The BIG Question

In Finding a Host and Decisions...Easy, I shared how I came to find a home for my class site and how my classmates chose to keep it through 2020. So we settled in, pages were good and classmates continued to join. I could step away, check on it from time-to-time and all would be fine. Honestly, I would not have been the only one doing so, but...

'Build it and they will come' works. Provide content that is interesting; give them the ability to connect using the site messaging system and guess what - they return again and again. Watching the statistics of log-ins, it happens on the three membership sites I built and maintain. This is where I bring up The BIG Question, you know you are wondering...

How much time will this take?
Answer: As little or as much time as you wish to put into it.
I admit, that is not a fair answer. The thing is we all have days, weeks or longer that we simply do not have the time to spruce up our sites - especially those of us who have 3, 5 or 10 year subscriptions. You have a choice. There is no reason to do it all alone - find someone to help with photos, put up surveys or maybe write a monthly article. As the one who started the site, you can add admins who work under your direction; and just for you, I have two tips that will help save time:

• We share. As a site administrator on Class Creator, you are not alone and welcome to visit the forums where we all ask our 'how to' questions and share with each other. Example: You visit one of my sites and like the Christmas page or Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day page. (Yes, there IS a Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day!) You would like to add it to your site but do not want to borrow it without asking. Trust me, I found it on another admin's site so go ahead - copy it. Yet if you ask me for it, I may have time to send you the coding and you are almost done!
• Plan ahead. Whether you copy a page from another site or have an idea for a future holiday or event, you can create the page now without making it active. Then when its time, check the Active box and it is visible to your members! So when you have a rainy day or just want to spend some time on a site, plan ahead and build one or more pages to share with your members another day.

Yes, there are days or weeks I do little on my sites. Then it happens. I get going and do not want to stop. Hmmm... somewhat like this post.

Until next time...

Finding a Host and Decisions...Easy

Love surprises? I do. Not long ago, I received one via email. It was an invitation to share my experiences as a site administrator here - for Class Creator. Would I accept? Certainly, it is a honor to be a part of this. Yet, every journey has a beginning and this opportunity took me back to how it all began.

How did I get here? Well, "You will be a leader of your high school class in a place you will not be able to see" was never in my fortune cookie. The Chicago area psychic didn't predict it after graduation and she did not say that my high school class would some day be in my computer. Back then, did I know what a computer was?

In 2009, I had a surprise request from a classmate... would I plan our 40th reunion? Though I had experience, I had not been to one class reunion. I recalled who planned the 30th reunion and began searching for his email address.

Immediately, I started a class group page on Facebook. That led to a free site - thanks to one of technology’s major companies. I jumped right into building the site. Yet, I was unable to do all I wanted. I wanted instant messaging, a map and more. My list of wants grew and my success at finding free plug-ins failed with each search.

The person who planned previous reunions was located, planned our dinner and began taking registrations. I decided to add a school tour and gathering at a local bar the night before the dinner. Everything was going well and I should have been pleased as punch that soon the web site and all would be finished, but no – not me.

Less than two months before the reunion, I ramped up for another search. Into the search bar I keyed free maps for web sites. Once again, I began checking the results from the top. Four or five links into it, I found myself on a host of class sites – Class Creator. I had no intention of moving the site for less than sixty days but I had to see the map. I saw the map and… oh my, there was everything I wanted and more! Maps, the ability maintain classmates' contact information, birthday announcements, instant messaging, and online classmate registration! I sat staring at the features offered by Class Creator and knew I wanted to move our class site right then!

So it began. Soon our class name, school colors and mascot were in place. I copied a few pages into this new site and wanted to share it with friends. Not yet, I had two more things to do. I added the donation button and sent an email invitation to all classmates asking them to visit the site, look around and donate to the site’s subscription if they liked what they saw.

Did my classmates like what they saw on the temporary site hosted by Class Creator? YES! They donated on the site and the first year subscription was paid in full. Not only that, as soon as I added our reunion details into the Reunion Planner module, classmates began registering for the reunion on the site!

It didn’t end there. In the midst of the holiday shopping season that year, I sent out another email asking classmates if they would like to extend the site through our 50th reunion. Within days, they clicked on that donation button until we were paid through 2020! They paid for ten years! Who is the best? Well, my classmates for sure, but Class Creator is right there alongside them!

We all have our stories. It has taken some of us a few years before finding Class Creator. But, today, we are settled in! We welcome new administrators weekly in the Help Forums and online chats to discuss what is happening and ask each other for a 'tool' to solve something when needed. We are neighbors in this online community and give our time to provide an online home where classmates can reconnect.

Beyond the many tools available in building and using our sites, there is one main reason we stay: the unmatched customer service. In the forums, responses are received in a timely manner and there is a willingness to meet our needs, when possible. In addition, forum posts are answered by staff as if we are all friends. This special place for our sites is Class Creator.

How Do Classmates Communicate Via The Web Site?

Your classmates can communicate in a variety of ways. Your web site will include numerous communication tools for your classmates to use to communicate with each other, none of which will require them to share their email address with classmates. Your classmate's email addresses are never published publicly with their privacy in mind.

Your site will include a Message Center in which classmates can send private messages directly to one another, as well as groups of classmates within the system.  You can also choose to activate your Message Forums which will encourage others to join in on the conversation.  You can set up individual topics such as High School Sports or Prom Memories, anything that will spark up a great trip down memory lane.

The Message / Announcement Board is more of a one page, ongoing area to post general comments for all to see.  In addition, your classmates will use Notify Me to select their Classmate Profile Subscriptions in which they will receive email alerts based upon their own specific Notify Me settings.

Of course one of the best ways for your classmates to inform others about their lives is to encourage them to update their Classmate Profiles page.  They can add photos, videos and stories about their lives today.  You can even customize the questions that they answer!

Platinum customers can take advantage of our Live Chat and Instant Messenger so that your classmates can communicate real time, instantly, when they see each other online.  

All of these communication tools are designed to enhance your class web site experience, keep the communication flowing and encourage your classmates to return to your site time and time again.  Once your classmates get involved, you can keep them involved!  That is the power of having a site admin who can keep things fresh and interesting by providing new content for the site keeps interest in your class alive!