How to: post to your Virtual Assistant Forums blog

Did you know there is an awesome Community Blogs feature here at Virtual Assistant Forums? Every member has their own blog at VAF and it's easy to get started - following is a step-by-step to help you get your blog set up and get your first post on the site.

Blogging at VAF gives you and your business more exposure and is a great way to show off your expertise and professionalism. Take advantage of the awesome SEO and high traffic numbers on this site by posting your best posts to the Community Blogs. Exceptional posts may even be featured on the Virtual Assistant Forums home page and on the main Community Blogs page as well as promoted on the VAF Facebook page and via our Twitter account.

HOW TO SET UP YOUR BLOG:

To visit the Community Blogs section of Virtual Assistant Forums click the FORUM FEATURES link in the main menu at the top of the site. Select the 'Community Blogs' link from the drop down menu:








Once on the Community Blogs page, look for the menu to the left:


Notice the links:
'Your Blog' - this links directly to your blog on VAF (you can get your own blog's RSS feed in here too!)
'Post to Your Blog' - to draft a new blog post.
'View RSS Feed' - to get the RSS for ALL community blogs.
'Blog Control Panel' - to access your blog's control panel.



Click 'Blog Control Panel' and again look for the menu to the left:


Notice the links:
'Blog Title and Description' - this is where you can name your blog and write an overall description (your title and description are visible at the top of all of your blog posts so keep it short!)
'Blog Options' - to set your preferences for commenting, subscriptions, permissions, and privacy.
'Blog Categories' - to set up your post categories.

Once you've set up your blog's title, description, options, and categories you're ready to draft your first blog post!



HOW TO POST TO YOUR BLOG:

In that same menu box to the left, click 'Your Blog' to return to your blog's main page, and then 'Post to Your Blog' to open the text editor.



Enter your blog post title and the text for your blog post. Use the hyperlink option in the text editor to include linked text in your post and the image option to include images in your post. The text editor allows for all the basic fonts, sizes, and attributes such as bold and italic as well as ordered and numbered lists, etc. Experiment with the text editor to enhance your blog posts.

Once you are satisfied with your post, scroll down to set additional options for your blog post such as which category to include your post in. You can also set commenting permissions and the date your post is scheduled to go live on the site (you can choose to save your post as a draft, publish it now, or publish it at a future date). You can also preview your post to ensure it looks the way you want it to before publishing.




ADDITIONAL NOTES:

To go back and edit a blog post return to your draft or published post and click the pencil icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the post to open the post and make any necessary changes or additions.

Thanks! This is awesome and very appreciated! I look forward to more people posting so I can read all the good stuff to come.

You're most welcome Pam! We're hoping that the extra info will help users who are otherwise unsure about using their blog here and inspire even more excellent blog posts.

Thank you for the information. I've been wondering how to post my blogs. Now I can.

OBY

I appreciate the instructions. I have a draft but can't make it live. What am I doing wrong? Thx

Hi Dina,
In the second section [Miscellaneous Options] you'll notice it says Publish Status and has a button to click for options. Click the button and switch from Draft to Publish Now. (See the screenshot above to reference the sections.)

Big hug, thanks! I got it.

Way to go, Dina! I look forward to reading your post.

~Ruth