How to Contribute a Guest Column to Blogging Bistro

These guidelines are updated regularly. Latest update: June 24, 2018.
Would you like to share what you’re learning about blogging and social media? Become a guest contributor to Blogging Bistro.

Download & print

I prepared a nicely-formatted copy of our Guest Contributor Guidelines that you can print. Click below to request your copy.

I Want the Guest Post Guidelines

We accept guest articles on a variety of topics:

Business blogging
Facebook brand/business (fan) pages
Facebook Live video streaming
Facebook advertising
Instagram
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn
YouTube
SlideShare
Social media in general
Internet marketing
Web-based writing
WordPress (such as cool plug-ins you’ve discovered)
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tips
Reviews of social media tools, apps, and books
Tutorials (video tutorials or written tutorials with screenshots)
Personal stories about what you’re learning in regards to blogging or social media
Tips for social media newbies

Our readership

The Blogging Bistro audience is comprised mainly of business professionals (particularly entrepreneurs, authors, small business owners and those in the non-profit sector).

Our readers classify themselves as non-techies, and are often new to blogging and social media. They’re here to learn. They want specific, practical ideas they can implement immediately.

What we’re looking for

We are most interested in step-by-step tutorials that break down a complex task into bite-sized, doable steps. Video tutorials (or videos that complement a written tutorial) are encouraged.

Submissions should be written in an informal, conversational tone. Talk directly to the reader; avoid stilted third-person phrasing such as, “Business owners today…” or “Brands must engage their audience…”

Share your personal journey. What new discoveries are you making about blogging, social media, and digital marketing? We’re all on this journey together, so let’s share what we’re learning together.

What NOT to submit

We do not accept articles that come across as sales-y (subtle or blatant pitches for products or services, as well as internal links to companies/products/services that aren’t directly related to your topic).

We are not looking for general articles about why people should be blogging or using social media — those topics have been covered by every blog on the planet (including this one).

However, let’s say you use Instagram and discovered a trick that increased your engagement by 30% in 30 days. That’s something our readers would love to hear about!

No pitches, please

We do NOT accept email pitches that ask us what we think of your idea. We do not open them. We do not read them. We do not acknowledge them in any way. We delete them.

Why?

We receive many spammy pitches every day. And we hate spam. If you’re serious about guest posting for us, follow our guidelines and submit your polished article, bio, and headshot.

Yes, that requires work on your part. But it shows us that you’re a serious writer with serious intentions. We respect that.

View samples

Get great ideas for how to structure your article from our other guest bloggers. View guest posts we’ve already published in the Guest Articles category of our blog.

STOP.

Before you continue reading these guidelines, read 6 surefire ways to guarantee your guest blogging pitch gets instantly rejected.

Still with me? Good.

Submission Guidelines

Your article must be tightly-focused on a single aspect of social media. We prefer step-by-step tutorials for how use a specific tool and practical action steps readers can begin using immediately.

Your article can be any length, but should be tightly written.

Accommodate skimmers and scanners:
- Write short sentences
- Write 2-to-3-sentence paragraphs
- Break up main points with bold sub-heads and numbered or bulleted lists

Quote expert sources whenever possible and always hyperlink to the primary source material.
At the end of your article, encourage discussion by asking an engaging question.

Images, graphics, and videos

Include screenshots, original images, royalty-free stock photos, or a video to visually enhance your topic.

If people in the images or videos are identifiable, provide a model release.
For videos, include a link to the source (such as YouTube or Vimeo).
For stock photos, include a link to the source from which you downloaded the image, copyright and licensing information, and an attribution to the photographer.

Size images and graphics no larger than 680 px wide and send them as JPEG or PNG attachments.

How to format your guest post (the nitpicky bits)

Draft your guest post in Word (.doc or .docx).
Do not use special formatting (e.g., bold, italics, centering, larger font) for the title, subheadings, etc. We will add formatting for you.
Put a suggested title for your post at the top, left justified. When crafting your title, ask yourself, “What would someone google to find this article?”
On the next line, insert your byline.
Do not indent paragraphs.
Left justify the entire article.
Space ONCE after all end punctuation (do a Find and Replace).
Hit the Enter or Return key one time at the end of each paragraph. Don’t insert a blank line between paragraphs or use the automatic paragraph spacing feature.
Delete extra spaces at the ends of paragraphs.
Do not use headers or footers.
When you reference other sites (such as in a list-style post), include the full URL of the page.
Carefully edit your article for correct grammar, usage, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.

If we accept your submission for publication, we reserve the right to edit as we deem necessary.

Author bio and headshot

Include a 1-sentence author bio at the end of your article. Your bio must state your real first and last name you may share a link to your own website, blog, or social media page. We do not accept links to third party sites that hire bloggers to write articles on their behalf.
Attach a good-quality headshot of yourself that you’ve resized to approximately 250x250px. We reserve the right not to use your headshot if it does not meet our quality standards.

Where to send your submission

Email your submission as a Word attachment (HTML is fine) to info@bloggingbistro.com. In the Subject line, put Guest Post Submission for Blogging Bistro.

Acceptance and publication

We will acknowledge receipt of your post via email, usually within 48 hours. If you don’t hear from us within three days, send a follow-up email to ensure that your post didn’t get routed to our spam folder or overlooked.

Give our team 2-3 weeks to review your article. After we complete the review, we will let you know whether it has been accepted for publication.

If we accept your post, we will publish it within three months of acceptance. When we schedule the post, we will email you the URL.

Legalities and payments

Blogging Bistro, LLC, does not pay for guest blog articles.

By submitting your article, you are granting Blogging Bistro, LLC non-exclusive permission to use your article at https://ift.tt/2wd1Jqt. You retain all other rights. Anyone contacting us for reprint permission will be given your name and email address.

Your submission can be an adaptation (not a complete reprint) of an article you’ve posted on your personal blog at least six months ago (we do not accept articles previously published on commercial sites, on other people’s blogs, or in magazines/newspapers). If your article has appeared in another publication, please include the name of the publication, the date of publication, and a website link.

We ask that you not allow your guest post published at BloggingBistro.com to appear in any other venue for at least three months after publication.

Thanks for participating in the Blogging Bistro community!