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Content guidelines

Writing guidelines

Before you start writing your piece for publication, we ask that you consider the following:

Be clear about your purpose

Before you start writing or creating any content, be sure you are clear about:

  • The purpose of the content – who’s it for, what do they need, and how will it help them?
  • The reader journey – where is the reader coming from, and where do they need to go next?
  • The information you need to include – make a list of the questions the content needs to answer, and use that to structure the content (with the most important details at the top)

Give your article some structure.

In terms of the content, we prefer a minimum of 300 words but no more than 1,500 words divided into clear logical paragraphs. Give your article proper structure with eye-catching headings and subheadings where possible, to make it easier for users even on smaller screens and mobile phones.

  • Make it fluent, readable and error-free.
  • The content must be written in English, and be error-free in terms of spelling and grammar.
  • Use tools like Grammarly and the Oxford English Dictionary to check for grammar and spelling.
  • Avoid jargon, and explain acronyms and any legal or technical terms.
  • Be concise – avoid dense paragraphs and keep sentences to fewer than 25 words
  • Address the reader (‘You can apply…’, not ‘Customers can apply…’).
  • Use contractions (such as we’ll or don’t). Somehow, it softens your writing and makes it more relatable.

Make your titles pop!

  • Your titles and summaries need to be clear, concise and descriptive. The character limit is 60 to 80 for titles and 160 to 180 for summaries or extracts.
  • Where possible, page titles should be front-loaded with keywords, call-to-action, etc, first, followed by format type (consultation, guidance, etc) at the end of the title.

Be SEO friendly

  • To make your content easy to find in search engines, you should
  • Write titles, summaries and page content in terms people use to search.
  • Ensure your sub-headings are well structured
  • Avoid publishing information as images
  • Provide alternative text to use with images
  • Provide added metadata to use on the page or post.
  • Avoid duplicating content already on the website

Link to facts, examples and sources.

  • Links can be included in your content, but the links should be added to provide useful information to the audience, for example, as citations, or to back up any claims.
  • We will NOT accept spammy, non-informative links or black hat link building schemes. You can include links to media such as images, videos, maps, tweets etc., in the post. All in-text citation links must be fully referenced.
  • Links should be self-explanatory and make sense on their own
  • Write link text as an action where appropriate.
  • Internal links must open in the same tab, while external links open in a new tab.
  • Do not link page headings (e.g. H2).
  • Do not use full URLs or ‘click here’ as the link text.
  • There is no need to include the http:// or https:// or www in the link text.
  • When linking to another website, as far as possible, the link should point to the homepage or a page that is one level down from the homepage.
  • Avoid using the same link text for different links on the same page.
  • Get links to your page from authoritative, trusted websites

Be relevant and insightful.

  • We’re happy to promote writers and the brands, companies, clients, etc. that you represent. And we love to read interviews and reviews. But articles should stand by themselves and provide our readers with fresh and unique perspectives rather than regurgitating the ‘same-old’ content.

Don’t get all ‘commercial’ on us.

  • Please don’t include promotional content. We don’t like posts that are too promotional of either the writer’s own business or of someone else’s (i.e. articles that look and read like ads). Content should be useful and compelling to our readers – not self-serving.

Only submit original unpublished work.

  • Please only submit original, unpublished work. Please don’t submit articles already published on your blog or elsewhere. Additionally, do not distribute the material to other sites or magazines afterwards.
  • You must own the rights to all aspect of the guest post. By contacting us with your submission, you represent and warrant that the article is your original work and does not contain any objectionable or libellous material.
    Please write your article in full before submitting.
  • We do not consider pitches at this time, as the quality of many articles we’ve received in the past have not matched the quality of the pitch. If your article follows the guidelines above, then it’s likely to be accepted for publication.

Please note that our editors may make grammar, spelling, formatting, etc. changes to your draft as required. We reserve the right to determine the post title and tags for your submission to ensure consistency with the rest of the website.