Welcome to resource, the first issue of our new monthly newsletter for materials exchange administrators. In this issue, we've focused on some ways to promote your local exchange and measure advertising campaign effectiveness. You'll also find an outline of recent software changes, along with an introduction to the newest members of the iWasteNot community. We hope you find this information helpful, and we welcome suggestions for future issues.

When I started iWasteNot Systems in 2003, our ideas and methods were considered novel. Then came Al Gore, climate change, skyrocketing energy prices, and the recognition that reducing waste saves energy, saves money, and combats climate change. As a result, we've seen record numbers of users visiting your websites over the last several months.

However, it can still be a challenge to bring new users on board. We've provided lots of specific tips in the other articles in this newsletter, but here are a few general principles:

1. You don't have to do everything yourself. Involve others in spreading the word. For example, make contact with community or industry groups in your area. Ask them if they can help you get noticed. Perhaps they can include you in a newsletter or put a link to the exchange on their home site or even simply mention you in a meeting.

2. Even the best idea needs advertising. Surrey.reuses.com is probably our most successful exchange, with continuous promotion on television, radio and city buses. They advertise continuously and it has resulted in 5,000 registered members and perhaps 10 times that many browsers. If you're on a budget, advertising still works. Community service press releases work wonders, as do posters at local community bulletin boards and websites. And flyers distributed with garbage or recycling pickup are especially effective as they target the users you want.

3. Re-think the idea of a materials exchange. Sure it helps the environment. But have you considered that it also makes your community more economically viable? Or that it helps social services find good used resources for lower income folks? Or that it reduces costs for businesses. So hook up with the Chamber of Commerce, and the Salvation Army, and Habitat for Humanity ReStore and others to promote your service as an answer to more than one problem in your community.

But this is just a start. More information is available in this newsletter, or in the Support & Discussion Forum. Not registered yet? Get in touch with us to join in the discussion.

Wishing you success in reducing, reusing and recycling.

Norm Ruttan

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Users are the key to any successful exchange. Each iWasteNot System exchange is equipped with a referral tracking tool to help you gauge your success in attracting new members through various promotional efforts.

The referral tracking tool is located in the Admin panel:

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Referral options can be added, deleted or revised in this panel:

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These options then appear in a drop-down menu when a new member signs up:

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The results of referral choices can be viewed by year and by month. These reports are found in the Statistics menu:

The Statistics menu gives you a wide range of options to measure your exchange's activity:

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Results can be measured yearly or monthly, using the drop-down menus at the top of this report. You can track the impact of newspaper articles, public service announcements, etc., ensuring that your promotional time and money are spent effectively.

Results displayed by year:

Results displayed by month:

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Check out these no-cost ways to promote your exchange:

1. Make sure your exchange is prominently listed in your regional & local waste & recycling directories and websites.

2. Make sure your exchange is listed in local garbage collection schedules, community listings & green guide booklets, fliers, and websites.

3. Spread the word via email & links. Include your waste exchange link in your email signatures.

4. Use local classifieds. Most communities have at least a few places where non-profit organizations can promote themselves and their events.

5. Get in the news. Seasonal events such as Christmas and Spring get people thinking about clearing out unwanted items. Send a short press release to local newspapers to promote and remind people about your exchange. You can find sample press releases in the forum.

Do you have a promotion tip you'd like to share? A photo of your exchange promotion in action? To find more tips and share promotion ideas with other administrators visit the "Marketing and Promoting Your Service" section of the forum.

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What are the top three ways you attract new members to your exchange?

• Click here to access the poll.

What are you doing to promote your exchange?

• Click here to share your ideas for the benefit of all administrators.

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There are times when you may not know how a particular function will work for your exchange. Here are three suggestions for safely exploring the features of your exchange:

• Look at other exchanges and see how they do it.
• Check the forum & the knowledge base. You can easily search the forum for references to your search item. You can also post a topic for other administrators asking them if they use the feature you are interested in.
• Implement & test out the new function. Don't worry, you won't break anything! Our system is robust & backed up regularly. Turn on (or off) a feature and then try posting a listing. Title your posting Test or something similar, so you (and your users) don't get confused. You may want to try these new features during off-hours for your exchange, for example, late in the evening or early morning. If you don't like the results of your test, re-set the feature you were testing, and don't forget to delete your test posting!

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In the last few months, we've implemented 10 new iWasteNot Systems exchanges across North America, including some new types of exchanges focused on e-waste, biomass and agriculture. In some cases, our existing clients have added different types of exchanges to their network. For example, the Recycling Council of British Columbia, in partnership with other sponsors added 3 more Residential Exchanges, as well as an Electronics Exchange.

