Googolplex

How to Get Members to Your Site

Your site will be more valuable to your members when you promote its content and make it easy to find.

Use this link to reach your Googolplex Set-up & Customization page. If you have subscribed but cannot recall your ID and password, just create a new one here. The product code for Googolplex is: GPLX (all caps).

Get the most from your subscription by using these free marketing tools to promote Googolplex to your members:

• Customization
• Linking strategies
• Logos and graphics
• Newsletter articles or e-mail messages
• Upcoming stories and games
• Print materials
  • Statement stuffers
  • Free newsletters
  • Flyers/Posters/postcards
• On-hold/statement messages
• Successful sites
• Testimonials

Customization

Customize with CU Name and Links Back to CU
It only takes 10 minutes to customize Googolplex with your credit union information using our simple online form.

You’ll need:

• Your user name
• Your password
• Internet access

Follow this link and enter your ID and password.

When you subscribed to Googolplex, you selected a password. Your user name is your 5-digit CUNA ID. If you have subscribed but cannot recall your ID and password, contact our customer service staff. To select a new password, click here. The product code for Googolplex is GPLX (all caps).

What you can customize:

• Add credit union name to each Googolplex level

  You have the option of showing your credit union’s name at the top of each Googolplex section. All you will need to do is type in the name on the customization form. If you change your name, you can update the form anytime.

• Link from CU name to CU home page

  You have the option of creating a link from your credit union’s name in Googolplex back to a page on your credit union’s site. The logical choice is to link back to your home page.

• Link from specific Googolplex games or stories to specific CU pages

  In each Googolplex section you are able to link back to a specific page on your Web site. We have default phrase suggestions (most are “See our rates” or “Apply online”), which you may use or change – simply type in your own phrase. You may change the wording of these linking phrases and the pages they link back to on your site at anytime.

Linking Strategies

Place the linking button on your home page

The easier you make it to find Googolplex, the more likely you'll turn your members into regular readers and frequent visitors to your Web site.

Ideally, members should find the link to the Googolplex right on your home page. Logo buttons (which you can download) are the most obvious and effective links.

However, if a logo button conflicts with your site's design, the next best alternative is to use the name as a text link. That way, members know immediately where the link goes, rather than having to explore indirect connections. And, your subscription allows you unlimited links from your Web site to Googolplex — so take advantage of them.

Place the linking button on your secondary pages

Create links to Googolplex from other pages on your site, such as your youth club, kids, and young member services pages. Use the Googolplex logo for instant recognition.

Place the linking button on your online login page

Let your online members know about this new service as they log in to access their account information.

Link from your Web site to specific stories or games in Googolplex

Create a direct link from your specific services to related Googolplex stories. For example, if you offer vehicle loans online, educate the first-time applicant. Provide a link to the archive page that lists the many C-Note stories on borrowing. Same for debit and credit cards and student loans.

If you have a club for kids and/or teenagers, link directly to Googolplex educational stories on the history of credit unions, starting a youth-run business or shopping for clothes on a tight budget – to name just a few.

Do this by clicking on any of the seven headings on the front page of 5-Spot, AJ’s, and C- Note. You can use the URL of the page that lists all the stories or games, or pick a story or game and click on one. Highlight the URL, copy it, and use it to create a link on any of your web pages.

Place linking buttons within Googolplex to take members BACK to specific pages on your site

Link from Googolplex to specific product or service offers on your Web site

Ideally, whatever destination you choose, the specific service you want members to consider should appear on the first screen they see, so that members have no doubt they've come to the right place. The more direct you make the links, the more useful they’ll be to your members.

If the service you want to target is not at the top of the destination page, modify the HTML code to take them farther down the page. Here’s an example:

• The ATM information you want to link to is located halfway down a page whose URL is "www.mycreditunion.org/product2.html."
• In the source code for your Web site’s page that contains the ATM information, place a "nametag" just before the ATM section begins. The nametag will look like this: <a name="atm"></a>. This nametag will be invisible to readers of the Web page.
• Use the modified code "www.mycreditunion.org/product2.html#atm" and it will now take members directly to the ATM section of the page www.mycreditunion.org/product2.html.

Logos and Graphics

As a Googolplex subscriber, you may download these free images for use on your Web site and in your print communications.

To download the low-resolution images, place your cursor over the image, right-click, and choose the "Save Picture As" option. For a larger sized version, first click on the image to view the full-size version then right-click and choose the "Save Picture As" option. Specify a directory on your computer or your LAN where you will save the image. Links shown are to high-resolution versions.

