I have met a lot of great people since I first started this website and podcast … a lot of great people with GREAT insights. I have decided to post an invitation to write for First Things and open up my blog for submissions.  I read about Daniel Scocco’s practice at DailyBlogTips, convinced me to give it a try. He has produced a nice set of Guest Post Guidelines that inspired me to write my own.

invited

So, effective immediately, I will accept guest posts. Currently, I do not plan to publish more than one post per week. These will likely appear on Monday.

Content

Your post must be on one of four topics:

• Personal Growth
• Happiness or Pursuit of Passion
• Productivity
• Overcoming (e.g., negativity, failure, low self-worth, and so on)

Your post cannot be an advertisement for your product or the equivalent of a sponsored post. (However, I am working on an advertising category if you are interested.)

Guidelines

1. Your post must be original and not previously published either on the Web or in print.
2. You agree not to publish it anywhere else, including your own blog or Web site. You may, however, post a brief “tease” or summary on your site that links to the post.
3. You may provide up to three byline links: one for your blog or Web site, one for your bio or About page, and one for your Twitter username (optional).
4. Your post should be at least 500 words long and no more than 800 words (optimally, aim for 700 words).
5. You should also read:
   • “Anatomy of an Effective Blog Post” by Michael Hyatt
   • “9 Ways Become an Exceptional Guest Poster” by Darren Rowse
   • “Seven Steps to Writing a Successful Guest” Post by Jeff Goins.
   • 7 Crucial Tactics for Writing a Radically Successful Guest Post by Blog Tyrant (via CopyBlogger).

   These all contain some very helpful tips to maximize your post.

Editing

• I will likely copyedit your post for grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc. If I make substantive changes (unlikely), I will email the post back to you for your approval before posting.
• I may provide a short introduction or conclusion to your post to provide context or the rationale as to why I think the post is important. I will make sure that my comments are set off from yours stylistically, so that my readers are clear that these are mine and not yours.

Disclaimer

I understand the work that it takes to write a blog post. However, the fact that you have written a post and submitted it to me does not obligate me to publish it. The only guest posts I will publish are those that in my sole judgment add value to my readers.  If I do not approve the post, I will try my best to communicate with you the “why” of that and see if there is something that can be done to enable moving forward.

Submissions

If your post meets the above guidelines:

• Please email it to me for consideration. Due to my personal time constraints, it usually takes me 2–3 weeks to respond.
• Please include a one to two-sentence byline that includes what you do, along with your blog address and your Twitter and/or Facebook address.
• Please include the size of your readership: number of blog readers, Facebook friends or fans, and Twitter followers (this won’t favor anyone … I’m just curious who you reach).
• Please confirm that you are willing to engage with my readers in the comments about your post. This is hugely important and a non-negotiable. I want to value my readers’ time.
• Please include the post in the body of the e-mail. DO NOT include it as an attachment. Also, please do not include HTML coding.

If I reject your post, you are obviously free to do whatever you want with it, including publishing it elsewhere. Also, please put your post in the body of the email rather than as an attachment.