Calling Small Businesses! Blog on Arnold Patch

As a small business owner in Arnold, you know how important reaching customers in your community is to your bottom line. Many of your neighbors turn to Arnold Patch every day for local news, information and conversation. Why not connect with your customers—and potential customers—by sharing more about what you do best?

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 business owners 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 a coffee shop owner sharing stories about things that have happened in your shop like Clayton-Richmond Heights Patch blogger Mike Ziegler, or sharing your expertise about oil changes like Sussex Patch blogger Blaine Boudreau, 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 Arnold 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!