Seven years ago Kate Schwager began to develop websites to promote her local Wee Waa community and to explore off-farm income opportunities. She has developed a Rural Towns Package based on her original weewaa.com website, which she developed and now manages. She is keen to share her learnings with other rural communities. Kate asks:
WHY SHOULD SMALL TOWNS GET A WEBSITE?
To promote your town as a place to visit – tourism, agriculture; a place to live and work; a change of scenery or a move to the slower pace.
A cooperative website is a great place for all the businesses in the town to advertise for a small fee all year around. Most small towns have a lot of behind the scenes businesses where they do not have a shop front. What better way to advertise than in a local online directory?
Also, new people to town can easily find what they are looking for all in one place. A place where community groups can promote what they are doing and who people can talk to or how they can join that particular group,
You can promote the good news about your town on the website.
WHAT DOES A SMALL TOWN WEBSITE LOOK LIKE?
Take a look at Kate’s www.weewaa.com and www.tranqie.net The Weewaa is a favorite with locals and tourists alike and has had an incredible 90,000 hits since it started.
HOW DO SMALL TOWNS GET A WEBSITE?
There are lots of web developers around. Kate started out with Webteam Australia’s small towns package template. They help you put it together for the individual touch we all like to see. “St George and Hughenden are the next small town websites to be launched” says Kate.
BY WAY OF INTEREST
Kate and husband Billy run a successful cotton share-farming enterprise near Wee Waa in northern NSW. December 13, 2005 and she has been selected as a NSW finalist for the 2006 Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) Rural Women’s Award. In her spare time Kate is Publicity Officer for WINCOTT – Women in Cotton.
FOR MORE ABOUT KATE’S WORK VISIT: www.katesonweb.com
FOR MORE INFO ABOUT KATE’S SMALL TOWN WEB PACKAGE: Mobile: 0407665357 or Email: kateschwager50@gmail.com