February 1999
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Online Golf Solutions monthly golf Newsletter (from Dan Perry)
http://www.onlinegolfsolutions.com
danperry@onlinegolfsolutions.com
Issue 1, Volume 1, February, 1999
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In this issue:
* From Dan's Desk
* Golf Quote of the month
* Link of the Month
* Feature Article "Why should I be on the Web?"
* Feature Tip "Cutting and Pasting"
* Site Updates
* Guest Article (Future Addition)
* Email Q & A
* Subscribe/Unsubscribe info
* Advertising in this Ezine
-----------------------------------------------------------------
* From Dan's Desk
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I've had the idea of creating a newsletter for quite awhile now. I've been creating
articles, ideas, and finding places to list the ezine for about 2 months now,
but haven't sat down to do it. Well, that time is now! This ezine will relate
to many different people. There will always be some sort of golf info here (such
as the Quote of the month, and Joke of the month (eventually)). Golf is my passion.
When I decided to start designing web sites for others, I chose to do it only
for golf-related businesses. There is so much competition out there for run-of-the-mill
Web design, I decided to only design for what I like. This ezine will also have
info for the webmaster, designer, or anyone else interested in designing quality
sites. There will always be a golf thread running through the entire ezine. Being
from Michigan, this time of year (March) all I can do is think about golf. Unfortunately,
I won't be able to play it for a few more months.
In recap, this ezine is about golf and the Web. If you love them both as much
as I do, this ezine is for you.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
* Golf Quote Of The Month
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"I wish"
Fred Couples, after being mistakingly introduced as Davis Love III at a tournament.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
* Link of the Month
-----------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.hbo4kids.com/kids/wu/super/index2.html
This is one of the best examples of DHTML that I've seen. It is for kids, but
if you have one at home, he/she will LOVE it. It allows them to create their own
super-hero complete with different heads, arms, legs and torsoes. May take a second
to figure it out, but once they do, they'll spend plenty of time here, guaranteed!
This section will be for the latest and greatest sites on the Net. I have both
IE4 and Netscape4 on my home computer, and I do my fair share of surfing. If I
run across a site that takes advantage of the newest browsers, I'll place a link
to it here. I may also place cool golf-related sites here, so if you know of any,
golf-related or not, please email me at: danperry@onlinegolfsolutions.com, and
include "Here's a cool link for you, Dan" in the Subject Line.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
* Feature Article "Why should I be on the Web?"
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Before I made the decision to design only for golf-related businesses, I made
some cold calls to prospective clients about designing a site for their small
business. The majority of them would ask, "Why should I be on the web? What can
it do for my business?" This is definitely a fair question, but it is also an
easy one to answer. I'll use a small golf course for this example.
1. To establish a presence
There are millions (100, last time I checked) of people on the Internet. This
number is only going to get larger. Even if only .1% of the people on the Internet
are interested in your product or service, that's still 100,000, and growing.
2. To serve your customers
A golf course is a great fit for the Internet. Without tying up your phone (and
raising your bill), and without tying up you or a receptionist to answer the phone,
you can let prospective customers know your hours of operation (weekday, weekend,
twilight, etc.), course rules (attire, carts, etc.), costs, pro shop offerings,
and so on.
I'm currently working for a golf course that is setting up online tee time reservations.
This is obviously one of the best uses for the web that I've seen.
3. To show off your course to prospective customers
The Internet is the perfect medium for showing off the beauty of your course.
In a pamphlet, you have room for a few pictures of golf holes, while on the Internet,
you could go so far as a course tour, with pics of each hole. The more beautiful,
the better.
4. To serve your membership
A great idea for a golf course is to plce information for the membership on their
site. This can range from monthly calendars to specific happenings only for members.
It can create more of a community feeling among members, and isn't that what being
a member is all about?
5. To allow feedback from customers
For the people who only play your course once or twice, a testimonial from them
would make a great addition to your site. It may be just the thing to convince
another person to try it, instead of trying your neighbors course instead.
A feedback form can also privide other vital information.
If enough people complete the form, and complain about one particular thing (such
as the height of the rough), maybe you should reconsider the height of the rough.
Without a feedback form on your site, you would've never thought of it.
As you can see, there are many reasons to have a web site. If done properly, your
site should provide enough information to prospective customers, that they will
not have to call and ask a question about anything. This will save you both time
and money.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
* Feature Tip "Cutting, Copying, and Pasting"
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I plan on including a tip such as this in every newsletter. It will be for beginners
or intermediate users. The tips will cover Windows, the Internet, and browsers.
If there is any- thing you'd like me to cover, please email me at danperry@onlinegolfsolutions.com
Cutting and pasting is the cornerstone of Windows, and if you don't know how to
do it, now's your chance to learn. For those of you familiar with it, feel free
to skip on to the next section.
