Guides to Independence

Get the Most from Your Subscription

Use this link to reach your Guides to Independence 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 Guides is: GIND (all caps).

Use these free marketing tools to promote Guides to Independence to your members and build effective links.

• Graphics
• Linking Strategies
• Customizing
• 5 Tips to Get Young Members to Sing Your Song
• Statement Stuffers
• Poster/Postcard
• Newsletter Articles
• On-Hold Message Script
• Letter to Parents

Linking Strategies

Linking goes two ways. You can place links to Guides on your Web pages, AND you can customize links within Guides to take members BACK to specific pages on your site.

Your subscription allows you unlimited links from your Web site to Guides—so take advantage of them. The Guides to Independence logo button on your home page is the clearest, easiest way to generate traffic. If the logo doesn’t match your site’s style, use text links.

Customize

Customize with CU Name and Links Back to CU
Linking goes two ways. You can place links LINK to Guides to Independence courses on your Web pages, AND you can customize links within Guides to Independence to take members BACK to specific pages on your site.

You can customize Guides specifically for your credit union in 10 minutes using our simple online form.

To customize Guides to Independence, you’ll need:

• Your user name
• Your password
• Internet access

When you subscribed to Guides to Independence, you selected a password, which was confirmed in an e-mail reply. Your user name is your 5-digit CUNA ID. If you have subscribed but cannot recall your ID and password, just create a new one here. The product code for Guides is: GIND (all caps).

Follow this link and enter your ID and password.

Customization opportunities

• Add credit union name to each course.
  You have the option of showing your credit union’s name at the top of each Guides course. 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 Guides back to a page on your credit union’s site. The logical choice is to link back to your home page.



• Link from specific Guides courses to specific CU pages.
  Each Guides course offers you one link back to a specific page on your Web site. You may change the wording of these linking phrases and the pages they link back to on your site at anytime. If you choose not to link at all, the phrases will not appear on your courses.

5 Tips to Get Young Members to Sing Your Song

1. Use the data. E-mail your Guides users. To get their e-mail addresses, visit the Guides log in page. Enter your credit union ID number (CUID) and password. Scroll down to “track” and click. Enter your selected dates to get a report of all Guides users. Or, you can select e-mail addresses for youth who asked you to contact them about financial products or be notified when a new course is available.

If you haven’t told them about the “How to Pay for School” course released in February, why not do it now? How about mentioning your school loans and scholarships, too?

Consider offering “School Daze at the Credit Union.” Offer sessions for both parents and their children about applications, state tuition payment plans, and Federal aid options. Suggest that both parents and students complete “How to Pay for School.” You can customize the certificate of completion with a special offer from your credit union—in addition to the free eMusic^® tune.

2. Tell the community. Do your local high schools know about the Guides courses? Suggest them as extra credit assignments to teachers. Have an in-school branch? Give a special incentive for students who complete all of the courses.

Tell scouting groups, church youth organizations, Boys & Girls clubs, and other community organizations about Guides. They often look for ways to teach money management, and it’s a great opportunity to build new partnerships—and new members.

3. Teach your employees. Ask your tellers and member service reps to complete courses and post their certificates where members can see them. Train staff to have conversations with teenage members. “Chris, if you’re saving for a car, take a look at the “How to Buy a Used Car” course on our Web site. It may save you from getting a lemon.”

Ask all of your employees to take the courses so they can recommend them to their families and friends. Word-of-mouth marketing is very powerful.

4. Put parents on the teaching team. Let your adult members know the courses are available. Parents—and grandparents—can recommend them to their kids. Some may even take a course themselves. Here’s how to get the word out to your adult members:

• When a parent is making a deposit or purchasing a CD, the teller or member service rep says “We’ve got a great way to help you teach your teenager about how to save” and then describes the course “How to Save and Invest Short Term.” Make similar connections for other courses on checks, check cards, and loans.
• Put an article in your newsletter. See sample ideas here: http://buy.cuna.org/static/guides_promo.html.
• Mention Guides courses at your annual meeting as helpful tool for members. Better yet, get teenagers to attend your annual meeting as a voting member. If that’s not possible, run a special session at your meeting for teens and present the “My Credit Union, Where I Belong” course.
• Create inexpensive flyers to use on the teller line or at the drive through. Here are some suggested headlines:

  • You love your kids, but do you really want them to move back home? Send them to [insert your Web site address link to Guides] for some important money management skills.
  • She’s got a license, and wants a car. Help her avoid getting a lemon. Send her to [insert your Web site address link to Guides] to learn how to buy a used car.
  • Every parents’ dream—a son who wants to be a doctor! Avoid the nightmares of paying for school. Visit [insert your Web site address link to Guides] to learn how to apply for financial aid.

Adapt copy for your flyer here: http://buy.cuna.org/static/guides_promo.html#letter. Add humorous artwork to illustrate the headlines and turn your flyer into a lobby poster.

5. Offer an incentive for completion of all the courses. Students could enter a drawing for an iPod or MP3 player every quarter or semester. What’s important in your community? Tickets to a concert or sporting event, recent release DVDs, team clothing, or gas cards may be good prizes, too.

Turn the contest into marketing opportunities. Interview the first winner and ask how he/she used the information. For example, if the student purchased a car, take a picture of the car and the student and create a lobby poster or marketing piece.

Statement Stuffers

Download and print statement stuffers that spark interest in Guides to Independence for parents and teens. Simply customize and send to a printer.