	Larger low-resolution: 500 pixel JPEG
	Larger low-resolution: 500 pixel JPEG
High-resolution images for print: To download a high-resolution image, right click on the file link to the right of the image and save to your hard drive. If you select the actual image shown, you will have only a low-resolution image.
	4 color EPS version (144 x 100 pixels)
	4 color EPS version (144 x 102 pixels)
	Elementary school, JPEG version (938 x 806 pixels)
	Middle school, JPEG version (938 x 806 pixels)
	High School, JPEG version (938 x 806 pixels)
	Note: does not include border 1 color PC TIF (900 x 592 pixels) 1 color MAC TIF (900 x 592 pixels)
	4 color PCX version (367 x 367 pixels) 4 color EPS version (88 x 88 pixels)
	1 color PCX version (367 x 367 pixels) 1 color EPS version (88 x 88 pixels)

Newsletter Articles or Email Messages

Use these free articles in your newsletter and other communications with members to announce and promote new products and draw viewers to Googolplex. Feel free to edit the articles as you see fit.

• What the Heck's a Googolplex?
• Get Your Kids and Teenagers Online
• Find the Best Car
• Teenage Shopping Challenge
• Make a Stunning Scrapbook!
• Teach Your High School Student About Investing in Stocks
• Encourage Middle School Students to Invest
• Help Elementary Students Love to Save
• Googolplex: Kids love it. Parents love it even more
• The financial wisdom of adults in the language of kids

Article 1
What the Heck's a Googolplex? *

Ever wonder: Which is worth more—a 1978 Boba Fett action figure or a 1989 Hot Wheels Lamborghini? If the U.S. could run out of money? Who's taking money out of your paycheck?

You'll find the answers to these and a googol of other questions by reading [INSERT URL OF YOUR web site] Googolplex, [INSERT your credit union’s name here]’s guide for student moneymakers.

Googolplex contains stories, games, and puzzles for elementary, middle, and high school students. It's all about money—getting it, saving it, spending it, borrowing it. It'll show you how business and the economy work and how you can take control of your financial future. And it'll make you laugh.

Read Googolplex today. And come back regularly. You'll find something new each month. It's just one more way [INSERT YOUR CREDIT UNION NAME] can help you make the most of your money.

* A Googolplex is the largest number with a name. If we could know how many atoms there are in the universe, that number would still be less than a Googolplex. Notice that Googolplex is not simply the largest number, because there is always Googolplex + 1! [INSERT URL of your web site] Googolplex is also the name of [INSERT YOUR CREDIT UNION NAME]'s new online youth magazine.

Article 2:
Get Your Kids and Teenagers Online

After visiting our [INSERT URL OF YOUR web site] web site, click on Googolplex and turn over the computer to the "under 20" members of your household. Our new online guide for youth will help guide high school, middle school, and elementary school students to earn, save, and spend money wisely.

Stop by 5-Spot Clubhouse and read Make Your Family Tree. Click on the activity Quarter Keeper 2005 and get started on your commemorative quarter collection.

Read Maya Lin Remembers in AJ’s Mall to learn about the designer of the Vietnam War Memorial. Or play along with the game show Car Builder and price your model car.

Visit C-Note University and play the game Odd School. Which scholarships are real and which are bogus? Read Let Compound Interest Work to learn how to make your money work for you.

Each week look for new games and articles in [INSERT URL of your Googolplex link] Googolplex, [INSERT your Credit union’s name here]’s guide for student moneymakers.

Article 3:
Find the Best Car

You're buying your first vehicle. But what's the right car for you? The answer depends on whom you ask… parents, insurer, auto mechanic, government, or your friends.

You'll find help on our web site at [INSERT YOUR web site URL] Googolplex. Click on the "Googolplex for Student Moneymakers" button, and visit C-Note University. Click on the Stuff note on the kiosk and start your journey with Find the Best Car.

After they find their best car, they can try park it in the Googolplex game, Parking Lot. Wish them luck!

Come back often—there’s a wealth of information and fun in Googolplex, with new stories and games every month.

Article 4:
Teenage Shopping Challenge

Calling all middle school students! Take the Googolplex Teenage Shopping Challenge: How would you spend $150 on clothes for school?

Stalked by Googolplex’s photographers like stars with their very own paparazzi, Candace, Haley, Justin and Erik meet the charge in Madison, Wisconsin, and set out on a marathon mall crawl!

