Blog Post Guidelines

Here at NOW we believe in building wellbeing together – so we warmly invite you to share your wellbeing knowledge, projects and work with us, so that we can provide a platform for you via our website, social media and in our newsletter.

Content

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:

• inclusive – because everyone deserves to have equal access to the things that support our wellbeing.
• collective – because we can’t have wellbeing alone – our wellbeing depends upon our relationships and the communities in which we live and work.
• systemic – because wellbeing needs to be embedded in our economies, governmental policies and throughout wider society.
• sustainable – because human wellbeing relies upon the long-term health of the natural world.
  

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.

Themes

We are happy to post blogs on almost any area of wellbeing. Repeat users may note that we no long sort posts according to themes as we used to.

Perennial themes that interest us include:

Posts that talk about aspects of personal wellbeing, such as:

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. 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. The contribution that being out in the natural world makes to our wellbeing. Posts on this topic 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. The role that creative activities in all their forms play in boosting wellbeing. Typical pieces discuss an aspect of creativity; report on new research or publicise group activities and workshops.

Posts that talk about what’s happening in the wellbeing world, such as:

People. Posts that celebrate people who are active in the wellbeing movement.

Projects. Posts reporting on the exciting things people are doing all over the UK to boost wellbeing.

Building Wellbeing Together. News of interest to the movement that is working for wellbeing. We write posts to report about what we at the Network of Wellbeing are doing and we welcome updates from others in the wellbeing movement too.

Posts that discuss the issues underlying wellbeing.

Beyond Growth. Posts about 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. Posts that 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. Posts that 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. Posts that 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 are a charity, under UK law, and do not accept posts that are purely commercial in purpose, for example those that explicitly want to advertise a certain product or service. Nor do we include back links to such products or services. We are happy to highlight the events and services offered by individuals and organisations, especially charities and community interest companies, whose work is aligned with our understanding of wider wellbeing. If a guest post meets these standards then we always acknowledge contributors and include a link back to their website.

Style

A post should include:

• An introduction that states the key points of the post.
• Details of how the post’s content links to wider wellbeing (as outlined above).
• Links to further information, wherever possible/ relevant.
  

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. We do not accept posts that clearly target American or Australian audiences. 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

We require two images for all blog posts.

The first is an image of the author. This will appear inset to the bottom left of the header.

The second is a high quality image for use as ‘thumbnail’ image on the our blog listing (see here).

We may also use this second image to break up the text.

We welcome other imags, including graphics, that can be used, to break up the text. All should be of sufficient quality (eg. 1600px by 700 px) to spread across the text panel of the blog (about two thirds of the way across the screen). .

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.

Submission and sharing process

• You can submit a post directly here.
• Once you have submitted a post someone from the NOW team will then review your post, and may then let you know if any final edits are needed before publishing.
• Once your post has been published, we will email you the link and promote the post via our newsletter and social media channels. We’ll also invite you to share via your own social media channels and networks too, if possible.
• Please be aware that we receive a large number of suggested guest posts, and so it may take us a while to get back to you after you submit a post.
  

If you have any questions or need any further information please get in touch.