guest post guidelines

Hey! Tasha here.

First, let me say how awesome it is for you to show interest in partnering with us on our blog. 

We love working with creative writers to educate our audience about a variety of topics in the world of business and entrepreneurship. By partnering together, we want to showcase your expertise while promoting your brand as a trusted resource in your space.

Here are some guidelines and recommendations for each piece of content that you submit.

List of Desired Blog Post Themes and Topics

In general, posts we accept for guest content fall under the following themes:

• Processes // Planning // Goals
• Finances // Taxes // Contracts
• Copywriting // SEO
• Social Media // Ads // Campaigns
• Branding // Networking // Collaboration
• Accessibility // Legal Notices
• Email Marketing // Blogging
• Tutorials // Training
• Behind-the-Scenes // Ideas for Business
• Working Remotely // Co-Working

While brainstorming what to write about, ask yourself these questions:

• Will this topic be relevant to the Lavender Turtle audience?
• Will this post offer solutions (that don’t require the purchase of my product)?
• Am I qualified to write about this topic?
• What unique insight can I bring to this topic?

When in doubt, send us a message.

Guest Post Content Tips

Our blog is informal, conversational, humorous, and engaging.  

We’ve built a high level of trust with our customers because they know we will never push something on them that is not in their best interests, even when that means telling them not to use our services. Being overly self-promotional destroys that trust. You’ll sound sales-y and we look like jerk faces, even if your advice is super good. Booo! Don’t do that.

Instead, use our blog to showcase your expertise to potential new customers. If people find your content valuable, they’ll go to the ends of the earth to find you and we’ll be happy to make warm intros when appropriate. 

Okay, so here are some tips…

Posts should be 1,000 – 1,500+ words in length. This is a great start. Although I have the attention span of a gnat, our audience enjoys reading longer pieces if the content will benefit their business. 

Use humorous headlines. Reading should be fun. This makes our blog more enjoyable.  Here are some examples of the types of headlines we may use:

• SPAM BYE! How to Guard Against Nonsense and Shenanigans
• Got Naked ALTs? Here are 10 tips to improve site accessibility
• 5 Ways to Be Productive When You’d Rather Binge-Watch TV

If you need some ideas for a title, just ask. We’re here to support you. 

Chunk your content, so it’s easy to read. This means including headings, subheadings, bullets, and other visual elements (that will complement our brand) to increase the readability of your piece. If you need pics, let us know. We’ve got a few or 100 to share. 

Write in a natural, conversational tone. Speak directly to the audience. Here are some real examples from our blog that represent our tone: 

Example 1

…The root cause was narrowed down to something big tech word hardware configuration error blah blah. Ugh, it doesn’t matter, the average user doesn’t really care why and neither did I…

Example 2

…My feelings about social media are equivalent to how you feel about going to the dentist. I cannot think of a single person on the planet who enjoys paying some random person in a lab coat to stick sharp objects in their mouth (unless you ARE the dentist 🙂 )…

Example 3

..Read that again. You DO NOT have to be an ace in the English language to write impactful copy. You DO need to be able to put yourself into your customers’ shoes to determine what they want to hear about what you need to tell them. Follow these steps and you’ll be cranking out beautiful nuggets of written wisdom faster than you can say, “I found this VW minibus on eBay and am considering becoming a hermit in the mountains of Utah to avoid this task…”

All content MUST BE ORIGINAL. The content you provide should be unique to us and should not have been published anywhere else on the web. 

Always name your sources. I realize that your 2nd cousin twice removed may have read something on social media that they swear is legit, but our audience doesn’t know that, so please make sure you are using reputable sources with real credibility. Just because it is on the interwebs doesn’t make it true.

Talk about your real-world experience. You don’t need decades of experience to speak to our audience. There’s something unique about what you’ve experienced that can be shared with our audience. Be real about what you know, the mistakes you’ve made, and the things you’ve learned along the way. 

Take a position. If you disagree with something it is okay to talk about it and why you think they got it wrong or why it could be misleading. Our audience will benefit from hearing different points of view.

Other Things to Include in Your Guest Post

• Statistics. Back those thangs up with facts, please! Use illustrations if necessary, just don’t make up random stuff. 
• Outbound Links. If you’d like to share external sources to support your content, please include those in your piece. You’re not allowed to add affiliate links, however.
• Actionable Takeaways. Your post should provide the next steps. What should the audience do with this information? 

NOTE: Lavender Turtle Creative reserves full editorial control and may edit or tweak submissions as we see fit. These tweaks include anything from removing too much self-promotion to optimizing for SEO, edits both small and large, and more.

Guest Post Logistics

• Choose a Topic & Title. First, we’ll collaborate and agree on a topic and title. Don’t start writing until we’ve done this!
• Choose a Deadline. Once we’ve agreed on the topic, give me a deadline for when you expect to submit the article for us to review.
• Submit for Review. After you’ve written your draft, send it to me as a Google Doc. Use these sharing settings:
  • On – Anyone with the link;
  • Access – Can edit.
• Make Revisions. I’ll make edits to this Doc, so make a copy if you’d like to keep an original version of your writing.
• Send your bio. Send a short, couple-sentence bio with high-res headshot. This can include a link to your LinkedIn profile and/or website.
• Post Scheduled. I’ll let you know when the post is scheduled to go live.

Guest Post Promotion

Please feel free to promote your post through your social media, newsletter, or link to it from your blog.

You can even include a snippet of the post on your blog, with a link back to the original content on our site (this is important so that we both avoid duplicate content penalties).

Ready to Pitch? 

Submit your Post Idea for Review