Guest Post Requirements

As of 01/01/2012, we will only accept guest posts on a complimentary basis from individuals who would like to share their views, or individuals wishing to promote their own site that is related to self-reliance and living a more self-directed and self-managed life. That means sites that focus on topics such as personal finance, cooking at home, frugal living, vegetable gardening, do it yourself, etc. If you are the owner of such a site, and are interested in providing a guest post, please adhere to the following standards which are established for consistent quality, fairness to all writers, and consideration for our readers.

If you’re writing to promote someone else’s site, or your own site that isn’t dedicated to self-reliance, we’re asking for a modest guest post fee to help cover the cost of operating this site and to provide a bit of compensation to regular writers of this site.

Our blog is about self-reliance, so every article needs to be focused on how we can be more self-directed, self-managed, and successful in life through our own efforts. If you’re wondering about the concept of self-reliance, then here is a good article to read to get a better understanding of self-reliance.   Articles should be:

  • written well
  • focused on one point
  • provide a good “take away” for the reader
  • include (or suggest) a photo or graphic, and include a URL so we can give credit to its origin
  • provide a mini-bio for the author in third person

It’s clear that many would like to write an article just for the links that it might contain. This is fine, but the writer needs to provide the “take away” for the reader in order to earn their own “take away” in terms of links. So, if you have a good article, then feel free to provide two links, but be mindful:

  • two links maximum, related to the post
  • no sales landing pages or affiliate links
  • all links must be in context (with the article title, not simply something mentioned in the article)
  • links must be transparent to the reader (they know where they’re going)
  • use descriptions for the anchor text, not “click here”
  • no duplicate links, if you want two, link to another page

Adhering to these guidelines will help you maintain reader attention and prevent them from feeling used or betrayed. It will also help you get your article approved and posted.

Examples are always helpful. Here is an example of a well written guest post on SRW: http://www.self-reliance-works.com/2011/05/six-subtle-things-that-can-help-you-in-a-job-interview/

Here are other things you can do when submitting an article for consideration:

  • identify tags
  • submit more than one article
  • start a series
  • suggest a new category
  • apply to become a regular contributor

If you’d like to write an article and submit for my consideration, I’m willing to give you a try. If you’re on target with respect to my expectations, then you’d be welcome to guest post repeatedly. If you have lots of things to discuss, then propose a series of articles, and I’ll get them linked up with one another.

Our theme at SRW is self-reliance, so everything needs to point to being more self-reliant and self-directed in our lives. Our first goal is to help others, so please make that your goal as well.

Clair Schwan

Owner and Managing Editor