's and don'ts along with other good information. So maybe think about what the others in the club have to offer and promote that, because there is some knowledgeable people at these meetings.