Pro blog guidelines for contributors

We are always looking for interesting articles, case studies and news relating to digital cultural heritage. Do you have an idea? Then get in touch with Susan to discuss it and set a deadline for your submission. Once your idea is approved, please use the following guidelines to ensure your blog is Pro-ready.

Image: T he Wellcome Library CC BY

Writing

We believe in brevity. So keep it succinct. We do not give you a word limit, but keep your article only as long as it needs to be.
If the previous point is too cryptic, a good way to determine the right length is to check if you have answered the who, what, why, when, where and how of your story.
Write for the layperson. Watch out for that jargon, because our readers come from a range of backgrounds and we want you to keep them in mind while writing. If your topic is about a technical development, then ensure that you have a layperson-friendly introduction explaining the relevance of your news to the cultural heritage sector.
Use examples to illustrate your points. Or anecdotes.
Look for a hook - something that will trap your reader’s attention. After all, if you take the trouble to write it, we want everyone to read it.
Leave out the self-promotion. Yes, you want everyone to know about your cool project. But let your work speak for itself.
If your blog post is about a development within a project, please ensure that you have cleared the content with all the relevant people.

Images

We’ll need at least one image to go with your article. If it is more than 500 words, then at least two. Sound clips and videos are also welcome.
Examples of such images are screenshots, project or organisation logos, event or group work photos etc. If you are unsure what image to use or cannot find an appropriate one, you could also use creative commons attributed image e.g. from Europeana or Wikimedia Commons. Please be aware that we can only publish images on our blog that are either out of copyright, or under at least a CC BY-SA licence.
Provide the appropriate attribution for the provided media files. For example: ‘Image: Vinos y Finos : Sanlucar de Barrameda, [1920-1925] Biblioteca Valenciana Digital (Public domain).’
If you are unsure about this please do not hesitate to ask.

Publishing

We want to get your article out there while it is still relevant. So please take the deadlines seriously. However, if you know that theres going to be a delay, please let us know as soon as possible. And likewise, we sometimes have to postpone the publication of articles due to external factors.

Dissemination

Once your blog post is published, we will disseminate it on Twitter and sometimes through our newsletters or the Allez Culture Facebook group if relevant. If you are on Twitter, please do retweet once the blog link is out there. And if your blog is part of a campaign, please share the Twitter handle/ hashtags with us.