What makes cut, copy and paste so strong? You can use these functions from ANY
Windows program. You can cut from Word, and paste in Excel, or copy from your
Internet browser, and paste in Notepad. It comes in handy when you have to type
the same information in many times. For example, I help others sell items on Ebay,
and some of the info doesn’t change, regardless of the item or the user (Example:
shipping costs). Without copying and pasting, I would have to type out the information
EVERY time.
For this example, I'll use two programs that come with Windows- Notepad and Wordpad.
Open Notepad (Start, Programs, Accessories, Notepad) and Wordpad (Start, Programs,
Accessories, Wordpad).
With both programs open, right click on the Taskbar (the bar at the bottom of
the screen), and choose "Tile Vertically".
Now, type a few sentences into Notepad, so we have something to cut or copy.
Highlight the first sentence that you just typed. With it highlighted, hit "Control-X".
The sentence should disappear. What actually happened is you "cut" the text from
Notepad, and placed it on the Windows clipboard.
Now go to Wordpad, click anywhere to make it the "active" program, and hit "Control-V".
The sentence that you cut from Notepad should now be "pasted" in Wordpad.
"Copying" is almost the same thing. Highlight the sentence that you just pasted
in Wordpad. With it highlighted, choose "Control-C". Nothing happens, right? Actually,
you just "copied" the sentence to Windows clipboard.
Now hit the "Enter" key a few times, and hit "Control-V". The sentence should
appear again below the first one. Hit "Enter" a few more times, and hit "Control-V"
again. It shows up for a third time, right? That sentence will remain on the clipboard
until either something else is placed there (by CTRL-C or CTRL-X), or by restarting
your computer.
This is especially helpful for people who use the mouse with their right hand.
You can highlight text with the mouse, and select CTRL-X, C, or V with your left
hand. Once you get proficient at it, you'll wonder how you ever got along without
it.
The uses for this are unlimited. I use it for addresses for web pages a lot. I
read the newsletters I subscribe to off- line, so the links don't work. If I find
one I want to visit, I'll highlight it, hit CTRL-C, open Word, and hit CTRL-V.
Once I've gone through all the Ezines, I may have a dozen or so links I want to
visit. The next time I'm connected to the Internet, I'll open Word and Internet
Explorer. Highlight a link in Word, switch to IE, place the cursor in the Address
bar, click once, hit CTRL-V, and hit ENTER.
Keep working with it. I'm sure you'll find many, many uses for Cut, Copy and Paste.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
* Site Updates
-----------------------------------------------------------------
This month I went through the Links Section, and made sure they were all still
intact. There is nothing worse than finding exactly what you've spent an hour
looking for, only to find the link doesn't work. Very frustrating, to say the
least. For those of you with web sites, when was the last time you (or your webmaster)
checked your links (internal and external?) External links should be checked about
once a month.
I also added 2 more scorecards to the collection. They are from St. Andrews and
Oakland Hills. The one from St. Andrews is very informative, so be sure and check
it out. They can be found at: http://www.onlinegolfsolutions.com/
-----------------------------------------------------------------
* Guest Article (Future Addition)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I'd like to use this section for head pros, greenskeepers, or superintendents
to share their thoughts and helpful insight on topics related to the business
of golf. Lessons, turf, insect control, aerating, etc., are all welcome. Of course,
if I choose to print your article, the address of your course will get some free
promotion.
If you have anything that you think will be helpful to others in your field, please
send email to danperry@onlinegolfsolutions.com, and include "Guest Article Submission"
in the Subject Line.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
* Email Q & A
-----------------------------------------------------------------
This section will be for you, the subscriber to this Ezine. Any questions that
you may have concerning the Internet, Web browsers, CSS, HTML, META Tags, Online
marketing, etc. will be answered. I'll pick a few every month and answer them
here. If you think the question is too simple, ask it anyway. The only
dumb question is the one not asked.
I don't plan on including the names of the person that sent me the question,
so you have nothing to lose! Send questions to: danperry@onlinegolfsolutions.com
and include Ezine Question as the subject.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
*Subscribe/Unsubscribe Info
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from this Ezine, please visit any page on my site, and type the
email address where this Ezine is being sent into the appropriate box, check
"Unsubscribe", and click the button that says Subscribe Me. You will automatically
be unsubscribed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
* Advertising in this Ezine
-----------------------------------------------------------------
This Ezine is targeted towards all golfers, web users, and webmasters, but particularly
to head pro's, and superintendents. I will accept advertising that will be beneficial
to my user base only. If you are interested in reaching this very targeted market,
please send email to: danperry@onlinegolfsolutions.com and place "Advertising
Info" in the Subject Line.
http://www.onlinegolfsolutions.com