Recruiting School, PTO Bloggers for Patch

As a parent of a child in the Mehlville School District, you know how important reaching families in your community is to your organization. Many of your neighbors turn to Mehlville-Oakville Patch every day for local news, information and conversation. Why not connect with them and share more about the work you do on behalf of students, teachers and schools?

Part of the Patch mission is to strengthen communities and improve the lives of their residents, but we can't do it without you. Our Local Voices section allows members of the community—from cooking enthusiasts to local politicians and everyone in between—to interact and post directly to the site. Select blogs appear on the homepage, in the daily newsletter and are shared by editors via Facebook and Twitter.

Whether you’re finding ways to honor local teachers like Glendora Patch blogger Carol Locivar (her most recent post sparked 427 comments!) or celebrating a recent grant award to support your school like Palatine Patch blogger Joan Scovic, a Patch blog allows you to easily share expertise, ideas and questions, all while connecting with a local audience. And you don't have to write the phone book or know the difference between a dangling modifier and a split infinitive. Long, short or totally casual—it's all good.

Want to blog? Here’s how:

1. Go to Mehlville-Oakville Patch.
2. Click on "Sign Up" at the top of the page
3. Follow the simple instructions on confirming your account
4. Log in and click on your name
5. Click on Edit Profile on the left
6. Fill out the "Short Bio" section with just a few sentences about you: Where do you live? How long have you been in the area? What's your profession? What do you like to do?
7. Click on "Profile Photos" and just upload a single headshot or logo there

Second, here’s how to start a blog:

1. From the homepage, click "Start a blog," which takes you to a blog landing page with information on how to blog.
2. Click "Post on Patch" and you will be taken to the blog post page.
3. Fill in the following fields:

•  
  • Title
  • Body
  • Description (a blurb that promotes your post before readers see the whole thing -- one sentence is perfect)
  • Upload media (click on this to add your photos and videos -- it's simple!)
  • Tags (Keywords help us promote your writing. Enter relevant names, places, issues, ideas and topics separated by commas.)
  • Click save and preview and your blog will be posted on the site.

Questions? Email me or reach out to Lindsay Toler at Lindsay.Toler@patch.com or 314-452-2641. We're here to help and appreciate your contributions!