[Kevin]

1) How do I create a member journal and how do I attract readers to my journal?

2) How can I make a thumbnail appear next to my member journal thread when viewing the Member Journal Forum?

3) How can I get an image of my car on the home page?

4) How can I feature my member journal below my avatar?

[Kevin]

How do I create a member journal?

1) Register or Login;
2) Click this link to start your IWSTI Member Journal;
3) Name your member journal by filling in the 'Title';
4) In the message, area, tell us the story about how you came to own your STI, share pics of it, and continue to update the thread with your modification wish list (wheels, upgraded suspension, or performance parts) and tell other members about your experience as you spend more time with your Subie.


WAIT!!! Do you want YOUR Member Journal to attract followers? If so, read on...

Ben, the previous IWSTI Admin, built a sweet STI Race Car. He pioneered a format for the member journal that attracted the greatest number of viewers and he had the greatest number of replies per week in his member journal than any other member journal at that time.

Before you read on, check out his member journal to see this recommended member journal format. He made the first post in his thread member journal an Index or Table of Contents to every update he made to his member journal. This allowed him his followers to skip irrellevant discussion and posts from other members and only read about the modification path he took from the day he purchased his STI through the date he decided to make it a Full Time race car and through the date that he sold his STI.


What should you do if you want your member journal to have 85,000+ views and almost 1,200 replies?

Immediately after you start your member journal, post a reply to it, stating "Reserved." This will give you the option to later move the contents of your first post to this second post so you can convert your first post into an Index / Table of Contents so readers can read about your car without having to read through all the replies from other members. I also recommend that you include a list of sponsors, a list of your modifications, and include any noteworthy or exceptional images, photography, or wallpapers you have made available to other members.

[Kevin]

How do I make a thumbnail appear next to my member journal thread when viewing the Member Journal Forum?


The image that appears next to a thread in the member journal forum is a thumbnail of the first image attached to the first post of that particular member journal thread.

If you are creating a member journal for the first time, you will notice that you can attach files in the Additional Options are when creating your member journal thread. If you want to take advantage of this feature for a member journal that you have already created, EDIT the first post in your member journal and then click GO ADVANCED. You can attach the image to your post. After you click save, the server will automatically resize the image and display it as a thumbnail.

You can update this attachment any time to reflect your new modification, paint job, or graphics.

[Kevin]

How can I get my member journal featured on the home page?

The Featured Member Journals section that appears on the home page pulls only those IWSTI Member Journals that have an image attached to the first post and that have been replied to recently.

To make sure your IWSTI Member Journal has a chance to appear on the home page, EDIT the first post in your member journal and then click GO ADVANCED. You can attach the image to your post by scrolling down to the Additional Options section and attaching an image to that post. After you click save, the server will automatically resize the image and display it as a thumbnail on the home page when a member replies to it.

[Kevin]

How do I feature my member journal in my postbit detail below my avatar?

1) Go to your member journal and find the complete URL. Identify the thread number.

Here is an example URL:

PHP Code:

www.iwsti.com/forums/site-news-announcements/105147-new-feature-show-off-your-member-journal.html 


The thread number for the above URL is 105147, which appears just before 'new'.

2) Go to your User CP and click Edit Profile.

3) Scroll down to the section titled, "My Member Journal" and paste the thread number (not the full URL) into the field below it.

Once you paste the thread number and save the changes, then you will notice that your car (as listed below your avatar and above "Fav Mod" in the post detail) now links to your member journal.

To discuss this , please do so in this thread:
http://www.iwsti.com/forums/site-new...ml#post1616651