How to Create Your First Zujava Leaf

Before you publish a Zujava leaf, it's a good idea to fill in your bio information and choose your account settings. This will tell everyone on Zujava who you are, put a face to the name, and get you all set up to accept PayPal payments for royalties earned. 

To set up your account, click the "join" or "get started" link at the top of the page. You will be prompted to enter a username, then enter your email address. Fill out the captcha, then submit by clicking "create your new account." This will send an email to the email address provided, asking you to confirm your account. If you haven't received your email, check your spam folder (and add us to the "safe" list while you're at it, so you get all of your Zujava emails!).

Once you have clicked through to confirm your email, you will be given a one-time login. Next, create your secure password for your Zujava account. It's a good idea to change your password every 60 days. 

The next page is your dashboard. You'll see your articles (you have none yet), referrals, and you can edit your bio. You'll also see a message at the top of the screen bugging you to enter your PayPal email address, so you can get paid. Click the "edit your profile" link to get started with that. 

Once you've set up your account and filled out your bio, you're ready to start publishing. Click "create leaf" at the top of the page. Here, you'll choose your page title, choose the appropriate topic, and add tags. You can add tags later if you'd rather wait until the article is done.

Now you can choose your introduction title. This spot is similar to the headline of a newspaper, and will appear at the top of the page underneath the title of the page. Make a statement, rephrase your page title in a meaningful way, or ask a question to the reader here. 

Next, write your summary. A good Zujava leaf summary will tell the reader what they can expect to find on the page. Introduce the topic to the reader, then give a description of what you they'll be reading about. If you're stumped here, then continue on to the next section and come back to fill this out. 

After you're finished with the intro, it's time to add more unique content your Zujava leaf. The right hand column while you're in edit mode will show links with the heading "add a new section." Click any section, like the Rich Text Field, to add more content to your Zujava leaf. You can also try other sections, like the Flickr Gallery, RSS, Ebay, Amazon Product, and Amazon Product Group.

There's no right or wrong style of writing for a Zujava leaf. Each leaf can be written using a different style, be it matter of fact or injected with your own personal style. Some readers will prefer a more lighthearted, fun style of writing for certain subjects, while other subject matter is best handled with a more serious tone. But again, there's no correct way to write. The most important part is that you do just that -- WRITE!

If you're not sure of how to word your first Zujava leaf, try wording it just as you would in conversation. This style of writing can be entertaining and easy to read. 

There are three ways to add links to your Zujava leaf. 

1. Use the text editor and highlight the piece of text you'd like to be linked. Enter the URL into the pop up box and insert. 
2. You can use HTML. Click HTML (while editing a section) and create your own link using HTML.
3. Use the link list section. This handy section will make creating links a snap.

Zujava has its own way to feature articles you've written, and that's the article link section. Link to your other Zujava leaves by simply entering the URL into the field. Add as many as you'd like to an article link section. 

Second, you can create an HTML link. 

Third, you can use the link list section. 

And finally, you can hyperlink using the hyperlink tool inside of a text section. 

Publishing is simple. Click the box at the top of the page above the bio on the right that says "publish." Done. Now the article is live! You can also unpublish using this button, which will read "unpublish" once you hit publish. 

For future edits of a leaf, go into edit mode for that article. Make the changes you'd like to appear, then hit save on the section you changed. Changes will automatically appear live, no need to republish. 

NOTE: We have introduced a program called the Petting Zu, which holds your first three leaves for review. Once you've made three great leaves and your account has been approved for publishing, your work will be published. And, going forward, you'll be free to publish whenever you want.

A URL will be automatically generated for you whenever you create a new leaf based on the title you input into the title field. To customize the URL, uncheck the box that reads "generate automatic URL alias." 

Why customize your URL? Shorter URLs are easier to type in, and can sometimes result in better search engine rankings.

To add HTML to your leaf, click the HTML button inside of a text section. Then, write your HTML and click update, then save. 

To reorganize and move sections around on your page, use the "organize sections" right sidebar widget. Simply click up/down to move the desired section. 

To set the rating of your leaf, edit the intro at the top of the page. Set it to G, PG13, or R, based on the content. Down the road, these ratings could help users filter by rating type.