December 2007 -- If you haven’t visited your free USPTA personal Web site, then you’re not taking advantage of a very valuable benefit that will both impress your customers and give you access to great teaching resources.
With a free site, you can use the Internet and its vast communication capabilities to promote yourself and your programs, communicate with students and potential customers and impress your employer. The personal Web sites have been available to all members since April 1997, and for the last year members have been able to input and control much of their own content.
Each site has a home page that can be personalized as you see fit. Separate biography and facility pages allow clients and visitors to learn more about you and where you teach. There are also pages for events, lesson programs, news and tennis tips. Graphics and photos play a huge role in effective Web sites, and the personal Web site program allows you to upload up to 15 images that can be placed on any page within the site. Also, you can upload a company logo and five more photos into the biography and facility page templates.
You have all the tools you need to create a personalized, professional-quality Web site that if utilized and updated frequently can be a great asset in promoting your services, recruiting potential students and enhancing business opportunities.
Every USPTA member already has a site. To find yours, go to usptafindapro.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 check out 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. Also, 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.
Aside from the limitless promotional options your site provides, it also features educational resources for you. Recently, USPTA provided a free link for its members to the popular Tennisplayer.net, founded by USPTA member John Yandell. The site offers extensive online information and visual resources, which are now available to certified USPTA members and Developmental Coaches at no cost. The site has hundreds of instructional articles illustrated with digital photography and state-of-the-art video.
Tennisplayer.net represents just the first of many similar benefits to be offered on your personal Web site.
Member uses personal Web site to grow business
USPTA member Clive Ashford has been enjoying the perks of his free USPTA personal Web site for many years. He just can’t understand why all teaching pros don’t take advantage of the invaluable benefit.
"I received the USPTA e-Newsletter and noticed the section on the personal Web sites and used the link to randomly take a look at other pros’ sites," he wrote in a recent e-mail to the World Headquarters. "I was very surprised to find that many of the names I tried had very little on them!"
Ashford utilizes all of the menu items to provide his students and potential clients with information on his teaching background, his facility, lessons and prices, news, tennis tips and contact information. He updates his site frequently and has included photos of himself, the club and players.
This England-based USPTA member said it all boils down to making time to "speculate to accumulate." "We all need to use this superb resource to help grow our business," he said. "If a pro hasn’t got a Web site, then he or she looks a bit 'last century’ and could well put potential clients off."
