Blog Manager Handbook

MLML Drop-In Blog 

Blog Manager Handbook

First Edition by Erin Loury (September 18, 2011)

Revised by Vicky Vásquez (August 19, 2015)

Revised by Lauren Cooley (April 27, 2020)

 

Contents                                                              
Blog Mission Statement Blog Manager - Roles & Responsibilities Example Blog Post How to Create a New Post
Audience Student Blogger - Roles & Responsibilities Tips for Writing Blog Posts Wordpress Media (Photos & Videos)
Blog Accounts & Usernames What Qualifies as a Blog Post? Blogger Checklist Adding Contributors to the Blog

 

Drop-In Blog Mission Statement

The goal of the MLML Drop-In Blog is to provide a first-hand account of the graduate experience at MLML, to showcase major MLML events and accomplishments, and to communicate basic aspects of marine science to improve public ocean literacy.

 

Audience

The primary target audience for the Drop-In is prospective graduate students at the college/post-college level, and middle and high school students who are considering pursuing marine science.

Other potential audiences include current MLML students, faculty and staff; local residents; MLML alumni or affiliates; family members; other marine research institutions; teachers; funding agencies; people with a general interest in the ocean. 

The blog is a public face for the lab, and all posts should be appropriate for these audiences.

 

Blog Accounts & Usernames

**All passwords stored in Social Media Lastpass**

 

Blog Manager - Roles and Responsibilities

General responsibilities to be overseen by the blog managers include:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Student Blogger - Roles and Responsibilities:

 

What Qualifies as a Blog Post?

Almost anything related to the MLML experience can be turned into a blog post.  Blog content spans a whole range of possibilities, including (but not limited to):

 

Example Blog Post

 
Tips for Writing Blog Posts

 

Blogger Checklist

Every blog posted needs to include the following things:


How to Create a New Post
  1. From the WordPress homepage, click on “Posts” on the left side menu
  2. Click the down arrow next to “Add New” in the top left corner and click on “Classic Editor”
  3. In the top box, enter the title of your post
    1. Capitalize every word (as you would capitalize a book title)
  4. Once you’ve created a title, a line will appear below the title that says “Permalink.”  This is new url for the blog post
    1. Click the “Edit” button to change the text. You can make it something shorter if the title is very long, or delete any odd punctuation marks.  
  5. Copy/paste the post content into the main text box.
    1. The text for all blog posts should be initially written in Microsoft Word or Google Sheets. Do not write directly in Wordpress.
    2. Start every blog with a byline that links to the author’s page on their lab website (if they have one) & their lab’s website
      1. “By Firstname Lastname, MLML Lab”
      2. Example: By Lauren Cooley, MLML Vertebrate Ecology Lab
  6. Click “Save Draft” to save a draft of your post. Save frequently!
  7. Check the formatting of the blog post by clicking the “Preview” button. 
  8. Use the different Wordpress features to add Categories, Tags, Links, and Media to your blog. See IT materials for more information on WordPress
    1. Media: “Add Media” allows you to add photos and embed YouTube videos and Tweets. Every post needs at least 2 photos.
      1. In general, let horizontal photos fill the whole column (“Large” size).  Vertical photos can be resized to slightly smaller dimensions by dragging on the corners (to about 330 x 450).
      2. More information below in the “How to Add Pictures and Embed Videos” section
    2. Links: Link to other pages by highlighting the text you want to turn into a link, then click the button that looks like a chain link. 
    3. Categories: Add your blog to at least one Wordpress “Category.” You can use existing categories or add new ones as needed.
    4. Tags: Add optional “Tags” to help readers find your post
  9. Insert a “Read More Tag” to every post.
    1. Put the cursor at the end of the first or second paragraph and click the “Insert Read More Tag” button (to the right of the hyperlink button)
    2. This shortens the part of the blog that is visible on the home page. Leaving long posts on the main page is bad etiquette to fellow bloggers because previous blog posts are harder to find. 
  10. Once the blog is finished, click “Publish” to post it on the blog. 

 

Wordpress Media (Photos & Videos)

All descriptions below reference the numbers shown in the screenshot above:

 

Adding Contributors to the Blog
  1. Click on the “Users” Link in the left column. 
  2. At the bottom of the page, under “Invite New Users” type in the person’s email address.
    • If the person does not have a Wordpress.com account yet, you’ll be able to invite them to set them up.  
    • Usernames should be formatted as FirstLast (ex: LaurenCooley) 
  3. Once the user has set up the account, you can add them to the blog by typing in their email address.  
  4. Set their role as an Administrator, Editor, Author or Contributor
    • Administrator (IT personnel and student managers)
        • An administrator has full and complete ownership of a blog, and can do absolutely everything. This person has complete power over posts/pages, comments, settings, theme choice, import, users.
    • Editor (All students)
        • An editor can publish, edit, and delete any posts/pages, moderate comments, manage categories, manage tags, manage links and upload files/images.
    • Author
        • An author can edit, publish and delete their posts, as well as upload files/images.
    • Contributor
        • A contributor can edit their posts but cannot publish them. When a contributor creates a post, it will need to be submitted to an admin for review. Once a contributor’s post is approved by an admin and published, however, it may no longer be edited by the contributor.  A contributor does not have the ability to upload images.

Revision #4
Created 1 May 2020 22:14:17
Updated 5 July 2023 19:17:16