The BDN blog starter kit is here

Writers Room
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One of the best aspects of the BDN blog network is that it is built for first-time bloggers. We work hard to give Mainer’s a platform where they can share their stories with as few technical headaches as possible. And so it seems fitting that we finally created a quick start guide to help answer the most common questions that bloggers tend to have.

So, what are some of those FAQ’s? Here are our top three most asked questions.

How do I get featured on the homepage?

We reached out to one of our editors to help us answer this one. He points out that quality content is still king when it comes to digital publishing. If you have a great story idea and you can articulate it well then readers will want to click on our post. A few things we look for in particular include:

  1. A clear headline
  2. Great images that you have taken yourself or you have a right to use.
  3. A blog post that is between 600 and 800 words.

How do I fix my images?

We get a LOT of questions about how to fix images. The solutions are usually fairly straight forward and simple, which makes this particular post on troubleshooting images especially valuable. In it, we cover everything from images posting sideways to trying to figure out why the preview image won’t work on social media. It is worth saving in your bookmarks.

How do I deal with an Internet Troll?

Before we give any advice on how to deal with an Internet Troll, it is important to figure out if you really have a troll to begin with. Sometimes, a commenter will disagree with the author of a blog post and say so – sometimes bluntly – in the comments section. These kinds of negative feedback are almost always unpleasant and sometimes even infuriating for the blogger to deal with, but that doesn’t rise to the level of Internet Troll. In this post, we outline what a troll comment looks like and we give you concrete steps on how to handle it.

Got questions? Shoot an email to our Audience Manager, Sarah Cottrell scotrell@bangordailynews.com. Want to join the BDN Maine blog network? No problem! Pitch us your idea here.