Member Spotlight
We are a small online retailer that sells gorgeous babies and children’s bed linen and homewares to Australian mums. Read more
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What say you?
What kind of personality does your business have?
37% - Jovial and social
50% - Serious and down-to-earth
12% - Glamorous and arty
Article style guide
Word count
Articles are between 400 to 650 words per piece, with 500 words our preferred length. While longer articles may be published by pre-arrangement with the Editor, initial submissions that are outside the stated length will not be considered.
Style
While the brevity of the articles suits a to-the-point style, we also want to maintain an affable, upbeat tone.
House format
- All spelling is Australian-English.
- Write numbers one to nine as words and numbers 10 and above as numerals.
- Where possible, avoid mentioning specific companies or organisations in your article.
- Most soloists do not own a company, rather they run a business.
- If you want to emphasise a phrase or word, use italics rather than underlining. Readers assume underlined text is hyperlinked.
- Titles of books to be presented in italics
Our Style Guidelines are a useful read for potential contributors, although their principal use is to assist our editorial team. Also this piece on what makes a good short read may be instructive, too.
What we look for
All successful applicants have the following in common:
- Their experience is interesting and relevant to solo & micro business owners.
- Their articles present sufficient, stand alone information to the reader.
- Their content is original, and has preferably not been published in similar publications.
- They are able to supply articles on an ongoing basis.
- They are active members of our community, e.g. subscribers/commenters/forum members who 'get' what we're about.
It is useful, then, for you to consider your ability on these fronts. If you doubt any of them, it's likely we'll feel the same!
Keeping the bar high is necessary to maintain our quality of content and avoid wasting time - yours and ours. Read on for more tips on how to get our attention.
What we avoid
Articles that are not "solo and/or micro" specific
We will reject articles which discuss large staff management issues or any other topics which are irrelevant to our audience.
Articles that are too advertorial in style
For example, a copywriter would have little chance of getting Why you need a copywriter or What a copywriter can do for your business published. However, their piece on The essentials of good writing is more likely to get our attention. Rather than blatantly plug the copywriter’s offering, it employs the 'attraction' marketing principle, i.e. their expertise is evident, but not obtrusive.
Press Releases submitted as articles
This happens more than you think! If you don't want your application ignored, pull the plug.
Articles that are too similar to existing topics
This is discussed in detail on the previous page.
Submissions from people without their own website/email address
This is not a conscious discrimination. It's simply a fact.
Articles that are too news focussed
Articles submitted to us are subject to long lead times of around two months, making heavy references to news topics redundant. It is fine, though, to mention current events in your piece where relevant.
Articles that require too much editing
Our expectation is for articles submitted to be as 'publication ready’ as possible. Any submissions requiring significant editing will not be considered. This could include overly long articles or previously published/written items which require excessive modifications. Previously published/written items are fine, provided that, prior to submission, the author has made the necessary edits in accordance with these guidelines.
Finally, we reject any articles that are not in accordance with these guidelines.
Interaction with readers
Each article has a comments facility attached to it and we definitely favour pieces that generate discussion. The site's most popular contributors succeed in prompting conversation with the reader, both on our site and on our Facebook page, so keep this in mind when writing your article.
I'm still here! And ready for the final step.
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Small Business is Australia's fastest growing sector – this business community site was created for those running a small business of one to five people. Here the solo and micro business owner will find small business forums, a small business directory, free resources, help, tips and advice on: starting a small business; working smarter when working from home; effective small business marketing; small business networking; the solo psyche; staying balanced as a small business owner; small business technology advice and small business finance tips.
