Contributing Blogger Guidelines

Updated June 2013

To become a regular contributor for Indy with Kids, bloggers must guest post four times before being considered a contributor. Posts can be submitted via email (katy@indywithkids.com). At that time, a formal letter of invitation with a username and password will be sent to you so that you may sign into the site and post your own articles under an “author” account. The Publisher/Editor will push them through at the appropriate time and post them in the appropriate places.

General Guidelines

At this time, bloggers may not contact a venue on behalf of Indy with Kids or for the purpose of writing a review to be placed on the Indy with Kids website. All requests must be made directly from the Publisher. A monthly (or more frequently) email will be sent out with “offers” for bloggers to review venues, etc. If there is a specific place that you would like to review, please contact the Publisher (Katy) prior to conducting a visit or call. This is important for the purpose of not reporting too much on the same location, for the purpose of not interfering with any other arrangements that have been made previously.

Indy with Kids only conducts reviews of positive places for families to visit. If you had  a bad experience, do not write about this venue. If you have a conflict of interest (ex. your sister owns/works at/works with/etc. the venue), make sure that this is clear in your post. In the event that you receive free services, product or gift card giveaways, complimentary admission or special access privileges, this MUST be made clear in the post (even if it is mentioned in the body of your post, it must all be mentioned in a disclaimer at the end of the post).

Giveaways will be conducted by the Publisher (Katy).

At this time, contributing bloggers may not accept payment for a review or placement on the Indy with Kids website. If you have questions or requests about this, please contact Katy.

Content

Content must be written by you and becomes the property of Indy with Kids. You may not re-publish the same article on your own website or any other website, it must be original content. This is not to say that you cannot write about this venue on your site, it just must be very different from what you submit to Indy with Kids.

At this time we are only accepting posts/articles pertaining to events/venues within 100 miles of downtown Indianapolis.

Links

Please use internal links (links to other content on the Indy with Kids website) when relevant, this may also be added in later by the Editor/Publisher. External links can only lead to the website of the venue/event or their Facebook page. Personal affiliate links are not permitted.

Images

Please use 3-5 images in your post. By submitting your images, you are giving Indy with Kids the rights to use the images in marketing and promotion on the Indy with Kids website and social media, as well as any printed publications. These images will also be branded with the Indy with Kids logo. The images used MUST be your own. If any children appear in them, you MUST have written permission from their parents/guardians or they must be your own children.

Bylines/Profiles

Please set up a free account at Gravatar.com and upload your headshot. Use the email address you want associated with your writer profile. Fill out your profile using the guidelines below. In addition, please send a 125×125 pixels headshot to Indy with Kids with a brief profile/description about yourself. Profiles may only include one link (either to your personal blog or social media). An additional link will be added for those bloggers who have an affiliation with a social group that is a part of the Indy with Kids network (ex. theCityMoms).

If you have any questions, concerns or other thoughts, please contact Katy Mann (Publisher) directly. 317.455.5289 or katy@indywithkids.com

 

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