Writer's Guidelines
	Do you have a story you'd like to publish and share with our readers? The information below will explain the process.

If our readers are the lifeblood of this website, then our articles are the vital sustenance that sustain us and them.

If you think you can provide high quality content that would be appropriate for this site and its readers, we'd be open to hearing from you and discussing a suitable form to accept your submissions.

The broad range of topics on this site allow us to consider many different story ideas, just so long as they offer interest and benefit to our readers.
 

Typical Travel Insider Readers

Travel Insider readers are generally better educated, more sophisticated and successful, well traveled, and moderately au fait with electronics.  They tend to be middle aged or older.

They have money and are willing to spend it if prudent, but they don't mindlessly spend vast amounts of money on deluxe items that in reality offer no added benefit compared to less expensive alternatives.  They want to know why they should pay more and what extra they would get if they do so, and are as appreciative at being advised not to spend more as they are at being encouraged to do so.

Readers are interested in getting detailed and hard hitting information about the topics they are researching.  They don't want recycled press releases and meaningless gloss.  They want meaty factual and reliably accurate material, and they want to be given an unfiltered exposure to a subject's minuses as well as pluses.

About 80% of readers live in the US.

Topics

As you can see, The Travel Insider has a broad range of topics, generally falling under the rubric of 'Travel and Travel Related Technology'.

We are open to most topics that could be contained within this 'broad church'.

Articles must have something of 'value' within them - something that educates or informs or assists the reader.

Please avoid travelogues

Note that readers are generally uninterested in generic travelogue type stories that recount your own travel experiences and observations.

Suggestion - re-target such stories and make them instead destination pieces, telling readers what to expect, see, and do themselves if they were to go on a similar travel itinerary.

Article Length

Articles can be any length at all, with a minimum article length probably about 750 words, and preferably 1000 words or more.

If an article exceeds about 1500 - 2000 words, consideration should be given to splitting it into multiple pages.

Article Format

Articles typically comprise (as does this one too) :

• A title/heading (a subtitle is optional)

• A small picture (you can provide or we can obtain)

• A caption/commentary loosely linked to the picture

• Rarely but acceptably, additional photos or graphics/images

• If applicable, a 'contents' listing of the pages that comprise a multi-page article

• An introduction

• A series of sections, each with a heading and perhaps with sub-headings

• Links to related content if appropriate

Style

Articles are preferred to be written primarily in the third person rather than first person.  Unless you're a well known personality, or have some truly interesting and special experience to recount personally, readers are not interested in you.  Their focus is on themselves, and what they can experience and expect, and so your article should be similarly focused.

When talking about people seeing/doing/experiencing the things you are writing about, it is preferable to phrase such things in direct terms of 'you' rather than in impersonal abstract terms of 'they'.

If necessarily referring to yourself, it is generally preferable to use a first person plural 'we' form rather than first person singular 'I' form, except where the context would make this nonsensical or significantly incorrect.

Writing should be reasonably direct and straightforward, without too much flowery or frilly ornamentation.  American style English is preferred.

Original Content

Any articles accepted/published must be substantially original in content.  Google penalizes websites that duplicate 'off the shelf' content that can already be found elsewhere online, and so we do not accept such material.

Submission

Please do not send unsolicited materials.  Please contact us first to discuss your story idea.

Materials can subsequently be submitted in plain text format, Word .doc format (not .docx), or in simple html.

Payment

Due to the very weak linkage between article publication and income earning, we generally seek to avoid making direct cash payments for articles accepted and published.

We can provide fair author attribution, links back to your own site, or to products you promote/sell, and are open to any methodology that allows a win-win for you and us, as well as for our readers.