How to use FanPosts and FanShots

Have you ever been reading Twinkie Town and thought of a post you wanted to write, or something else you wanted to share? Did you know we actually provide you a platform to do that?

If you’ve never made a FanPost or a FanShot here at Twinkie Town (or any other SB Nation site), you should! FanPosts and FanShots are a great way for you to share your opinions, stories, links, etc. about the Twins and help create discussions about the topics you want to talk about. It’s also a great way to practice your writing and get it noticed. Our tools are easy to use, but here is some help to get you started.

First of all, you can find the FanPosts section on the right hand side of Twinkie Town’s homepage. Scroll down a little further and you will find the FanShots section as well.

Whoa, whoa, whoa—FanPosts and FanShots? What’s the difference?

Glad you asked! FanPosts and FanShots are actually quite different.

FanShots are for sharing quick links, tweets, pictures, videos, etc. you want to bring to the Twinkie Town community’s attention. For example, this FanShot is just a tweet with a video of Eduardo Escobar trying to name his teammates. You can watch the video right from the FanShot and community members can leave comments just like any other post.

FanPosts are for when you want to share something more substantial and original. They give you the chance to create your own blog post just like the ones by our staff writers on the Twinkie Town homepage. You can share your own opinions, analysis, fictional work involving the Twins, personal stories, or even go on a tirade about why Justin Morneau should not have made advertisements for McDonald’s because reasons if you really, really want to. For example, this FanPost is some history and opinion about former-Twin Shane Mack community member Devereaux thought about after reading another blog post on the site.

Exceptional FanPosts and FanShots may even be promoted to the front page by the Twinkie Town staff, or shared on our social media accounts! In fact, creating quality FanPosts is probably the best way for you to be noticed by the Twinkie Town Staff Manager and work your way onto the official site staff.

How to create new FanPosts and FanShots

You can create a new FanPost by going to the FanPost Page and clicking the “New FanPost” button on the left side of the screen.

You can create a new FanShot by going to the FanShot page and pasting the link to the tweet, webpage, photo, etc. you want to share in the text box and pressing the “+Fanshot” button.

Tips for your FanPost successful

Some FanPosts are better than others. Here’s some tips for making yours the best:

• Be creative! We want to see new and unique voices and points-of-views. Don’t just write a post copying some other opinion, analysis, joke, etc. with nothing added.
• Oh, and straight up copy-and-pasted plagiarism. Don’t do that.
• Make the title catchy and unique. You want people to read this, right? Grab their attention.
• If you want to write about a post on another site, link to it, and quote a few lines. (On the menu bar in the post editor, use the chain-link button). Then share your take. Again, don't just grab huge chunks of someone else's story.
• Make your post easy to read. Large chunks of text with no paragraphs or breaks are generally not very good. Take a few minutes before you publish your post to check on spelling, grammar, etc. Use the formatting tools in the FanPost editor to make it look pretty. The more polished a FanPost is the more likely it will be promoted to the front page.
• Don't forget to preview your post before you publish it, to make sure that your formatting will come through correctly. Use the button right next to "Publish" at the bottom of the page, or find the tiny button at the top of the Body section.

Tips for your FanShot successful

• Share things you think people will want to see and talk about.
• That’s basically it.

Other ways to get involved

Can’t think of anything to write or share? You can still stay involved in the FanPost and FanShot sections! Read the other FanPosts and FanSpots people share and “Rec” the ones you like. Leave comments and drive discussion.

We also often hold FanPost Fridays were we give the community a collective topic or question to address. Try jumping in then!

Twinkie Town would be no fun without you guys. We want to hear from you. Don’t be shy!