The OpenLebo Blog contains articles written to help members understand important issues in Mt. Lebanon.
A lot of effort goes into putting together the content you see on the OpenLebo Blog; research, writing, graphic design, and promotion help make it one of the most useful resources for our community members.
From time to time we do publish articles from partners and outside writers that match our content framework and our style. If you’d like to submit a guest blog for consideration, your pitch or final piece should meet the criteria outlined on this page. If it does, go ahead and submit your idea via the form at the bottom of the page and a team member will review it and get back to you quickly.
Thanks for reading the OpenLebo Blog!
TheOpenLebo Blog Audience #
The OpenLebo audience includes all stakeholders in our community including residents, parents, students, business owners, school and municipal staff, elected officials, and visitors.
We often cover topics discussing of interest to our audience. If you’re not sure what topics are currently of interest, take a look at the forums for information on what people are currently commenting on, or visit a few of the more recently updated and active groups. You can also review the activity feed to see the most recent comments in the community. Of course, you can also review our blog and see what has already been published.
Generally speaking, articles should be long-form, of general interest to our readers, well-researched and informative.
Article Length and Style #
Our guest blogs are typically longer pieces that offer educational content and value toOpenLebo readers. Your post should be at least 600 words. Guest posts under that amount will not be considered.
We particularly like the following article styles for our guest blogs:
How-To Post #
This piece details how to do something. It’s educational in nature and walks through a process with instructions, and sample images or videos.
List-Based Post #
This type of article displays its theme and purpose through multiple examples in a list format.
Infographic Post #
This type of article focuses on an infographic or series of individual graphics to make a point or to display specific data.
What We Don’t Publish #
There are some things we can’t accept:
- Anything that’s been covered on our blog before. Please do a search of our site before submitting a query. Use the search tool on the filter bar.
- Anything that’s too promotional.
- Anything that’s offensive or inaccurate.
Images and Other Media #
We don’t have designers or graphic artists on staff. We don’t have any staff at all. This is a volunteer-managed site, so if you have a need to include graphics on your post you’ll need to source them yourself or design them yourself. Canva.com is a great resource for designing your own graphics.
If you do have a specific image or another piece of media (photos, videos, audio, graphics, etc) please make sure it is copyright-free and as high resolution as possible. You can source photos from free stock sites like pexels.com or unsplash.com which do not require attribution.
How We Promote Our Guest Posts #
Blog posts are shown in the sidebar of the Activity Feed, and in other areas of the site. You are free to promote your blog posts by sharing the link with your friends, family, and in your own social networks. When your idea or piece of content has been accepted, we’ll promote your user account as author and your website (or another single promotional link) will be displayed in your author bio.
Make sure we have your social usernames filled out in your user profile so people can tag you when they share your article.
The Legalese #
- Submissions must meet OpenLebo quality standards in order to get published. Editors reserve the right to reject contributions at their discretion.
- We only accept original and unique content. Articles that are (or will be) posted on your own personal site or other locations cannot be accepted. We do encourage you to share links to the post on your social media channels – a lot!
- The OpenLebo team reserves the right to edit your guest blog content as we see fit, and update it in the future in order to maintain its accuracy and relevance.
- OpenLebo reserves the right to include links to other OpenLebo content, such as additional blog posts, ebooks, and other downloadable guides.
- In rare cases, contributed posts may be replaced by other posts at the same url.
- OpenLebo reserves the right to use information shared with us on social media channels and other locations. Such information may include but is not limited to, the blog author’s likeness and biographical information.
Guest Blog Submission #
When you’re ready to submit you can fill out the submission form based on the type of submission you’re making below. Click the link for the appropriate submission type.
Article Pitch – You’re pitching an idea for a new story. Just some basic information to be created by us or by you in the future. Submit your article pitch here.
Completed Article Submission – You’re submitting a full completed article for publishing on our blog. Submit your full article here.