Go to [INSERT YOUR web site URL] Googolplex, [INSERT your credit union name]’s guide for student moneymakers, and visit AJ’s Mall. Click on the department storefront and start your journey with Teenage Shopping Challenge.

After the Shopping Challenge, relax as you chase bouncing checks all over the map in the game Rubber Checks. It’s not your money, right?

Come back often—there’s a wealth of information and fun in Googolplex, with new stories and games every month.

Article 5:
Make a Stunning Scrapbook!

Okay, you’ve always saved pictures, postcards, clippings, and other cool things. They remind you of your friends and the fun you’ve had! Are they scattered around the house? Well, pick a topic and organize them into a scrapbook!

ReadMake a Stunning Scrapbook and other stories about you at [INSERT YOUR CREDIT UNION'S URL] Googolplex , [INSERT your CU name]’s guide for student moneymakers.

And then be glad your scrapbook didn’t get caught in Hugh Googol’s Super Slicey Slice-O-Matic. It’s shredded all his money into strips, and then mixed them up. Can you help him get it back together?

Come back often—there’s a wealth of information and fun in Googolplex, with new stories and games every month.

Article 6:
Teach Your High School Student About Investing in Stocks

[INSERT YOUR CU NAME HERE]’s online youth guide, [INSERT your CU’s URL] Googolplex: The Credit Union Guide for Student Moneymakers offers an in-depth series on how to evaluate individual stocks and mutual funds as potential investments.

Even if your teenagers aren’t ready to invest, the series provides useful information on how investments work, and how stocks’ value rises over time.

To get started, click on the money note on the C-Note bulletin board. A treasure-chest of money articles opens up. Check out Time Machine Investment, Part I in the 8-part series on investing.

After they’ve made their fortune, let loose and have fun with the game Timelock. Seems they can’t get the money out of the vault!

Encourage them to come back often—there’s a wealth of information and fun in Googolplex, with new stories and games every month.

Article 7:
Encourage Middle School Students to Invest

Do your teenagers know that their regular allowance, gift money, and pay from jobs can earn them even more money?

Tell them about AJ’s Mall at [INSERT your CU’s URL] Googolplex, [INSERT your CU’s name]’s guide for student moneymakers. When they click on the credit union storefront a treasure chest of money articles opens up.

Watch Your Money Grow uses two calculators to compare different ways their investments grow at [INSERT your CU’s name here].

The Magic of Compound Interest shows how your money works for you.

Encourage them to come back often—there’s a wealth of information and fun in Googolplex, with new stories and games every month.

Article 8:
Help Elementary Students Love to Save

Here’s an easy way to convince your children of the value of saving: visit the 5-Spot Clubhouse at [INSERT YOUR CU’s URL] Googolplex, [INSERT your credit union’s name]’s guide for student moneymakers.

Show your kids the treasure chest, click on it and let them discover the wealth of stories about money. Try Earn More Money and Earn Even More Money to teach them about interest earnings. Use the Googolplex Savings Calculator to show them how long it will take them to reach a specific goal through saving.

Inspire them with Ryan’s Sno-Kones, a true story about an 11-year-old boy who runs his own business. Teach them to save with Saving is as Easy as 1, 2, 3.

Encourage them to come back often—there’s a wealth of information and fun in Googolplex, with new stories and games every month.

Article 9:
Googolplex: Kids love it. Parents love it even more

Personal finances are often an overlooked part of education. Sure, kids learn about counting money in school, but how much do they really learn about using money on a day-to-day basis?

With Googolplex®, they’ll learn everything they need to know. These financial Web sites are geared to kids of all ages, with 5-Spot for elementary schoolers, AJ’s for middle schoolers and C-Note for high schoolers. Because each level is written by kids, it speaks in a language your children will understand. And with games, stories, blogs and puzzles, they’ll find plenty of fun too.

You can count on Googolplex being a safe Internet destination filled with accurate information. Check it out by visiting Googolplex today!

Article 10:
The financial wisdom of adults in the language of kids

A home computer can provide your children with more than just games. Thanks to us, it can now also function as an invaluable financial learning tool.

Say hello to Googolplex®, three financial Web sites written by kids, for kids. The sites are loaded with all types of interactive tools and information resources to help your child learn about finances. They have quizzes, games, stories, blogs and more – all written in an educational way that makes learning about finances fun.

The sites are a safe, secure Web site made possible by your credit union. There’s plenty to learn and laugh about – on Googolplex!

Print Materials

• Statement Stuffers

Download and print statement stuffers that spark interest in Googolplex for parents, high-school, middle- school, and elementary-school students.

