Guest Writer Guidelines

Do you love all things marketing? Do you find yourself standing in the shower making up analogies between online video and the shape of your shampoo bottle? Would you like to contribute to our magazine and share your knowledge of marketing with other small businesses?

If you answered “yes” to at least two out of three (we’ll give you a pass on the shampoo bottle) then you may have what it takes to be a Web.Search.Social writer! Here you’ll find some guidelines for submitting your guest post.

Content Guidelines

  • Your topic must cover some area of interest to businesses related to branding, web, search or social marketing. We aren’t looking for tech articles or geek-speak, nor are we looking to promote any particular product, service or company.
  • Choose your own topic! It’s your post so choose something you’re interested in and knowledgeable about.
  • There is no length requirement; we simply ask that you make your point in the amount of space you need to make it interesting and meaningful.
  • All posts must have an introductory hook. If you bore us, you’ll probably bore our readers.
  • Likewise, posts should have a conclusion so we know you’re done. Sum up your main points, give your opinion or ask a question.
  • It should go without saying (but we’ll say it anyway) that your post needs a good title. And please, no “secrets”.
  • Use subheadings where appropriate.
  • For more about formatting, see our style guide. We had a real copywriter put this together so it’s a little scary.
  • Please don’t be offended if we suggest changes. We’re domineering control-freaks.
  • Finally, we want to hear you in your posts. Don’t be afraid to show some personality. Point-by-point how-to posts may be useful but they can also be boring. Our goal is to inform and entertain at the same time.

Sharing And Linking

  • We only accept original content that has not been published in whole or in part on another site. Please do not reprint your article on another site since Google generally doesn’t like repeated content, and we like to keep Google happy. You can, however, publish a link on your website that links directly to your article on our site, or publish an excerpt of your article on your site with a link to the full article on ours.
  • Any content submitted to our site becomes the property of our magazine. We retain the right to share, market and use the content (with credit to you) for the purpose of promoting this magazine, our business or other related endeavors.
  • We will publish inline links in your article providing they have value related to your topic. We will not publish affiliate links.

Photos

  • We require all authors to have a Gravatar to publish along with their article. It must be G-rated.
  • We will choose a post image for you. If you’re skilled with a camera or have a photo that’s specifically relevant and you’d like us to use it, let us know and we’ll check it out.

Promotion

  • We want to promote you as the author and will publish your bio and a link to your website, blog, Twitter page, etc.  along with your article, providing it’s family-friendly. Please provide us with this information with your submission. The best bios tell a little about your professional experience, with something personal, too.
  • We would appreciate a link to your article from your site or blog. Cross-promotion will help us build community.
  • We expect you to be available to answer comments on your post on its publication date. If you do not answer comments then we reserve the right to remove your bio and promotional links.

Publication

  • We reserve the right not to publish your article. All content is reviewed by a group of 3-4 people and the decision to publish must be unanimous. We will only publish content that meets the standards and vision of this magazine. If we decide not to publish your article, we’ll let you know and you retain the right to publish it anywhere and in any way you choose.
  • In order to provide consistent and timely content to our readers, we have a set publication schedule with designated slots for guest authors. Depending on how many authors are in the queue, the timeliness of the content, the alignment of Jupiter and other things, we’ll let you know when you can expect to see your article in print. Please be patient! Our queue is often filled months ahead.