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Starting
A User Group
(Reprinted from the September 2005 issue of Tielines, an
STC publication.)
By
Sarah Wigser, Past President, Southwestern Ohio Chapter
When I began my second year as president of the Southwestern Ohio
chapter (SWO), I wanted to implement a new program to benefit both
the chapter and our members. But I was having a hard time coming
up with a program that would provide tangible member benefits and
be easy to maintain at low (or no) cost. I finally found what I
was looking for when a friend told me about a book review he was
writing for O’Reilly, a technical publisher. When I asked
how he got hooked up with O’Reilly, he filled me in on their
user group program.
Until my friend
mentioned the O’Reilly user group, I hadn’t even realized
publisher user groups existed. Publisher user groups provide a forum
for discussion of the publisher’s books. I spent some time
online researching various technical publishers, their user groups,
and their benefits. In short order, I decided to start a user group
and book review program for SWO.
Registration
and Benefits
Although my initial impulse was to join every user group I found,
I decided to register SWO for four user groups: Apress, McGraw-Hill/Osborne,
Peachpit Press, and O’Reilly. I chose these user groups because
they offer generous discounts, publish a wide variety of technical
books, and have name recognition among chapter members.
Each user group
provides different benefits, but membership generally includes the
following:
• Free review copies of books, which the reviewer can keep
• Donations of books and other promotional items for chapter
giveaways
• Discounted shopping
• Product updates and previews
• Guest speakers (although Cincinnati and Dayton are not yet
on the hot list of author stops.)
The program was easy to set up and basically runs itself. After
registering SWO with each user group, I worked with the SWO Web
team to make the information available online. To kick off the program,
I e-mailed an announcement to chapter members explaining the user
group benefits and how to become involved with the book review program.
I also included a link to the Web page, which includes detailed
information about each user group.
It is also easy
for members to become involved with the program. There are only
two requirements: SWO chapter membership, and an agreement to write
and submit the book review within sixty days. The publishers will
send us almost any book to review. Members simply browse the publisher’s
catalog and e-mail me with their book request. I then e-mail the
user group contact and request the book. In return for writing the
review, members get to keep the book, become involved with the chapter,
and increase their knowledge of a technical subject.
In addition
to the free review books, the chapter also receives books and other
merchandise, such as training DVDs and t-shirts, for giveaways.
We no longer have to scramble for door prizes at our meetings!
A Way
to Get Involved
Now that I’ve met my goal of implementing a program to benefit
the chapter and our members, I encourage you to start your own program.
Not only has the chapter benefited from the freebies and discounts
that we pass on to our members, we have also given those elusive
“behind the scenes” members a way to get involved and
volunteer by writing book reviews.
To find out
more about STC-SWO’s user group and book review program, go
to the chapter Web site or contact
me.
Sarah Wigser is a senior member of STC.
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