Simply download the art of your choice, customize, and send to your printer. To download a high-resolution image, click on the file type you need next to the image you want and specify a directory on your computer or your LAN where to save the image.

We suggest you utilize the second side to print your rates, or instructions on how to find the Googolplex on your Web site.

	download a PDF download a PC version (JPEG)
	download a PDF download a PC version (JPEG)

• Posters

Download and print a poster that sparks interest in Googolplex for parents, high-school students, middle-school students, and elementary-school students.

download a PDF download a PC version (JPEG)

Tips to customize

You can customize Googolplex posters with your credit union’s logo, name, Web site address (URL), and other messages.

If you use Microsoft WORD on a PC, consider these tips:

• Save the JPEG image to your PC or LAN.
• Modify a new, blank document with half-inch margins on all sides (or the smallest margins your printer supports).
• Use the Insert, Picture, From File commands to place the image on the page.
• Double click on the image, and select the Layout tab, where you can pick a wrapping style (in front of text) and center the image.
• Adjust the image size for your needs.
• Insert your logo and add a text box with your URL. A font such as Helvetica or Arial works well. To remove the border around the text box, double click on the edge of the box; then select Colors and Lines to change the line color to No Line.
• Save and print to a color or black/white printer.

On-hold/Statement Messages

Build awareness of your Web site and Googolplex by adding one of these messages to the bottom of your statements and to your telephone on-hold message:

• Want your children to become responsible with money? Let them have fun while learning through Googolplex: The CU Guide for Student Moneymakers on our Web site at [address here] with a fresh story or game each week.
• Our Web site has something for everyone, including our young members. Explore Googolplex, our online guide for kids and teenagers, for fun ways to earn and save money at [address here].

Successful Sites

When youth visit your credit union Web site, let them know right away that you have something special just for them! Explore the sites of these credit unions to see the different ways they’ve successfully integrated Googolplex and their other youth products:

Houston Police FCU reaches out to three different age groups from their front page using a logo that clearly states the purpose of Googolplex (for students): http://www.hpfcu.org/

Library of Congress FCU uses a logo that clearly states "for students" on their front page: https://www.lcfcu.org/

Heartland CU has a prominent "Youth" link on their front page: http://www.heartlandcu.com/

CBC FCU has side drop-down links from "Life Stages" on the front page: https://www.cbcfcu.org/

Clyde-Findlay Area Credit Union has a text link to Googolplex: http://www.cfacu.org

Joplin Metro CU puts three text links from a drop-down text link on their front page: http://www.joplinmcu.com

Alamo FCU has "Teen Scene" on the front page and along with a link to Googolplex posts the current C-Note instant poll from the Teen Scene page: http://alamofcu.org/.

Brokaw CU has a "youth" link on the front page: http://www.brokawcu.com/

Testimonials

“The benefits of having Googolplex have been first and foremost convenient for our members and also a nice way of expanding the depth and variety of our Web site. I found it to be very simple in its set-up, as well as all of the online promotional tools to be very convenient and easy to manage. Literally, just a visit to the CUNA Web site and entering a line of code into our Web site. Not too difficult and very simple-to-follow instructions. Maintaining these products is very simple - just a few updates to change here and there. I would recommend Googolplex for the simple fact that we are in direct competition with banks and they have already had these types of features available for years. In order to keep up and not get outdated, we must adapt to the strategies that work for them and apply as many user friendly services to our branches as possible, be it online or in-house.”

-- Ketan Karnik, FLAG Credit Union - Asset Size: $35 million

“Having Googolplex is like having three online youth products because of the way it's divided into elementary-, middle-, and high-school sections. I really appreciate the automatic updates, and the e-mails informing me of those updates. These changes save me a lot of time I would otherwise need to spend researching, writing, and updating regularly to maintain a fresh, "come-back-to-me" site -- time I do not have. ” 

-- Teri Sturm, UnitedOne Credit Union – Asset size: $170 million

“Subscribing to Googolplex is a good idea. We use it to promote our youth member education. It’s very important to teach our youth on financial matters and Googolplex is an easy way to do that. We try to make Googolplex as prominent as we can -- we promote it in our quarterly newspaper that goes out with member statements, and we’ve promoted it on our “What’s Happening” Web page that we change weekly and sometimes daily. We have seen a lot more hits to our Web site with our members using Googolplex. We haven’t received any direct feedback, but if our members are constantly going to Googolplex on our Web site, we think that’s a good sign.”

-- Janet Smith, BayPort Credit Union - Asset size: n/a