Market Weblog & Newsletter

Overview

The Market Weblog is your communication hub for keeping growers and customers informed. Use it to share farm updates, announce special events, highlight seasonal products, and send product availability emails.

Key Features

Accessing Your Weblog

Viewing Your Weblog

Your market's weblog is available at:

Managing Weblog Entries

1. Log in as a market administrator
2. Navigate to your market's weblog page
3. Click "Add New Weblog Entry" to create content
4. Or click "Edit" on existing entries to modify them

RSS Feed

Your weblog includes an automatic RSS feed that updates whenever you publish new entries. Subscribers can use this feed in their favorite RSS reader to stay updated.

Creating Weblog Entries

Step 1: Start a New Entry

1. Navigate to your market's weblog page
2. Click the "Add New Weblog Entry" button
3. The entry form will appear

Step 2: Write Your Title

Enter a descriptive title for your entry:

• This title appears at the top of the entry on your weblog.
• It becomes the email subject line when you send to subscribers.
• We automatically add your market name to email subjects.

Step 3: Write Your Entry

The weblog editor supports both Markdown and HTML formatting. You can use the toolbar for common formatting or write Markdown/HTML directly.

Quick Formatting Tips

• Bold text: **bold text** or <strong>bold text</strong>.
• Italic text: *italic* or <em>italic</em>.
• Links: [Link text](URL) or <a href="URL">Link text</a>.
• Images: ![Alt text](image-url) or <img src="url" alt="description">.
• Lists: Start lines with - or * for bullets, numbers for numbered lists.

See the Using Markdown section below for more formatting options.

Publishing Options

When creating or editing an entry, you have three publishing options. Each serves a different purpose in your workflow.

Scheduling Entries for Automatic Publication

How Scheduling Works

When you schedule an entry, it's saved as a draft initially. We automatically check every 5 minutes for scheduled entries that are ready to publish. When the scheduled time arrives, your entry is automatically:

1. Published to your weblog (draft status removed)
2. Sent via email to subscribers (if you enabled email)
3. Includes product list in the email (if you enabled that option)
4. Opens your market for ordering (if you enabled that option)

Setting Up a Scheduled Entry

Viewing Scheduled Entries

Scheduled entries appear in your weblog admin view with:

• A blue "SCHEDULED" badge at the top
• The scheduled publication date and time displayed
• An "Edit" button to modify or cancel the schedule

Editing Scheduled Entries

You can edit a scheduled entry before it publishes:

1. Click "Edit" on the scheduled entry
2. Make changes to the title, content, or scheduling options
3. You can change the scheduled time
4. You can change email/product options
5. You can change it to draft or publish immediately
6. Click "Save Changes" to update the schedule

Canceling a Scheduled Entry

To prevent an entry from publishing automatically:

1. Click "Edit" on the scheduled entry
2. Change the publishing option to "Save as Draft"
3. Click "Save Changes"
4. The entry will remain as a draft and won't auto-publish

Example Scheduling Workflow

Email Features

Sending Entry Emails

When you publish or schedule an entry, you can optionally email it to your subscribers:

Who Receives Emails?

Emails are sent to all active customers in your market, except those who:

• Have opted out of receiving emails (user preference)
• Have emails disabled due to bounces or deliverability issues
• Have disabled accounts

Email Processing

Weblog emails are processed in the background, so you don't have to wait for them to send:

1. You publish/schedule the entry with email enabled
2. The system queues the email job
3. A background worker processes the emails
4. Each subscriber receives their individual email
5. You see a success message when queuing completes

Combining Features for Maximum Impact

Managing Weblog Entries

Viewing Your Entries

When you visit your market's weblog, you'll see:

• All published entries (for everyone) - Displayed newest first
• Draft entries (administrators only) - Shown with a yellow "DRAFT" badge
• Scheduled entries (administrators only) - Shown with a blue "SCHEDULED" badge and publication time
• Expired entries (administrators only) - Shown with reduced opacity