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

Download the PDF Download the high resolution JPEG

Download the PDF Download the high resolution JPEG

Download the PDF Download the high resolution JPEG

Download the PDF Download the high resolution JPEG

Poster/Postcard

Download and print a poster or postcard that sparks interest in Guides to Independence for parents and teens. Simply customize and send to a printer!

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

Teen Poster		Parent Postcard
Download the PDF Download the high resolution JPEG		Download the PDF Download the high resolution JPEG Download the back panel JPEG

Graphics

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

• Pictures of the Student Guides
  
  To download the low-resolution image, place your cursor over the image, right-click, and choose the "Save Picture As" option. To download the high resolution image, mouse over the "300 dpi" link below and right-click to select the "Save Target As" option.
  
  Then specify a directory on your computer or LAN where you will save the high-res image file. The image shown is an example.
  

  Aisha 300 dpi hi resolution	Mac 300 dpi hi resolution	Jess 300 dpi hi resolution	Andre 300 dpi hi resolution
  Hector 300 dpi hi resolution	Reggie 300 dpi hi resolution	Clare 300 dpi hi resolution

• Linking buttons for your home page

  
  To download this low-resolution image, 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.

• Logo for print materials (high resolution, 300 dpi)
  To download a high resolution image, mouse over the "300 dpi" link below and right-click to select the "Save Target As" option. Then specify a directory on your computer or LAN where you will save the high-res image file. The image shown above is an example.

  300 dpi high resolution logo - 1650 X 672 pixels
  (note: does not include border as shown above)

  300 dpi high resolution logo - 750 X 305 pixels
  (note: does not include border as shown above)

  300 dpi high resolution logo - 600 X 244 pixels
  (note: does not include border as shown above)

  300 dpi high resolution logo - 450 X 183 pixels
  (note: does not include border as shown above)

Newsletter Articles

As we add courses to Guides, we’ll provide you with additional newsletter articles that you can use to announce and promote the new topics.

• Get your FREE music download
• My credit union...where I belong
• Teens: How would you like the keys to a new car?
• Send your teenagers to our Web site for a little education...and some music
• Let them learn from their mistakes – except when it comes to money
• Watch them take their first financial steps
• Dear Guides to Independence

Article for your member newsletter promoting the free eMusic^® downloads

• Get your FREE music download

Guides to Independence On-Hold Message Script

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

Parents:

• Got teens who need to learn sound money management skills? We’ve got just the thing to help them learn how to succeed financially. Guides to Independence is a series of interactive online tutorials available free on our Web site at [address here]. Courses cover topics from managing a checking account to buying a used car.
• Is it about time your teen learns how to be responsible with money? Let them have fun while doing it through online simulations and activities on Guides to Independence located on our Web site at [address here].
• Whether your teen is thinking of buying a used car, getting a checking account, or just looking to get better control of their finances, try out Guides to Independence online on our Web site at [address here]. Through simulations and activities, they’ll learn how to make financial decisions you can be proud of.
• Teach your teenage children or grandchildren about investing money the way they want to learn with Guides to Independence—an interactive online tutorial available on our Web site at [address here]. Simulations and activities make learning about saving and investing easy for you and fun for them.

Teens:

• Want the keys to your own personal financial freedom? Get them with Guides to Independence located on our Web site, [address here]. These quick online interactive courses make learning about buying a used car and how to get a loan fun and educational.

Letter 1 to Parents

(Use this letter to promote Guides to Independence to parents of teenagers.)

Dear Parent,

You want your wants teenagers to have all the tools they need to make sound financial decisions on their own. Now—before they get into financial trouble—is the time to prepare them for independence."

That’s why [CREDIT UNION] provides Guides to Independence. Guides is entertaining financial education. Available 24/7 on our Web site, Guides teaches vital financial skills such as balancing a checkbook, using a debit or credit card, buying a used car, managing debt, saving and investing, and more. There's even a course on that favorite teenage pastime—shopping!

Each Guides course contains about 15 minutes of activities that make learning fun. The college-age role models who serve as guides teach the tools of independent living with honesty and humor.

We know that becoming financially responsible might not be the top priority for your teenager today. That's why Guides rewards course completions with free tunes from eMusic^®, the #1 source of independent music. It's immediate gratification with independent music for independent thinkers.

Help your teenager develop the skills of financial independence. Send your teenager to Guides to Independence at [URL]. Then you can send him or her out into the world with financial confidence.

Sincerely,

The staff of [CREDIT UNION]

Letter 2 to Parents

Use this letter to promote Guides to Independence to parents of teens.

Dear Parent,

As your teen gets older, you’ll want to be sure he or she has all they need to survive. Personal finance and debt might not seem relevant at their age, but now is the important time to start giving them the education they’ll need later in life.

Give your teen the financial advice they need in a way they understand and want to learn. Guides to Independence, available 24/7 on our Web site at [address here], is an online, interactive way for teens to learn about various topics ranging from managing a checking account and buying a used car to saving and investing, and more.

Each tutorial contains interactive activities to make learning fun. Your teen learns this valuable financial information from college students who share their experiences with honesty and humor. Plus, the courses only take about 15 minutes or less to complete.

We know that becoming financially responsible might not be the top priority for your teenager today. That's why Guides rewards course completions with free tunes from eMusic^®, the #1 source of independent music. It's immediate gratification with independent music for independent thinkers.

Help your children develop financial skills for their future—send your teen to Guides on Independence on [address here].

[Your Credit Union]

Return to Guides Home Page

If you have questions, or would like more information, send us an e-mail or call Darlene Brightbill at 800-356-9655, ext. 4344.