Southport Communities is a new, community website run by and for local communities. We have built this website to give community groups in our area their own mini website and encourage them to share information with each other.
Southport Communities will be a large website containing community news and contact details for community groups within Southport and District. If you choose to join Southport Communities we will give you your own small website within the larger, Southport Communities umbrella. You will have control over what you write about or what you use this website for. For example, if you are a sports club you may wish to publish your latest results or team news on your website; such news will be visible on your website and also the Southport Communities website. Other people will be able to see what you have written, and add comments underneath your stories which you can approve or reject. You will also be able to see what other groups have published on the website.
What to write on Southport Communities
Before you start writing, think about your aims in joining our website. These aims should help guide you when writing on your site. Does what you are writing support these aims?
Some of the reasons we suggest you should write online:
•To share knowledge/ideas
•To promote yourself and/or your community group
•To understand your readers’ or customers’ views
Why are we launching Southport Communities?
•To promote local groups our area
•To develop an online local community where our readers share knowledge and information with each other.
•As a natural complement to the soon to be launched Visiter website.
Remember gaining comments from other people is important. You might not always get comments when you post a story, but please keep an eye out for them. We want our Communities site to be a two-way medium.
Top tips when writing in your mini-site
•A mini-site is not only a diary. Avoid recounting every single thing you do day to day, but please let your readers know about yourself, and what you do if you feel it is important.
•One topic per post – make it easy for readers to grasp what the post is about
•Post frequently – and this is easier if you stick to the one topic per post – you can post many times a day
•Short and sweet. Up to 200 words is good. 350 words is a long post. Longer posts are readable if they stick to one topic.
•Add links. Is your post prompted by a news story or something else you read? If so LINK TO IT. Link to other people/sites. Link to your previous post on a topic. Lead users to other good places; Lead your visitors to sites and resources they wouldn't normally go to. (see separate “how to” guide)
•Funny helps.
•Controversial can also generate comments.
•But be polite (do not denigrate your readers). The aim is start a dialogue, get comments from users, engage them not enrage them.
•Photos. A picture paints a thousand words. Add a photo as often as possible.
•Involve your readers: end on a question, link them to a poll.
•Don’t refer to writer’s block. If you don’t have anything to write about, don’t write.
•Lists are popular and easy.
•Spell check your content.
•Go to other groups’ sites, and comment on them. Then they’ll come to check yours out.
- Post to:
del.icio.us
Digg
Newsvine
Nowpublic
Reddit