Small Business Trends

Small Business Trends Guest Author Program

We’ve designed this program especially for you.  The Small Business Trends Guest Author Program permits you to submit original, unpaid article contributions for publication on the site.

Benefits of Guest Posting

Exposure is valuable to build a small-business brand. Your articles at Small Business Trends have the potential to be viewed by an audience of hundreds of thousands of readers and syndication subscribers each month, and exposed to hundreds of thousands more through our social media channels.  No compensation is paid for articles under the Guest Author Program.  But the benefits are great. Numerous guest authors have gotten new clients, media interviews, speaking engagements, even book deals — all as a result of their participation on Small Business Trends.

Attribution:  Each guest author receives a byline, including a short “About the Author” bio that appears at the end of each published article.  We allow you to refer back to up to two of your own websites, blogs or books.  In addition, we display icons leading to up to 5 social media profiles, to encourage readers to connect with you.  These include Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, BizSugar and Google+.  Your “About the Author” section should be informational in nature, not a sales pitch — your article will have more authority that way.  Below is an example:

Profile Page: Each guest author also receives a full page author Profile with an expanded biographical profile.   Here is an example of a guest author Profile page.

Experts Feature:  In addition to the above, you will also be featured in the Small Business Trends Experts section.

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FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions 

Q: Does Small Business Trends accept article contributions that have been, or will be, published elsewhere?

A: No.  Guest articles must be original content that are not published elsewhere.

Q: Can I republish or reproduce my article after publication on the site?

A:  Article contributions cannot be republished or reproduced after publication. (Google has algorithms that filter out duplicate content — i.e., content already published online).  Small Business Trends is granted all publishing rights to submitted articles and guest authors are not permitted to republish article contributions unless special, written permission is granted, according to this site’s Terms of Service.

However, you may quote up to 200 words in a post on your site announcing your published article on Small Business Trends.  (After all, your article will be seen on one of the premier small-business sites on the Web, along with a hand-selected group of other experts.)

Also, if a magazine or newsletter wishes to reproduce your article and is willing to give attribution to you as the author and to Small Business Trends as the original source of publication, we will grant written permission on a case by case basis.  Please forward all reprint/republishing  requests to: guestexperts@smallbiztrends.com.

Q: Can I promote my site, service, product or book within my articles?

A:  Articles published under the Guest Author Program are for the benefit of readers, and as a secondary benefit they demonstrate your expertise and thought leadership.  The purpose is not to serve as an advertising vehicle.

We review every submission by at least two Editors.  We reject self-promotional articles or those that are advertorial in nature.

The proper place to tell the world about yourself and your business is in the “About the Author” bio that appears at the end of each published article, or in your full-page Profile on Small Business Trends.

Q: How do I become a guest author?

A: Please send an email to guestexperts@smallbiztrends.com.  Make sure to include the following items:

1. Your field or industry of expertise.
2. Two or three topics that you’d like to write about.
3. A link to your website or blog.

Q: What happens once I send an email request to become a guest author?

A: If we accept you as a guest author, you will be contacted via email.  We will request information from you to create a login and profile for you on the site.

Q: Once accepted, how do I provide my article contribution?

A: Once you have been accepted as a guest author, you will receive a login to the system.  You can then draft your contribution within our content management system, following our Guest Posting Guidelines.  Once you’ve saved your draft article in the system, the Editor will review the piece and place it into the publishing schedule.

Thanks for your interest!