Patch How-To: Become a 'Local Voices' Blogger

Patch is always looking for bloggers who can riff on various topics, share their personality and engage our readers in discussions.

Patch is more than a news site, it's an online conversation about your community and we want to hear from you.

This isn't a reporting job. It's blogging. You write what you want to say when you want to say it. Do it on your schedule, whether that's posting multiple entries per day or a couple times a month.

Patch won't own what you post, so you can repost your entries to your other blogs. Patch is providing local bloggers an online platform to have their words seen by a larger audience. Be interesting. Be provocative. Be yourself.

If you're interested in blogging for Patch, follow these easy instructions:

1. (If you already have a Patch account, skip to step #2) Sign up for a Patch account by clicking on the "Sign Up" button at the top of the homepage and following the instructions. Once your account is confirmed, log in.

2. Fill out our "Want to Blog on Patch?" form, which asks you to tell us a little bit about yourself or submit a sample post. We also ask for the year that you were born to make sure you're old enough to blog on Patch. (It won't be displayed anywhere on Patch.) The link to this form can also be found on the homepage below the "Local Voices" section.

3. While you're waiting for an editor to contact you, be sure your Patch profile has some information about you. Once you're logged in, click on your name at the top of the homepage and click on the "Edit Profile" button so that you can enter a short bio for yourself as well as a photo.

4. Once the editor grants you blogging privileges, you're all set! To submit your first blog, log in and locate the "Admin" section at the top of the homepage. Go to "Blog Posts" and click on "Create New."