Guidelines for submitting a guest post

OPINION EDITORIAL (OP-ED) Maritime UK guest posts

Op-eds are a great way for maritime stakeholders and independent contributors to deliver an engaging, thought-provoking opinion, commentary or outlook on the sector. They are usually 600 words in length, and are featured alongside a headshot of the author, with their title and company name.  

What we want from an op-ed

• As the name suggests, we want an opinionated piece of content
  
• Personality and engaging copy throughout
  
• Thought-provoking or challenging ideas that will inspire business decision-makers
  
• Fresh opinions that add another voice/angle to a certain topic (not just repeating what many others have previously said)
  
• Accompanying high-res forward-facing headshot of the author, along with a title and company name (where necessary)
  

What we don’t want

• Copy that fails to give an opinion – 600 words on the recent performance of a specific industry is unlikely to tick the box.
  
• Copy that is overtly promotional/self-serving to the author.
  
• A long list of other people’s opinions – we want op-eds to show what the author thinks, not others.
  
• Stat-heavy copy – unless referencing statistics to prove a point, they are just filler and are probably not necessary
  
• Multiple bylines – to give op-eds more credibility and a stronger message, it is always better that they are bylined with one author, not multiple parties.
  
• Copy that is more than 25 words above/below the word count of 600 words – unfortunately we have a limited space in print and it’s always better if the author cuts/bulks out copy themselves rather than us in-house.
  

NOTE: phrasing and grammar may be amended but the meaning will not change.

Once written, please send to: rstaines@maritimeuk.org