IMCA Guidelines
For Guest Bloggers
Looking to write a blog post for IMCA? Great! We welcome contributions from subject matter experts, as long as you agree to a few basic guidelines. We’ll get to those in a minute. But first, why are we so picky?
Two reasons. One, our audience is made up of savvy marketing and communications professionals who are short on time and hungry for fresh, quality information that will help them do their jobs better—and we pride ourselves on providing it. Two, search engines are beginning to penalize sites that publish content from guest bloggers, because some sites allow irrelevant content and links, which helps no one but spammers.
OK, let’s get to it.
Guidelines For Imca Guest Bloggers
Submit relevant content
01We care about the insurance industry. And marketing. And communications. We care about a lot of other stuff too, but we don’t typically publish them in our blog. For example, we’re passionate about diversity and inclusion, but if you’re writing about the topic for us, give it a marcomm slant. Like, five tips to make your insurance communications more inclusive.
Make sure it’s unique
02If a topic has been discussed ad nauseam, it’s probably not for us. We’re looking for fresh, original ideas our readers can’t find anywhere else, particularly as they relate to the insurance industry. There’s a lot of great marketing and communications content out there, but there’s not a lot of content about how it all ties to insurance. Write it, and you’ve got our attention.
Make sure your content is original
03Has your post already been published? If so, it’s not for us. We prefer original pieces we can own. That’s because, while we give credit to authors and encourage you to link to and share your post, we may use your content in other places, such as our newsletter and social media platforms.
Posts must be at least 800 words
04Again, we’re looking for quality here. Our audience wants posts they can learn from. We really want you to dig in to a particular subject, so readers can walk away with new knowledge.
Links are okay — for the most part
05It’s okay to link to other quality content and to your website. The key here is quality. Ask yourself whether the link will benefit our readers. If the answer is yes, link away.
Proofread
06We care about grammar and spelling. We’re sort of old-fashioned like that, and so are our readers. We’ll review your work on our end, so don’t let it paralyze you, but do proofread.
Stay active
07We like authors who reply to comments. If we post your piece on LinkedIn, we like it if you’d stick around to engage with our audience in the comments section.
A few other points to keep in mind
- Our audience includes marketing and communications professionals who work in the insurance industry. Their level of experience varies. Some are new to marketing and insurance, some are new to insurance but have had long marcomm careers, some grew up in insurance but are new to communications…you get the picture. Be sure your information is understandable to a wide experience level, or set expectations up front. It’s okay to write an “intro to” piece—just be clear what the post is about so that an experienced marketer won’t invest too much time reading it.
- We prefer posts that are conversational in tone and easy to understand.
- Although we are an international organization, we post content in English.
- Submissions will be edited for clarity and to conform to our house style, which is largely based on AP Style.
- Please submit a two- to three-sentence bio, a headshot, and a link to your company along with your post.
- We encourage images as long as you own the rights. Please provide a caption and photo credit.
- Before you start writing, it’s a good idea to send us a two- to three-sentence pitch to see if your topic is a good fit.
Got a question? Want to send us a pitch? Email Megan Flanagan at
info@imcanet.com