How to Contribute a Guest Column to Blogging Bistro

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
Google+
YouTube
SlideShare
Snapchat
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 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 that they can implement immediately.

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 post 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).

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 lists

Quote expert sources whenever possible and always hyperlink to the primary source material.

Include screenshots, original images, royalty-free stock photos, or a video to visually enhance your topic.
- 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, and an attribution to the photographer.
- Size images and graphics no larger than 650 px wide and send them as JPEG or PNG attachments.

When you reference other sites (such as in a list-style post), include the full URL of the page.

At the end of your article, encourage discussion by asking an engaging question.

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.

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).

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.

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 several pitches per day and there are not enough hours in the day to respond to them. Simply submit your 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.

We will acknowledge receipt of your post via email, usually within 48 hours.

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.

Thanks for participating in the Blogging Bistro community!