Thank you for your interest in submitting a guest post to our site. Please read the guidelines below carefully before submitting a post.
Our vision is of people and planet thriving together.
All blog posts should be consistent with our understanding that personal wellbeing cannot be achieved in isolation from community, society and the natural world. We believe that a person’s wellbeing depends on the vitality of the community in which they live and work, which in turn depends on, for example, the fairness of society, as a whole, and the long-term health of the natural world.
Our understanding of wellbeing is inclusive, collective, systemic and sustainable:
We welcome posts that are consistent with this understanding of wellbeing. Conversely we will wish to edit or even reject posts that advocate behaviours that we believe to be unethical, unaffordable or unsustainable – whether it be ditching friends just because they bring you down or flying across the world to a retreat.
Themes
We have structured our website to reflect key themes that interest our readers. We will categorise your post according to these themes and this will influence where it appears on the site.
If you’d like to, please let us know which theme you’d like your post to be fitted in, by writing a note at the end of your blog (at the end of the post body box).
The broad themes are:
Blogs here are aimed at individuals with an interest in improving their own health, happiness and wellbeing. This theme has four sub-categories.
Happiness. Typical contributions include tips to happiness that readers can incorporate into their daily routines. We also include articles on aspects of life that are particularly important to personal happiness and contentment – such as a sense of gratitude or purpose.
Health. This is where we look at the role of mental and physical health in improving wellbeing – and the importance of paying attention to wellbeing in maintaining mental and physical health. We also feature case studies of projects that boost health and features on how we can behave with compassion to those who aren’t well.
Nature. Here we explore the contribution that being out in the natural world makes to our wellbeing. Posts here might talk about the benefits of nature for mental health or discuss one of the many ways people can get out into the natural world – whether it be by birdwatching, boating or forest bathing. Or they might give tips on how city dwellers can find peace in nature during the working week.
Creativity. In this section, we cover the role that creative activities in all their forms play in boosting wellbeing. This is where we would place an article on arts and crafts as a route to wellbeing – whether it be through poetry, painting or pickling. Typical pieces discuss an aspect of creativity; report on new research or publicise group activities and workshops.
The posts under this theme all focus on building wellbeing together in our communities. They are aimed more at people who want to act with others to improve our communities and the wellbeing of others. This theme currently has three sub-categories.
People. Here we celebrate people who are active in the wellbeing movement.
Projects. Here we report on many of the exciting things people are doing all over the UK to boost wellbeing.
Wellbeing Together. Finally, we look at the movement that is working for wellbeing. This is where we report about what we at the Network of Wellbeing are doing and where we welcome reports on what others in the wellbeing movement are up to.
These posts look at the broader social and environmental issues that influence wellbeing. They are aimed at readers who are interested in exploring and acting upon bigger issues such as economic reform or climate change. There are four categories
Beyond Growth. This sub-category features blogs about the relationships between wellbeing, the economy and consumption. Typical entries might be a report an event or review a book – or interview a leading thinker on wellbeing economics.
Healthy Planet. Here we celebrate the many ways in which our wellbeing is dependent on and enhanced by the planet on which we live – such as the role that plants play in medicine or the value of a stable climate. Contributions might interview a leading environmentalist or explore the impact that climate change has on mental health.
Fairness. Here we explore the way in which our wellbeing depends on the inclusion of everyone and the fairness of society. Contributions here might look at how an understanding of wellbeing inequalities might lead to new policy.
Kindness. Here we look at how a caring community can support wellbeing and overcome loneliness. Posts might explore the importance of neighbourhood for people’s wellbeing or report initiatives, locally or nationally, to encourage people to be kinder and more connected.
Non-commercial
We do not accept any posts that are purely commercial in purpose, for example those that explicitly want to advertise a certain product or service. We do not include promotional links to for-profit businesses on our site, but we are happy to highlight the services and events of those who are working in a way that is aligned with our understanding of wider wellbeing. If a guest post meets these standards then we do always acknowledge contributors and include a link back to the website of the contributor.
A post should include:
Audience and writing style
We seek to make wellbeing-related news, events, research and campaigning, accessible and interesting to a wide, but predominantly British, audience. Posts should generally try to be snappy and succinct in language use. That said, we do not wish to shy away from complex ideas; we just want to ensure to present content in a way that is accessible.
Length
We like to share quite short and accessible posts. Generally they should be between 400-600 words, and no more than 700 words at maximum. However, we will consider longer, discursive posts up to 1000 words.
It can be helpful to use headings and bullet points to break up text, where possible/ suitable.
Images
At least two images are needed for all blog posts.
The first is a high quality ‘featured image’ which will be used at the top of the post as a header and backdrop to the title and will feature as the ‘thumbnail’ image on the mosaics on the home page and themed pages. Our experience suggests that landscape photographs with a focal point in the centre right work best for this purpose.
The second is an image of the author which will appear inset to the bottom left of the header
Other images, including graphics can be used, to break up the text. All should be of sufficient quality to spread across the text panel of the blog (about two thirds of the way across the screen). These and the featured image should ideally be at least 1600px by 700 px.
If we find that the accompanying images are unsuitable or of insufficient quality, we may contact you to ask for others or use stock images that give a similar impression.
Please make sure that all rights for sharing are clear and you provide any required attribution.
Video
We are also happy to embed videos in guest posts. If you’d like to include a video, please just include the link (for example to the video on YouTube or Vimeo) within the post body section of the submission form.
If you have any questions or need any further information please get in touch.