Do you ever accept guest post for your art blog? Would you like to, but don’t know how to start?
Make your life easier by creating a guest posting guidelines page that clearly states what you’re looking for in blog post submissions—like how often you publish posts by outside authors, and what the contributor can expect to receive in return.
Below are 8 tips for creating a straight-forward submissions guideline page:
1. Write an introduction
Welcome readers to your submissions page and invite them to share their stories with you. Explain that the guidelines on this page are there to make it easier for them to get their blog post published on your site.
2. Create an editorial calendar
Tell readers what topics you’re interested in having them write about and how often you post contributor content.
If your art blog is only about abstract art, emphasize that you’re only looking for topics as they pertain to abstract art. If, on the other hand, you have a “get to know other artists” section on your blog, then you could invite artists from various genres to share their personal art stories.
3. Give a suggested (or required) word count
Make it clear how many words you want submissions to be. If you normally post quick, witty, 300 word posts, don’t deviate just because you have a guest writer.
4. Outline your image expectations
Tell contributors how many images you need and what type of images you are looking for. This includes image resolution, width and height, horizontal or vertical shots, close-ups or distant shots, etc.
5. Ask for attribution details
Let your contributors know that they will need to write their own bylines, and be clear about how many characters, words, or lines you want those bylines to be. Then state whether or not you’ll be including a clickable link back to the contributor’s blog, website, or art store.
6. Specify which publication rights you want
Give a detailed explanation of what you’re asking for in terms publication rights.
Are you asking for exclusive use of the material so that the contributor cannot share that same piece anywhere else, or are you asking for non-exclusive rights?
Do you accept reprints or do you only take original, never-before-published content? And how long after posting the content on your art blog before the contributor can share that material with another site or publication?
7. Be upfront about payment
Will you give the contributor something in return for allowing you to publish their content and images? Will you give them a cash payment? Will you offer them a free subscription to your paid e-zine? Or will you simply include a generous byline at the end of the contribution as “payment”?
8. Explain exactly how to submit the guest post
Create an email account or email form on your art blog solely for guest post submissions, and make it clear whether you want images along with submitting content, or only after you’ve approved the content for publication on your art blog.
Just by being specific about what you expect from guest contributors, you’ll save hours weeding through unwanted submissions AND improve the quality of the submissions you do get—which will make your blogging life a lot easier.
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