April 2010 -- In the tennis industry, as in the rest of the world, networking is the way to grow your business, find a new job and make valuable contacts.
A great way to "network" yourself is with your USPTA personal Web site. Do you blog? Include your USPTA Web site address. Do you have a Facebook page? List your Web site address on your Info page. Or use LinkedIn, Twitter, your e-mail signature, club or business Web site; the possibilities are endless for getting your name out there.
If you've built up your personal Web site with information, photos, videos or more, enter the third annual USPTA personal Web site contest. If you haven't visited your site or made changes in years, then it's time to get busy before the contest ends Monday, Aug. 2, 2010.
Investing a little time and creativity paid off for last year's winners. The grand prize winner was John Craig (http://johnscraig.usptapro.com). Christie Borne was the runner-up (http://christieborne.usptapro.com).
Many members use this benefit daily for everything from promoting tournaments and social tennis activities to notifying their students of schedule changes. Some members have used video, added links and more to make their sites comprehensive tennis sources for their clients.
To enter the contest, send the link to your USPTA personal Web site to usptapro@uspta.org. Type "USPTA personal Web site contest" in the subject line. It will be judged by the USPTA communications staff and USPTA Vice President Randy Mattingley, who is chairman of the Information Technology Committee.
If you haven't explored the possibilities of your Web site, visit Find-a-Pro.com, click Find-a-Pro under "Players" and enter your last name. The link to your site is on the right side of the page, across from your first and last name. Click the link to get to the home page of your site, which features your name and USPTA rating. If you've submitted photos or material in the past, it remains on the site. If you want to make changes to your Web pages, log in at the top, left corner of the site. Once you're logged in, you can begin to explore and add new material. If you need help, there's a "USPTA personal Web site help manual" that will walk you through the steps of setting up your pages. Also, take a look at the Tips and tricks link for additional help.
Each Web site entered in the contest will be judged in the following categories. Each category is worth a maximum of 5 points, and will be judged on a scale from 1 point to 5 points, with 5 points representing the best score for meeting the criteria of a specific category. Only usptapro.com sites may be submitted. No independent sites, please, and last year's winners are not eligible. Entries must be received for judging no later than Monday, Aug. 2, 2010, at 11:59 p.m., Central time.
_______________ Criteria _______________
Use of technology
- Working links, both within the site and to other sites
- Proper use of images, tables, video, etc.
Use of all site features
- Bio, facility, events, lessons, news
Content
- Tennis related, appropriate for site
- Proper spelling, grammar, punctuation
- Updated information
Use of graphics and photos
- Photo sizes - not too big or too small, proportional
- Photo quality - good quality, in-focus photos
- Placement of pictures/graphics
- Use of fonts, not too mixed
- Use of color
____________________________________
You may also send a brief statement explaining how you use and promote your site.
There will be one grand-prize winner and three runners-up. Winners will be announced at the USPTA World Conference awards breakfast. (Winners will be notified in advance.) Prizes will be products from USPTA endorsees: Grand prize winner - HEAD racquet, tour bag and string Runners up - HEAD backpack, string Good luck!
