Today's question from the ActiveRain Help Desk was sent in by community member, Marilynn Currie, a professional Stager in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada, who asked:
Dear ActiveRain:
"I just wrote a post on my blog, and I can see it on my blog page as I wrote it, but it does not come up on the AR main blog page so other folks can read it? Do we now have to pay to have the blogs on the main page or???? On the main page there are starred blogs and others as well--- mine does not need to have a star(?) but I would like other folk to read and comment on my blog--- rather than just on my own page. Or have I messed up in filing the blog?"
Cheers, Marilynn
Marilynn:
The reason your most recent post didn't show up on the ActiveRain Blogs Page was because you hadn't selected any categories. Whenever you publish an article using your ActiveRain Blog Publisher, you are afforded numerous options of how you want to categorize and distribute your content, depending primarily on who your intended audience is.
After you've crafted your literary masterpiece, and you're ready to publish, you'll notice a number of scrolling boxes towards the bottom of your publisher.
The first box is titled 'Visibility' and your options are Public, Associates Only, Draft, and Members Only. Most of the time, you'll be choosing Public. When you click on Associates, only those members who you have 'associated' with will be able to view it. Draft simply saves your article and allows you to come back at a later point to finish it. When you select Members Only, your post will only be available for view by the ActiveRain membership, and not the general public.
The next box is for Localism. By selecting this box, you are 'pushing' or transferring your post over to the Localism platform, where it will show up on the relevant State, County, and City pages, depending on which you specify. Make sure that when you send your posts to Localism, that your content is specifically suitable and beneficial for consumers in your local market area.
Next are the ActiveRain Channels. Simply check the primary heading (Professional or Consumer) that makes the most sense based on the nature of your article's content, and then the appropriate sub-heading. Again, your selection will be determined by the particular topic you've written about, and who your intended readership is.
The 'My Groups' box allows you to distribute your article to any relevant ActiveRain Groups you may belong to. Be sure to only contribute articles that are relevant and appropriate to the vision and purpose of each Group.
The next box, 'Categories,' is a carry-over from a previous version of our platform, and will most likely be discontiuned at some point in the near future. For now, they should correspond to what you selected in the ActiveRain Channels.
If you want to 'push' or direct your post content to your Outside, Individual, or Team Blog, then check the appropriate box.
Selecting the'Re-Blogging' box allows other members to re-publish your article on their blog, and awards you 25 points when they do so.
If you want to publish content from other Internet sources, and you have permission, then check the box that states "This is not my content, but I have permission to repost it." This allows you to do so, but does not award you points accordingly. This would apply to jokes, recipes, company newsletters, press releases, information from government websites, listings that are not your own but you have permission to promote, bible verses, poems, inspirational quotes, copied portions of your local MLS, any content that is not your own original content.
Your timing was impeccable with this post. Another newbie - Pattie Bigford was having the same problem and you explain it so much better than I do!! Ihave forwarded you on to her! Thanks Rich.
Valerie: Exactly why I created this series. Glad it could be of help to you and Pattie! Let Richard know that I would be glad to come down and lead another more in-depth class on blogging.
thanks for the great info as usual
Rich,
Why do you always have to be so helpful?.....it's going to ruin your reputation! Well at least the info you give out is accurate. I'm sure you'll receive many kudos for this.
Rich - I understand your answer to Marilynn but have a 'Dear Active Rain' question, too. Most of my localism posts are not showing up. I want to use it more but I'm obviously missing something. Can you suggest some posts on this subject? Help! Thanks, in advance!
Mary
Very nice explanation - I think it will be very informative for the newbies and even some oldbies.
Rich - thanks for the explanation ! It is great to be able to choose and utilize all the places a blog entry can go. Is good to know for new users to take advantage of all those choices !
Thanks for posting this. I checked my blog and wouldn't you know it? I had not checked the "categories" section. Good job!
Thanks, I needed some of this clarification myself.
Rich - I thought I was the only one. Thanks for the tip
Rich - Always good to clarify the sometimes not to obvious to everyone points. I am always looking at the details. I guess that's the kinda guy I am. Good post Rich and keep the explanations coming. thanks,Bob H
Thanks for the info! The screenshots make this post awesome!
Rich,
Very helpful, I have been on AR now for just a few weeks and still trying to soak it all in.
Thanks Brad as I keep looking for the preview button. Now I can use drafts if I really want to preview
Thanks for sharing...I find myself a little confused at times with all the boxes too.
Hi and thanks for the informatrive post as usual--but I have one other question....is there a box for "outside" blog or is that one accessed using the "individual" blog selection? still a tiny but confused:) jane
Nice info...I used to have that issue, but I'm all in. Great info here.
Rich - I like the idea of showing us some common questions and how you answer them. The past few posts like this have been very informative to many. Thanks for sharing.
Hi
I have had the same problem and I've done the tthings that you recommend and I've never seen my post up... could there be something else i'm not doing?
Rich,
I have posted 3 times, I had no idea if I was doing it correctly, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your post.
Thanks for this informative post, I was wondering if I was doing my posting correctly, and this explains it so well.
Rich - this is a very informative post and thanks for sharing it.
Thanks so much Rich. I am realtively new to AR and this has been very helpful. I forgot about posting to groups. Great reminder.
This was a very informative post that also helped me to understand where the blog get viewed. I am new to AR, also, and find I am on too much information overload, It does get confusing, but I understood your explanation, thank you.
Rich,
Good explanation! Do we know what percentage of consumers view our posts as opposed to AR members??? Thanks, Fran
Rich,
Thanks for the detailed clarification, it is immensely helpful.
THank you for the great directions. I have a question, I am new to all this, but have written two blogs in the past few days...I notice now that there is a little red flag at the bottom of each one, did I do something wrong to get 'flagged' by someone? thank you. Amanda
I had wondered about the categories option, so that was helpful to me, thanks Rich.
Rich, thank you for the information, I didn't know about the categories as an option. Thank you again, Jane
Gracious Rich...
Just stopping in to say Hi :)
I know you've been watching what I'm up to so I'll move on :)
TLW...ROAR!
Thanks for letting all newbies in on the information. I wish I would have know about this in the beginning
Rich, Thanks. I love my localism posts. They give me some "street cred" . I actually hear from people in the community that read them! It is amazing. Mine are short. Good for people to read quick. I know if I have to go through more than a couple of paragraphs to get the point...I'm gone. Life is short!
Outstanding explanation, Rich! Now, I am crystal clear on all of the blog categories!
Thanks Rich. I have never clicked on the re-blog box because I didn't understand what it meant. I will now.
Thanks for the thorough explanation. I never really understood why categories section required the distinct description as opposed to a tag - what is the purpose of that item?
Channels are the equivalent of the cat's meow on ActiveRain... 1 click away from SEO heaven!
Rich, how nice of you to explain how to publish a blog post. And you did it very well.:) Now if I could just find what I'm looking for! ha
Rich, Another great find - I've looked a couple of times for just this post topic and now today I found it while looking in the comments of another post. I love this place.