Entry Status Badges

Editing Entries

1. Navigate to your weblog
2. Find the entry you want to edit
3. Click the "Edit" button on the entry
4. An editing modal will appear with the entry's current content
5. Make your changes to title, content, or publishing options
6. Click "Save Changes" to update the entry

Deleting Entries

1. Click "Edit" on the entry you want to delete
2. In the edit modal, click "Delete this entry" at the bottom
3. Confirm the deletion when prompted
4. The entry is permanently removed from your weblog

Customizing Your Weblog Description

The text at the top of your weblog page can be customized to introduce your market's weblog:

1. Navigate to your weblog
2. Click "Edit Description"
3. Write your description using Markdown or HTML
4. Click "Save Changes"

Pagination

Your weblog displays 10 entries per page. If you have more than 10 entries, navigation buttons appear at the bottom to browse through pages.

Using Markdown for Formatting

Markdown is a simple way to format text without writing HTML. The weblog editor supports full Markdown syntax plus HTML for advanced formatting.

Basic Formatting

# Large Heading
## Medium Heading
### Small Heading

**Bold text**
*Italic text*
***Bold and italic***
~~Strikethrough~~

- Bullet point 1
- Bullet point 2
  - Nested bullet

1. Numbered item 1
2. Numbered item 2

[Link text](https://example.com)
[Email us](mailto:[email protected])

![Image description](https://example.com/image.jpg)

> This is a quote
> It can span multiple lines

Using Newsletter Templates

The entry editor provides links to pre-designed newsletter templates. These templates use HTML tables for layout and work well in email clients.

Advanced: Mixing Markdown and HTML

You can use HTML directly in your entries for advanced formatting:

• Custom colors: <span style="color: green;">Green text</span>
• Custom fonts: <p style="font-family: Georgia;">Text</p>
• Tables, divs, spans for complex layouts
• Embedded videos (using allowed tags)

Image Best Practices

• Use descriptive alt text for accessibility
• Host images externally (your website, Imgur, etc.) and link to them
• Keep image file sizes reasonable (under 500KB) for faster email loading
• Test images in email clients - some may block images by default
• Specify width and height attributes for consistent display

Best Practices

Content Strategy

• Consistent Schedule: Post regularly (weekly, bi-weekly, etc.) so subscribers know when to expect updates
• Engaging Titles: Use clear, descriptive titles that tell readers what the entry is about
• Scannable Content: Use headings, lists, and short paragraphs for easy reading
• Photos: Include photos of products, growers, and market events to make entries more engaging
• Call to Action: End entries with a clear next step (order now, visit the market, etc.)

Email Best Practices

• Test First: Create a draft entry, then send a test email to yourself before sending to all subscribers
• Mobile-Friendly: Keep layouts simple - most users read email on mobile devices
• Product Lists: Only include product lists when you have products available and ordering is open
• Timing: Send emails when your audience is most likely to read them (weekday mornings work well)
• Subject Lines: Your entry title becomes the subject line - make it compelling!

Scheduling Best Practices

• Write Ahead: Schedule entries 1-2 days before publication for peace of mind
• Verify Settings: Double-check email and market opening options before scheduling
• Review Scheduled: Check scheduled entries the day before to ensure they're still appropriate
• Coordinate with Growers: Make sure products will actually be available when scheduled emails send
• Holiday Planning: Schedule around holidays when people might not be checking email

Communication Tips

• Set Expectations: Tell new subscribers how often they'll hear from you
• Grower Spotlights: Regularly feature different growers to build community
• Behind the Scenes: Share stories about farming, harvesting, and market operations
• Seasonal Content: Align content with what's happening on the farm and in the market
• Community Building: Use the weblog to strengthen connections between growers and customers

Example Newsletter Schedule

Troubleshooting

Getting Help

If you encounter issues not covered here:

• Contact LocallyGrown support with specific details about the problem
• Include the entry title and when it was created/scheduled
• Describe what you expected to happen vs. what actually happened
• Check the FAQ for additional troubleshooting

Frequently Asked Questions