From newsletter_admin at netadventist.org  Thu May  7 14:12:19 2009
From: newsletter_admin at netadventist.org (NetAdventist Newsletter)
Date: Thu, 7 May 2009 16:12:19 -0500
Subject: NetAdventist News & Notes - Volume 4, Issue 9
Message-ID: <dc28d5c20905071412w2343b793o6751b6bcabe3435f@mail.gmail.com>

     [image: netAdventist newsletter header]

*Vol. 4, Issue 9, May 6, 2009 *

*In this Issue:*

   - Managing Mailing Lists in *net*Adventist 3.0
   - Writing Web Copy That's Easy to Scan
   - FAQ: Where can I find archives of the *net*Adventist newsletter?

   Managing Mailing Lists in *net*Adventist 3.0

You can create mailing lists and send email news updates to your
constituents through *net*Adventist 3.0. To manage your mailing lists,
select the *Email Lists* tab in the Dashboard. As you create mailing lists,
they will be displayed here.



To create a new mailing list, click on *Add New List*. Once you fill in the
appropriate fields, select *Add Member*. Then repeat until all the members
you want to add are listed. Be sure to select *Save Changes* before
finishing. You can create mailing lists for church groups such as Women?s
Ministries or Pathfinders. Schools can use them for parent or staff groups.
Ministries can use them for donors or board members. The possibilities are
endless. Members always have to option of unsubscribing too.



To create an email message (i.e. news update) to send to your mailing list,
select the *New Post *link next to the mailing list you wish to send to.
Fill in the appropriate fields and select either *Save as Draft* or *Send
Message* (this sends the message immediately).


You also have the option of accessing a shared list from another *net*Adventist
organization. Select *Browse Available Feeds* under *Shared Lists *in
the *Email
Lists* submenu. Select from the listed feeds. If there is more than one feed
choice per entry, there will be a plus sign before the feed name. Select the
"*+*" sign. Click on the *Subscribe* link and select *Done*.

  *Writing Web Copy That's Easy to Scan*

When someone visits your site, they generally scan it for a second or two to
see if it's what they're looking for, and move on if it's not. That doesn?t
leave you much time to catch their attention, which means you have to write
for scanability.

First, don?t tire out your visitor?s eyes with tiny type (or huge type) or
weird fonts (and avoid too much underlining, italicizing, or bolding). A
survey by *Web Marketing Today* found that web readers tend to prefer
sans-serif fonts. Although you can use any font in your Web page, people
will only see the fonts that they actually have installed on their
computers. For this reason, we recommend commonly-installed fonts like
Verdana or Arial.

Second, avoid wide columns. Ideally you don?t want any tables or content to
be wider than screen width. People don?t like to scroll. If your web content
requires scrolling left-to-right, consider changing it.

Third, every page should include these three things: intro, body, and
conclusion. Remember elementary school when you learned to write your first
essay? Go back to the basics.

Fourth, use headlines to build interest. A good heading succinctly
summarizes content and teases the reader?s interest. Sub-headings help
visitors know instantly what?s ahead in the page. Headings and sub-headings
are also a good place to use keyword search terms to boost your site?s
search engine rankings.

  *netAdventist newsletter Archives*

A copy of the most recent newsletter along with archives of previous
*net*Adventist
newsletters can be found on our website at
http://www.netadventist.org/newsletter. You can submit changes to your
subscription, such as updating an email address or unsubscribing to the
newsletter, at this URL as well.

 [image: netAdventist newsletter header]

  *www.netadventist.org*

*To submit a question or an article idea* for future newsletters, click here
to email <nicoleb at netadventist.org> Nicole Batten. We also encourage you to
share your user experiences with us. We may use your story in an upcoming
issue. Great ideas and innovative content are meant to be shared! We also
encourage you to share links, content, or applications that you think would
benefit other *net*Adventist users.

*To submit a change of email address* for your own subscription or to
unsubscribe, click
here.<newsletter-owner at netadventist.org?subject=Subscription%20Change>This
newsletter is published twice monthly for
*net*Adventist users.


*Publisher:* Office of Global Technology & Software, General Conference of
Seventh-day Adventists
*Director: *John Beckett
*Editor: *Nicole M. Batten

 *This e-newsletter is a service of netAdventist and the Office of Global
Technology & Software.*
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.netadventist.org/pipermail/newsletter/attachments/20090507/16bf36ac/attachment.html 

From newsletter_admin at netadventist.org  Wed May 20 12:40:18 2009
From: newsletter_admin at netadventist.org (NetAdventist Newsletter)
Date: Wed, 20 May 2009 14:40:18 -0500
Subject: NetAdventist News & Notes - Volume 4, Issue 10
Message-ID: <dc28d5c20905201240x2497efd3vc1d1da590f7fee4d@mail.gmail.com>

     [image: netAdventist newsletter header]

*Vol. 4, Issue 10, May 20, 2009 *

*In this Issue:*

   -

   Setting Up Your Online Store
   -

   Basics of Good Web Site Navigation
   -

   Can I have an account with more than one *net*Adventist site at a time?

