How to write a blog post

Hello! Welcome to a basic instruction sheet on how to write a blog post. Here, you will find guidelines for writing a blog post, general information, and ideas for writing.  Enjoy!

General information

• We would ideally like to have one blog post a month. 
• Each site is responsible for at least one blog post a year. This can be done either by the Network Fellow or another member of the site. 
• To sign up for a month, or to check when you need to write: Sign ups will be linked here

Ideas for blog posts

• Conference travel
  • There are a few examples of a conference travel blog post linked on the website. Here’s one! (Note: there are many more conference travel blog posts on page 2 of the blog)
  • You can write about what you learned, what your experience was, anything that impacted you, and what you did.
• Assembly
  • Those who attended the past assembly can write about this right away!
  • Similar to conference travel, please write about what you learned, what you did, things that stuck out to you, etc. 
  • Here is an example of an assembly blog post! There are many more on the blog, so feel free to check those out for more inspiration! 
• Visit to sister sites
  • If you or another member of your site has the opportunity to visit another Access site, please write about your experience!
  • You can write about the unique activities of the site, how it is different from yours, things you took away from the trip, fun activities you had, etc. 
  • Here is an example of a site visit blog post
• Alumni Interviews
  • Check in on those who were previously a part of your site or Access! 
  • Interview them and find out where they are now, what they are doing, what they took away from their experience with Access, or any advice they can give
• Alumni Spotlight
  • Where are you now? What are you doing? What did you take away from your experience with Access? What is advice you can give to students still in university or working on creating diversity in the workplace?
• Introducing the new CO’s
  • Who are they? Where are they from? What is their educational background? Why did they decide to join Access? 
• Site highlights
  • You are an expert in what your site is up to! Please let us know what you guys are doing! 
  • You can write about an interesting event that your site did (what was your event, how it went, things you learned)
  • Since this has been a unique time, you can write about how your site has reacted to COVID. How did you have to adapt to the changing times? 
  • You might also want to write about what you are trying (new activity, event, etc.)
  • Note: Your blog posts can talk about things that failed! We are all learning, and talking about an event that failed because you were adapting to online events is just as helpful as a success. 
  • You can also write about a member of your site who is graduating. This will end up being similar to an Alumni interview

Fine details

• These do not need to be long! They can be less than a page double spaced
• Include a picture! Pictures help to liven up the website and provide a nice addition to your post
  • If you do not have a picture relating to your event specifically, either a picture of the location or the people involved would be fine.
  • If anyone is in the picture, make sure you ask for consent. 
• If anyone besides yourself is mentioned, please ask consent to mention them in a blog post.
• Email to Morgan (morgan.aire@colorado.edu) or Donny (donez@berkeley.edu) when finished
• You will be compensated $50 for your time in the form of an Amazon gift card.
• We may check spelling/punctuation in case a name is spelled incorrectly. 
• Make it fun! Feel free to add fun stories or pictures about your experience

Example

Since we have examples of conferences/assemblies/visits, here is a skeleton blog post for an alumni interview:

Hello! My name is ______. I go to school at ____, and I had the privilege of interviewing ______ recently. This person graduated from ____ in _____. Their biggest takeaway from undergrad/grad school is _____. They served in our site for ___ years as _____. Here’s a fun story about their time here: _____. 

Now, they are working ______. They enjoy this job because ______, but they are struggling with ______ post graduation. I asked them if they were able to use their experience with Access in their daily lives, and they said _______. In the future, they would like to do _______. 

Their biggest piece of advice for undergrad/grad students is ______. I admire them because _______.