We'd like to welcome all of our new administrators and hope that you'll be in touch with us and each other through the forum!

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Website: http://www.bcemex.ca/
Type of Exchange: E-waste
Site Administrator: Harvinder Gill
Site Sponsors: Recycling Council of British Columbia in partnership with the Electronics Product Stewardship Association of B.C.

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Website: http://chicagomaterialexchange.com/
Type of Exchange: Construction and Demolition
Site Administrators: Leigh Peters, Zachary Clayton, Abby VanWaning
Site Sponsors: City of Chicago

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Website: http://www.materialtrader.org/
Type of Exchange: Industrial, Commercial & Institutional Surplus
Site Administrators: Nancy Crickman, Michele Romolini
Site Sponsors: Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers' Environmental Management Assistance Program, Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania

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Website: http://www.manuretrader.org/
Type of Exchange: Biomass
Site Administrators: Nancy Crickman, Michele Romolini
Site Sponsors:Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers and the Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission, Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania

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Website: http://www.agtrader.org/
Type of Exchange: Agriculture
Site Administrators: Joanne Throwe, Elizabeth Skane and Gretchen Sweeney
Site Sponsors: Environmental Finance Center located at the National Center for Smart Growth, University of Maryland

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Website: http://vch.iwastenotsystems.com/
Type of Exchange: In-House
Site Administrator: Laura Kohut
Site Sponsor: Vancouver Coastal Health

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Website: http://www.hamilton.reuses.com/
Type of Exchange: Residential
Site Administrator: Hamilton-Wentworth Green Venture
Site Sponsors: Green Venture, City of Hamilton, Conserver Society of Hamilton & District

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The RCBC, through partnerships with the regions and municipalities of Okanagan, Thompson-Nicola and Columbia Shuswap, has added 3 new residential exchanges. Harvinder Gill, Renee Geronimo and Jennnifer Ellis administer all of these sites.

Website: http://www.okanagan.reuses.com/

Website: http://tnrd.reuses.com/

Website: http://csrd.reuses.com/

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Some new people have recently joined iWasteNot Systems.

They are all welcome additions to the iWasteNot family. And we are sad to say goodbye to Sonja Larsen, who has returned to school to pursue writing. Good luck Sonja!

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Over the past year, iWasteNot Systems has introduced new elements to the exchanges to improve functionality and reporting for both users and exchange administrators. Below are some highlights of features we've added. Please visit the Notices section of the forum for a complete listing of all updates.

Improvements to the Reporting Process

• Members who post a listing and indicate a continuous supply of material is available will now receive an email asking them to report an exchange before the listing is deleted. An email is sent out to match when the member indicated material was available. For example, if a Member posts a listing indicating that a ton of material is available every week, then the member will be prompted by email to Report an Exchange once the week is up. As always, the Member can indicate whether or not they were able to exchange all, some or none of the material.
• For Industrial exchanges, the new "Report an Exchange" feature reduces the number of steps required to report a successful exchange from 4 (or sometimes 6) to 1 and greatly simplifies and clarifies the process for the end-user. The system now automatically prompts members to Report an Exchange as part of the process of deleting a listing. Where members previously had to discover the small "Report an Exchange" link, in the top right corner of the "My Results" page, they are now directed to the form automatically when the listing is deleted.

New Fields to Improve Data Gathering and Usability

• The "County" field has been added and is now a required field in the New Member Registration form. This new field also allows users to sort listings by county.
• Industrial exchanges can now enter departments and extensions for their contact information, and multiple locations for their listings. They can also upload files to attach to their listings with relevant data, specifications or safety information.

New Tools for Administrators

• Administrators can now 'peek' at passwords.
• Administrators can add new administrators.
• System notices are now be sent via email to Administrators. These notices inform you of new software releases, system outages, changes to templates, and any other news which we feel you should know about your exchange.
• In the "About the Exchange" section of the Admin Control Panel, you will also be able to see the date of the last system update.

As always, we welcome your feedback and suggestions. Please visit the forum to share your thoughts.

Not a member of the client forum yet? Email us to register.

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Did you know you can find a listing by its ID number?

On most exchanges, a listing ID# is shown with a listing. (If you don't see a listing ID#, check the setting in the Admin Panel>> Under Configure the Exchange click Layout Options>> Listings>> Show Listing ID.)

This listing ID# is intended to help make finding listings easy. For example, if a user emails you concerning a listing and gives the listing ID#, simply enter the number into the Search Box and click Find It. The Search will return only the listing which corresponds to the ID#.