Guest Post Guidance

NO BLATANT ADVERTISING 
Do not appear to be selling your services, your products or your expertise. Give people something they can use, they’ll reach out to you when they are ready.

BE UNIQUE
All the content you submit to be included in our blog needs to be unique. Unique means original, authored by you and not hosted anywhere else.

MUST BE NEW CONTENT
Make sure the content to be hosted here is new. Of course, you can cover topics you've covered before, mention ideas you've promoted before, relive moments you've lived before for the benefit of the reader.

LINKS
Links should enhance the reading experience. Linking to other resources that further explain concepts or products you mention briefly is fine. Make them relevant and they add to the enjoyment of the reader. 

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION
The best posts are written for humans first, then search engines. Write for humans, then optimise.

STYLE GUIDE

• Write with our ethos in mind - we promote free and open access to records wherever possible and avoid referring researchers to genealogy subscription/pay per view sites if at all possible. 
• If you submit an article that mentions businesses or companies in which you have a vested interest, disclose as much to us and the audience.
• Write from an objective viewpoint and convey valuable information to the reader. Focus on practical advice, actionable tips, and useful know-how about a specific genealogy or historical topic or approach to researching.
• Include case studies where possible; those that show the results of your research can engage our readers at the same time as providing them with guidance or inspiration for their own research.
• Bullet points are good. Meandering text is not.
• Use a fresh, accessible voice.
• Offer clear takeaways for our (and your) audience.

LENGTH
If your article is more than 500 words, split the body into relevantly sub-headed sections.

TITLES
The post title should include initial caps. Keep it to no more than 70 characters in length.

SUBHEADS
If possible, subheads should use H2, H1, etc. tags to be effective

LISTS
Where appropriate, the content should include bulleted lists and such for readability.

SUMMARY PARAGRAPH
Include an easy-to-read summary paragraph/section that provides the reader with the meat of your post.

GRAPHICS, IMAGES
Feel free to include images, charts, infographics, and the like - but only if they help convey a point. The format needs to be .jpg or .png. and no larger than 600 pixels wide. A mention of the source needs to be included at the bottom of the post.

A PICTURE OF YOU
Your headshot to be used in your Bio at the bottom of the post may be included if you would like. Send a recent headshot of up to 100 px x 100 px, and make sure your entire head and neck are in the picture.

BIO 
An author bio of you, up to 50-60 words can include a link and contact information / social media profiles

OUR DISTRIBUTION
We include our content (including your submission) in our streams via Twitter, Facebook (>5k followers) and Instagram. It may be picked up (syndicated) by other blogs.

We encourage all guest authors to place a Creative Commons license on their posts. If you wish to place a different license, please let us know when you send your post or ideas.

YOUR DISTRIBUTION
Please feel free to distribute your post through links in social media, and respond to any comments. Do not then re-post your submitted content to your blog or anywhere else. It needs to remain original content posted only here. You can, of course, discuss it, describe it and link to it. A snippet of the post can reside on your blog that links to the post on our blog and directs people back to the original content.

SUBMISSION
1. Submit articles in Microsoft Word / Google Doc format (no PDF or other file types, please), and images as email attachments / G-Drive links.

2. You should then receive an email with acceptance and further instructions (if any) or we will decline and provide feedback.

3. If we request any clarification or edits, please respond ASAP.

4. We will post it when we have a strategic space in our editorial calendar.

5. We reserve the right to edit the content for grammar, relevance, clarity and brevity, and to conform to the Free UK Genealogy voice and style. We may change your headline, too, so you might want to suggest alternatives. If you (the author) choose not to place a creative commons licence on your work, you retain copyright and may re-publish the article on personal or company blogs or sites after the article has been published on Free UK Genealogy. In such cases, we ask that you cite Free UK Genealogy and link to the original article on our site.

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