Don’t just Register to participate in BlueRidgeHomesteaders.Org and then forget to develop your User Profile!

Why? A completed Profile will help build your brand and, if you have a business, help it get found in the search engines. Here’s how your Profile will help you:

• Put a face to your name with a photo (called an “avatar” on your profile page).
• With your free membership you can add links back to your Website, your Facebook and Instagram pages, your Youtube channel and several other social media platforms. If you didn’t already know, the more “backlinks,” (links from other relevant and trusted Websites you have that link to your Website, Facebook etc.) the better your own search engine visibility is for your Website and social media pages.
• Make valuable connections with other homesteaders and with potential customers. In your Profile you can tell a little about yourself, your homestead and, if you have a business related to your homesteading, you can talk about that.

Here’s what others will see when you edit your Profile.

Example: when visiting the Community Forum you might select a post by Jackie, who’s trying to find some onion sets for fall planting, you see this:

Note that site visitors can click on Jackie’s image or her name beneath it to find out about Jackie. Here’s what you will see:

So that's what Jackie’s about. You really don’t have to write a memoir; a few lines will do to help compel other people to follow or contact you.

Easy Steps to Edit Your User Profile

1. If not already logged in, do that.
2. In the upper right corner of the page, you’ll see, “Howdy, (your username).” Hover over that and select Edit Profile.
3. Some of you will recognize that the resulting page is the standard WordPress User Profile page.
4. For easy-to-use guidelines, click here for a PDF that will open in a new window. Then you can refer back and forth to it as you go through your Profile edits.