How can we make the FanPosts and FanShots sections more active?

What is a FanPost/Shot?

For those of you who are new to the site and lurking, FanPosts (community-generated articles) and FanShots (links, pictures, tweets, videos, etc.) are tools that the logged-in members can use to create content for Bolts From The Blue on their own. You can find those sections on the right-hand side of this or any SB Nation site. This is illustrated in the screenshot below.

(and if you scroll a bit more, you'll find the FanShots in the same area)

The purpose of these tools is to allow the members of the blog that aren't part of the official staff to still have a voice and an opportunity to direct the conversation. This is what helps to build a greater community than what we can have with only the staff writers, readers, and commenters. Your posts will initially appear in the areas I showed you above, but quality content can and will be moved onto the front page of the blog. If you're interested but unsure of how to proceed, you can find an excellent how-to from Grizzly Bear Blues.

How will FanPosts/FanShots be promoted?

Well, we have a couple of ways to do this:

Social Media: Quality posts can and will be tweeted out on our main account as well as featured on our Facebook page. Now would be a good time to give us a follow or Like our Facebook page if you haven't already.

Promotion of highly recommended posts: There isn't a set number of recs yet (assume it will be more than two) that will guarantee promotion, but we will be monitoring the FanPosts/FanShots for recommended posts to move to the front page.

And once we develop a healthier FanPost/FanShot selection:

Highly recommended FanPosts/FanShots will be added to their own featured section. We are stealing borrowing  this excellent idea from Golden State of Mind. See it in action here:

What else is in it for you?

Well, if you've ever had any interest in joining the staff, it's worth noting that many if not most contributors to SB Nation blogs started out by writing FanPosts. We are actively looking for new writers and will hope to find some from increased FanPost activity.

And let us know in the comments if there's anything else we can do to convince you to write more FanPosts.