This article applies to all Connect site administrators.

• Your Connect Blog: The Volunteer View
• Accessing the Blog-Management Area
• Posting to the Blog
• Deleting a Blog Post
• Hiding the Blog

Your Connect Blog: The Volunteer View

By default, your site blog’s URL is as follows:

[Your Connect site URL]/blog/

Your blog is available on your site's landing page--whether your reader is logged-in or not! Logged-in volunteers can access your blog from their User Dashboard, in the bottom right-hand area of the page. The blog links appear in a similar spot for readers who are not logged in.

Note: Blog posts are displayed in reverse chronological order, with the most recent post at the top of the list. Once you've posted to the blog, the linked title will be displayed in this area of the Dashboard.

Accessing Your Blog-Management Area

To access your site’s blog management tools, go to your manager panel and click Content > Blog.

The Blog table shows all blog posts with their related IDs, domain names, dates added, dates gone live, and statuses. It also includes the option to email individual blog posts with your site's visitors.

Note that you can use the Search box above the table to search all blog-post titles by keyword.

Posting to the Blog

Only site managers can post to the blog. To create a new blog post:

1. Go to Content > Blog and click Add New Post.
2. Complete the fields on the form provided.

   Field	Description
   Status	Select an Active or Pending status for a new post, as applicable. This field is also used for deactivating an existing post.
   Publish Date (Required Field)	Select the date that you want the blog post to go live on your site.
   Author	Type the name of the post's author.
   Title	Type the title of the post.
   Excerpt	Type a "teaser" or short version of the post, to be viewed when users go to the /blog page of your site. (This page shows a list of blog entries with the excerpts.)
   Body	Type the body of the blog post.

3. Click Create Post.

Note: If you want to save the post as a draft, select a Pending status before clicking Create Post.

Sharing a Blog Post

You can share a blog post via email, Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, and LinkedIn. To share a blog you have posted:

1. Go to Content > Blog and to access a list of blog posts.
2. Ensure that the post you wish to share has a status of Active.
3. Take one of the following actions:
   - Click Email Users, and then click Yes to confirm.
   - Click the Share icon and select a social media outlet.
   
4. Follow any additional instructions from the social media outlet you have selected. 

Deleting a Blog Post

Only a site manager can delete a blog post. To delete a blog post from your site:

1. From the manager panel, go to Content > Blog. You’ll see in the table which blog posts are pending and which are published.
2. Click the title of the post to delete.
3. Click Delete Post, located at the bottom of the page.
4. Click Yes to confirm.

Note: Once a blog post is deleted, it cannot be recovered.

Hiding the Blog

Your site's blog is present by default in the bottom right-hand area of the User Dashboard. If there are no active blog posts present, the blog will be hidden.

To hide the blog:

1. From the manager panel, go to Content > Blog.
2. Click the title of an active blog post.
3. Delete it (as described here) or mark it as pending.
4. Confirm or save your change.
5. Repeat the steps above for all active posts.