OWAC Membership has always offered great benefits and opportunities. Now, our new website has made these even better and easier. We know that change can be frustrating so here’s a handy guide to help you setup your new account and make the most of what our new website has to offer.
Thinking about joining? Take a look at our Join Us page to see what our membership has to offer. If you are an outdoor media professional, a student aspiring to work in this field, or belong to an organization that has a focus on the outdoors, consider applying for membership.
Hello members! Welcome again to our new OWAC website. If you haven’t already browsed the site or logged into your membership account, we invite you to do so now. Read on to find out how to make the most of your membership account on our new website.
We have created new accounts on our new website for all our current, paid-up members. Your name and email address has been transferred to our new site, but your old password will not work. To get started go to the login page here and click on ‘Forgot Password’ just below the login button. Enter your email address – the one at which you receive our emails – and follow the instructions to reset your password.
Now you can log in and review your membership account page.
Here’s an overview of what you’ll find and what you can do in your Membership Account.
This is an overview of your membership (subscription) which shows your membership status and the renewal (expiration) date of your current membership. The renew button to pay your annual dues and keep your membership current and uninterrupted will show up 30 days prior to your membership expiration. We will send you notices at 1-month, 1-week, and 1-day prior to your expiration date to remind you to renew.
If we do not receive your renewal fee before your expiration date your membership will lapse and you may incur a late fee to reinstate the membership. Paying with PayPal is easy, safe, and quick. By paying early you will be assured of uninterrupted access to member-only content and services. The annual renewal kicks in on the anniversary date so you won’t lose a day of paid membership.
We do not keep credit cards in our system as all online payments are made via PayPal. The Payments tab will show your payments with a link to download your invoices.
There are two parts to your profile: your PERSONAL PROFILE and your PUBLIC PROFILE.
The information in your Personal Profile, including contact information, is NOT visible to site visitors. It is used to populate the information in your Public Profile, which IS visible to visitors. Except for your Login ID (which cannot be changed) all your details can be changed as often as needed. You control your image and brand!
All your blog posts and your author’s archive contain your public profile information: your image, your byline name, your biography, and one link to a website or personal page. This can be a personal or professional website, blog or a social media page. We can only link one URL in the field titled Website. You may choose to leave it blank if you prefer. But it’s a great promotional tool for your work, so consider linking it here. Supporting members may choose to upload a corporate logo, corporation’s name as a byline, company profile as a biography, and URL to your corporate website.
Your byline is your public image! If you want to create a pseudonym for your byline (or be identified as your corporation’s name if you are a Supporting member) enter it in the Byline name field then click Update. Then choose that byline name from the dropdown list, directly below your profile image, in the Public Profile section at the top. Click update again!
In the security section you can change your password as often as you wish. Passwords are encrypted and cannot be seen or recovered – only changed. Leave the password fields blank whenever you update any other aspects of your profile if you wish to retain your current password. Remember, if you get locked out, you can reset your password via the login window.
The Renew button in the sidebar on every page will open your Membership Account – if you are logged in – and you will see your current membership status with a link to Renew your membership. As explained above, the Renew link in your account will only show up 30 days prior to your membership expiration, so if you don’t see a Renew link — you’re golden — your membership is current.
Remember — using PayPal is secure and quick and we do NOT store any of your personal credit card or financial information. We do accept checks, but note that this is slower and can result in your account expiring if the payment is not received before your membership subscription expires and you may be subject to a late fee.
This is the best bit!
Our blog page is a great way for you to showcase your work. To submit a story for publication on our members’ blog page simply complete the submission form. You may submit new, previously unpublished stories or articles that have been published elsewhere.
Please note that we will not publish inflammatory, rude, or racially and socially insensitive content.
Your submission will be held in draft mode until the site editor can review it for adherence to our organizational mission and a few technical site requirements.
We will not edit your content. So please be sure to check your content for spelling, grammar, and accuracy of internal links. The post body is set up for HTML content, which means you can format the fonts, e.g.: underline, bold, size, etc. You can create bulleted lists, indent a paragraph, or hyperlink a line of text. Additional images are uploaded separately.
If you wish to submit a story in video or audio format, please paste the link from your hosted video or audio file in the Post Body field. We cannot accept uploaded videos or audio files.
Did you know that the featured members on our home page are generated automatically based on number of posts published? The more you publish on our site the greater your chance of being featured on the home page. Your published stories may be included in our bi-monthly newsletter, OWAC Outdoors, and be promoted on our social media channels. Check out our Facebook page here.
All your published posts will be automatically included in your Author’s Archive which is accessed by clicking on your name anywhere it appears on our site. If you have a personal or professional website, we strongly encourage you to include it in your public profile in the Website field.
That’s all folks!
Please log in, update your personal and professional info, check on your membership renewal date and renew in time, browse around, or submit a story. Encourage your outdoor media colleagues to join us too. Think about any students aspiring to be outdoor media professionals … tell them it’s only $10 per year. If you own an outdoorsy business, sign it up as a supporting member. If you have friends or colleagues who own businesses with a focus on the outdoors, give them the pitch on becoming a supporting member. It’s good for everyone.
Soon we’ll be able to get together and enjoy our great outdoors at some of the very special venues that are already looking forward to hosting us.
We’re looking forward to sharing great stories and good times with you.
