Anyone can help contribute to BenefitsForward.com – all you need is an account with us. If you don’t already have an account you can obtain one here. If you have one, log in and you’ll be presented with the Dashboard. Click the link that says ‘Write a New Post.’ Now you’ll see the Post Editor and can begin writing a new post.
To add your post, first add a title in the ‘Title’ section. The title should be relevant and not too long. The next step is to prepare your editing environment. In the ‘Post’ section, click and drag down the bottom right corner to give yourself more room to write. Next, make sure that you are in ‘Visual’ mode (instead of ‘HTML’ mode) in the upper right corner of the Post window. If you see two rows of buttons in the Post menu bar, you are ready to begin writing the article. If you see only one row, however, you should click the second button from the right – it says ‘Show/Hide Kitchen Sink’ when you hover over it and will add the second row of buttons.
Before writing the new post, however, consider what type of post you are writing. Does it belong to the IRS, DOL, or PBGC Guidance categories? Is it an original article? Is it an upcoming event? Scroll down and open the ‘Categories’ menu to check the box next to the appropriate category. Go back to the Post editor.
IRS, DOL, or PBGC Guidance entries:
These types of posts are usually links to documents on government websites with original summaries. They consist of three main parts: an original summary; a document excerpt; and a link to the document. Type your own original summary first. As you type, keep in mind that you can format your text by using the buttons in the menu bar above, just like in most popular word processing applications.
Next add the document excerpt by typing ‘Document Excerpt’ in bold, and then copy the excerpt from the document and paste it into the editor. This sometimes results in oddly formatted text, though, especially if copying from a PDF file. Therefore, before pasting the text into the editor, click on the ‘Paste as Plain Text’ button in the middle of the second menu row. A new window will appear. Make sure to uncheck the ‘Keep linebreaks’ option in the upper right corner. Then paste the text into the open window and click the ‘Insert’ button. Note that text will be inserted at the cursor location. This inserted text should now be free of old formatting.
The last step is to include a link to the document. Type ‘Link’ in bold then paste the URL (the website’s address that begins with ‘http://’) next to it. To make this an actual link, select the entire URL and click on the ‘Insert/Edit Link’ button located in the middle of the first row of buttons. Copy the URL again into the ‘Link URL’ field, and set the ‘Target’ field to ‘Open link in new window.’
Articles, White Papers and Other Information entries:
To write an original article, simply type it into the Post editor just as you would with any other word processing application. You can add formatting, justify, add links and more by using the menu bar at the top.
Events entries:
Events can be added in the same way that regular articles can, just be sure to specify the date of the event clearly – the administrator will have to add it to the calendar.
Prior to submission
The last thing to do before submitting the post is to write an excerpt/summary of the new post for the home and category pages. Scroll down and open the ‘Excerpt’ section under ‘Advanced Options.’ You can either write an entirely new summary or copy the opening paragraph from the post. This last option is especially useful for IRS, DOL and PBGC Guidance posts. If nothing is added here, the first 55 words of the post will automatically be used as the home page summary, including headings and links – minus formatting. In order to achieve a uniform look, it’s best to add your own summary.
When your new post is done, you have the option to save it or submit it for review. If you choose to save, you may come back later and edit it before publication. If you choose to submit it for review, it will be flagged as a publication candidate and an administrator will review it. The administrator will then decide whether or not to publish the post, or maybe even to edit it some more. The save and submit buttons are located to the right of the post editor.
That’s it! If you have any questions, please ask contact us here.
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