How to Post an Announcement on Patch: Text Edition

I've heard from some Patch users that sometimes simple written instructions take the day, even in this video-heavy era, so here's a step-by-step written guide for posting any type of announcement.

Posted by Jeanne Gustafson (Editor), June 12, 2012 at 08:46 pm

If you've always wanted to post an announcement, but couldn't access or preferred not to rely on Patch's video tutorials, never fear, we've got your back.

Here's a straightforward (I hope) summary of the 10 easy steps to posting your own announcement or press release on Patch, which can include nearly anything you want to share with the community--volunteer opportunities, points of pride, workplace promotions, sporting awards, and the list goes on.

Log in to Sammamish.Patch.com (if you don’t have an account, first click sign up—it’s easy and free).
Visit the “News” tab (on the blue menu bar near the top of the page) and click on Announcements.
Click on the green “Add an Announcement” button near the top right of the screen. (Here's a tip: if you know you have announcements to post frequently, bookmark the page at this step to get to the new announcement page even more quickly next time)
Copy and paste your announcement or press release from your word processing program into the body field of the form.
Cut and paste your headline from the body into the Title field.
Choose a category from the drop down list (when in doubt, you can choose local connections). For certain categories, like volunteer requests or school awards, the system will prompt you for additional information.
Format the press release a little, such as removing extra spacing between paragraphs, and making sure text is flush left at the beginning of each paragraph by removing extra spaces befor the first letter. Highlight or use bold formatting for important points (Tip: avoid using all caps, as it's harder to read).
Click the button under the body to add a photo or pdf from your hard drive to help make your announcement stand out. (Tip: adding descriptive tags in the tag field will help people searching the Internet find your information)
Click “Post my Announcement” at the bottom of the page.
You can then copy the short url to share on social media such as twitter and Facebook. (Tip: Once you've copied the link, email it to me at Jeanne.gustafson@patch.com, and if you’ve included a photo or pdf, I can feature your announcement on the home page).