   Setting Up Your Online Store

The Store extension in *net*Adventist allows visitors to your site to
purchase items from your organization or make donations to your ministry
using PayPal. However, before you begin accepting online purchases or
donations, you will need to first set-up your store. To get started, select
the *Settings* link from the left menu. This is where you will enter your
contact information and PayPal account information, as well as your shipping
and return policies. Next, you will need to enter your tax information by
clicking on the *Sales Tax* link in the left menu.

Now you?re ready to begin creating your online catalog. Start by creating
product categories to organize your various products under. Click on
the *Product
Categories* link in the left menu. For example, if you are a school you may
want to create categories such as textbooks, dorm expenses, registration
fees, tuition costs, and alumni donations.

Now you are ready to start adding your products. Select the *Products* link
from the left menu and click on the *Add product *button. You also have the
option to add downloadable products, which means after a purchaser pays they
are able to download something. In addition, you can also add donations,
such as ?new boys dorm? or ?worthy student scholarships.?

When entering a new product you have the option of uploading an image to be
displayed with it. You can also select whether or not you want it to be a
featured product. Featured products are displayed on your site?s main page.
All products require a *SKU* number as well (except for donations).
Downloadable products require you to upload the file you want associated
with it. Products and downloadable products also provide a field for price,
shipping cost, and the quantity you have available, as well as a check-box
for whether the item is taxable.

Once you start receiving orders, they will be filed according to their
status. There are four file folders for organizing your orders under the *
Orders* link in the left menu. They are *Open*, *Funds verified*, *Shipped*,
and *Cancelled*. As orders come in from the front end of your site, they
will automatically appear in the Funds verified folder.

For more on the Store extension in *net*Adventist, check out this
tutorial<http://www.netadventist.org/documentation-store>
.

  *Basics of Good Web Site Navigation*

If your site isn?t easy to navigate or get around in, then users will go
elsewhere?and if they do stay, they will be very frustrated. If you have
ever visited a site and didn?t know how find contact information, you know
what I mean. Good site navigation tells people exactly what is available on
your site, helps them get to the parts they want quickly, and makes it easy
to request additional information. Below are some tips for making your site
easy to navigate.

Always place your Main Menu at the top. It has your primary links, such as
contact information. Speaking of which, one of the number one reasons people
visit a Web site is to find an address, phone number, or email for contact.
Make finding your contact information easy or consider using a contact us
form and linking it to your Home page.

Make sure the titles of your navigation buttons are short, intuitive, and
descriptive. Users should be able to easily understand what each link leads
them to.

Make sure you?ve set up your site so that navigation is obvious to visitors.
Arrange your content in a logical order for the audience most likely to
visit your site (the local community, in many cases). Also, place the most
frequently used links or often visited areas of your site near the top so
users don?t have scroll for them. For example, you may want to put your
log-in link or your event calendar near the top, as that is an area of your
Web site that is typically frequently accessed.

As a rule of thumb, visitors to your site should be able to find the
information they are looking for in a maximum of three clicks.

Check on a regular basis that all your links work. It can very frustrating
for someone clicking on a navigation link and finding it doesn?t go anywhere
or goes to the wrong area.

   *Can I have accounts with multiple netAdventist sites at once? *

Yes, you can. When an existing user registers or the webmaster creates a new
account on a site and that user has an account on another *net*adventist
site, a message will come up stating they are already in the system. Select
the *Here* link in the message. This will send an email invitation to the
user to allow them access to your site. The user account will move to the
Invitations folder until the new user responds to the request.

 [image: netAdventist newsletter header]

  *www.netadventist.org*

*To submit a question or an article idea* for future newsletters, click here
to email <nicoleb at netadventist.org> Nicole Batten. We also encourage you to
share your user experiences with us. We may use your story in an upcoming
issue. Great ideas and innovative content are meant to be shared! We also
encourage you to share links, content, or applications that you think would
benefit other *net*Adventist users.

*To submit a change of email address* for your own subscription or to
unsubscribe, click
here.<newsletter-owner at netadventist.org?subject=Subscription%20Change>This
newsletter is published twice monthly for
*net*Adventist users.


*Publisher:* Office of Global Technology & Software, General Conference of
Seventh-day Adventists
*Director: *John Beckett
*Editor: *Nicole M. Batten

 *This e-newsletter is a service of netAdventist and the Office of Global
Technology & Software.*
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.netadventist.org/pipermail/newsletter/attachments/20090520/b46c8c43/attachment.html