Write For Us

Would you like to write for Art of Backpacking?  We are always looking for new writers and guest posts.

We offer two types of writing opportunities on Art of Backpacking.

• Guest Posting (unpaid) – Majority of our articles are through guest posting.
• Featured Article (paid) – We range from $20 to $50 an article.

Updated Policy: January 18, 2012

What kind of feature or regular formats do you publish?

Art of Backpacking’s mission is to share the experience of travel through media. Our articles contain: personal essays, HD travel videos, food challenges and discoveries, adventurous activities, cultural knowledge, budget options to experience more, going beyond the tourist route, natural wonders, and our experience with the locals.

• It must fit the overall theme of Art of Backpacking.
• AP Style writing.

What are AOB’s requirements and guidelines?

• A minimum of 700 words.
• You must be able to write well. Even when writing to request a guest post, you need to set an example of how you write by writing a proper email.We are not going to publish poorly written articles. You don’t have to be a good writer to know how to write well. Please do not be offended if we do not accept your article. Understand that we have dozens of requests per week and can only respond and accept to a few.
• Use the search feature to see if the article topic has been covered. No duplicate information unless you are adding a great deal of new information.
• Any active social media presence. (Twitter, StumbleUpon, Facebook, etc)
• Be active on the Art of Backpacking community by interacting with comments left on your articles.
• Understanding of basic SEO (Search Engine Optimization). A good title, linking within, and knowing how to use header tags.
• Must be able to provide your own high quality pictures or search for Creative Commons pictures.
• Be mindful of the audience on Art of Backpacking. Please read the About page and browse through our archive.
• We only accept articles from independent freelance writers. No companies.
• We do not accept requests from companies seeking an SEO advantage. Same message as above.

Who reads Art of Backpacking?

We have a diverse crowd. Most of our readers are budget minded. Always seeking off the beaten track destinations as well as a different approach to even the most beaten tracks. See our Advertising page for details.

What kind of article do you want for guest posting?

We’re open for new ideas and even in the more popular categories. There’s never enough information on any subject. Nonetheless, we’re in desperate need of these subjects. Nothing too cliché, please.

• Motivational articles / self-empowerment to travel
• Destinations. What to do, where to go, where to stay in a particular place. Off-beat destinations are a plus.
• Foods and Drinks from around the world
• The lifestyle of backpacking itself (We have plenty of these but could always use more)
• We also accept short travel films, photography, and travel essay submissions.

OK. I´ve got an article idea and I´d like to submit it. What do I do next?

• Send a sample paragraph of what you want to write about or what you’ve already written. Get us interested and pitch it.
• Next, create a bio for yourself in the email (Don’t make it long, it goes in the footer). Send me your website, facebook, and/or twitter if you have one.
• Create an account on Gravatar if you haven’t already, this is the avatar it’ll be using. Send the email address you used to register it with.

Can I include a picture with my article?

Absolutely. We encourage pictures you’ve taken yourself that relates to the article. If you´d like to display your own picture, mention it and we´ll arrange it. The picture needs to capture what is being said in the article. High quality and well displayed photographs if you can.

If you don’t have any pictures, please ONLY use Creative Commons images from Flickr.

Our layout encourages that you use horizontal pictures instead of vertical. It’s not required that you do but try to avoid vertical as much as you can. Horizontal images  should use the second medium option for embedding with 640 width and 480 height.

What do I get in return?

• Author bio box that will have information about yourself and your social media profile links.
• A separate Author page that will include all your social media links. See Example.
• Exposure.
• Competitive pay for featured articles.
• Consideration for future opportunities.

I´ve submitted a proposal – What do I do next?

You’ll receive a response within 3 business days by email. Please keep in mind we do receive quite a large number of requests and not all will be accepted.

To Apply

• Send example articles you’ve published elsewhere or attach an example in the email.
• Provide any social media profiles you’re active in.
• Provide a short summary of what you’ll be writing about.
• Provide titles of the articles you’d like to write and a sample paragraph.
• A little about yourself.
• email: contact (at) artofbackpacking (dot) com

Photography Articles

Terms

Article must not have been published elsewhere including Internet, magazine, or newspaper publications. We want our readers to read something fresh and new. It cannot be later posted elsewhere either.

By publishing articles on Art of Backpacking, you agree that the articles will be on Art of Backpacking for the life of the website. The text may be edited for any grammatical, spelling errors or structure. Links may be removed or added at anytime within the article. Any pictures will still hold full copyright to you but will remain on Art of Backpacking for the life of the website. They will not be modified in any way unless requested or asked to do minor improvements. The pictures will not be used anywhere else outside of the article unless requested. Please remember I have no control if an end-user decides to save the picture or article to publish on their own end but rest assured that I do my best to make sure this does not happen.