Writing a Blog Post for Blue Trunk Foundation, Inc.
Thank you for your interest in contributing to the Blue Trunk Blog! We are looking for original content about accessibility, aging and travel. Submissions under consideration or already published elsewhere will not be accepted. We welcome submissions from all individuals. You do not need to identify as having a disability or health condition to contribute. What is Blue Trunk looking for?
Topics: We are looking for personal experiences, best practices, historical perspectives, and resources related to accessibility, aging, and travel. A post should be clearly focused. For example, don’t write about traveling in a wheelchair. Instead, write about riding trains in India in a wheelchair.
Headline: The ideal headline is 6 words. It should summarize the post without repeating the first sentence. Select key words that best reflect the content of your post. Include a positive action verb.
Body: A post should be 1000-1500 words. Write in an inverted pyramid. The most important sentence should come first. Paragraphs should be short, containing 40-50 words. Citations should be embedded as hyperlinks.
Image: Graphics should be photos, drawings, or other copyright free images related to the post. All images should be 600dpi. The image must also include a caption and a description of the content of the photo so that those who use screen readers can also enjoy them. For example, if you take a picture of two people signing, you should describe this in addition to a few words that depict the scene.
Author Bio(s): Bios should be no more than 500 characters. Include why you are qualified to write on this subject and why it is important to you. Provide details that give insight into your personality—humor, kindness, excitement, outgoing/shy, in pain, conflicted. You may include a link to a professional website, such as LinkedIn. Authors also have the option of having their post published anonymously or under a pseudonym.
Headshot(s): Please include a personal headshot. The headshot should be 300dpi.
Other things to keep in mind:
Don’t just tell readers what to do, explain how to do it. Include things like checklists, step-by-step instructions, or links to resources mentioned.
Don’t self-promote. If you are a business please contact us about sponsored posts.
Disclose any affiliations in your author bio.
Avoid jargon. Remember your readers will come from all walks of life.
Include sources and cite them.
Incorporate personal details. Let the reader see why this topic is important to you and how you feel about it.
If you have a story to share, but face any obstacles to writing a blog (e.g. difficulty typing), please reach out to us about potential accommodations.
Use respectful language when discussing people with disabilities and older adults. If you are unsure of the proper terminology, please see the following resources:
Person-first language
Older adults terminology
What is our editorial process?
We will confirm receipt of your submission within a few business days. Unfortunately, we cannot accept all submissions. You will be notified of our decision in 2-4 weeks. Accepted posts will undergo an editorial process. This may involve multiple rounds of revisions. Blue Trunk’s intent is to ensure that your post reaches the audience it deserves. Blue Trunk retains final editorial decision rights. How do we promote your post?
We will link to your post on Blue Trunk’s social media profiles. Submission instructions:
Send the following to blog@bluetrunk.org
A word document containing your headline, post, author bio(s), and image caption.
A tiff, jpeg, or png of the image related to your post. The image should be 600dpi. Maximum one image per post.
A tiff, jpeg, or png of your headshot. The image should be 300dpi. On posts written by more than one author, you may submit one headshot per person.
Submission guidelines:
Bloggers must be open and honest regarding affiliation to brands, companies, products, and the like. Clearly state any sponsorship or other affiliations in the article itself or author bio.
Blue Trunk encourages bloggers to use in-text links to cite sources throughout their articles. If you quote or reference others’ work in your blog post, please make sure to give them credit through a properly formatted citation or in-text link. You can also use this format to link readers to social media pages, such as Facebook or Twitter, as necessary.
Blue Trunk also encourages bloggers to include photos in their posts. Bloggers may only use images and photographs they own. Stock photos and photos owned by parties other than the blogger are not allowed. If other people are present in the photos, make sure you have their consent to share the photo on our website. Please do not share any photos of minors (children under the age of 18) unless they are your own children or you have documented permission from the minor’s parent or guardian. Vulgar, explicit, or graphic photos of any kind are not permitted.
Blue Trunk is not able to offer compensation for blog posts.
Blue Trunk reserves the right to edit blog posts for grammar, content, spelling, etc. We also reserve the right to decline posts that do not meet Blue Trunk’s guidelines or that are deem unsuitable for publication on our website.
We look forward to reading your submission! If you have any questions, please contact us at blog@bluetrunk.org
Please Read and Agree Before Submission:
The author warrants and represents that it has full rights and authority to provide material to Blue Trunk Foundation, Inc. (“Blue Trunk”).
The author is the owner of all of the rights which may be claimed in the submitted materials (including any copyright); or (ii) author’s employer is the owner of all rights which may be claimed in the submitted materials (including any copyright) and has authorized author to make this submission and grant the rights specified in this agreement; or (iii) to the extent that someone other than author or author’s employer contributed to the submitted materials, including by a work made for hire arrangement, author have obtained the necessary consent(s) from any and all such person(s) and entities that own any copyrights and other rights in the submitted materials to make this submission and to grant the nonexclusive rights specified in this agreement.
The author is authorized to: (i) make this submission; (ii) enter into this license; and (iii) grant the royalty-free nonexclusive rights specified in this agreement. By granting the worldwide rights specified here, the author is not violating any obligation owed to a third party or violating any rights of any third parties (including but not limited to any copyrights held by third parties or the right of privacy of any third party) and that the submitted materials represent author’s original work.
The author hereby consents that Blue Trunk may use any such photos, videos, or likeness on its web site or in its written material without notice or for any compensation. The author represents that it has full authority and right to provide such photos, videos, or likeness.
For valuable consideration, receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged including the contributing of material by the author to Blue Trunk for web site or use of the material the author of the material shall defend, indemnify and hold Blue Trunk, its directors, officers, officials, employees, agents and volunteers harmless from any and all claims, injuries, damages, losses or suits including reasonable attorney fees and costs, arising out of or resulting from the acts, negligence, misrepresentation, libel or slander, violation of trademark, intellectual property rights or copy right law, including errors or omissions in supplying material for Blue Trunk use on its web site or otherwise unless such action was due to the sole causal negligence of Blue Trunk. In addition, Blue Trunk shall not be liable, in contract or tort, for any special, indirect, consequential, or liquidated damages including specifically, but without limitation, loss of profit or revenue, loss of capital, loss of goodwill, or any claim of third parties.