– Original date: 2016-03-06
– Labels: 48 Hours In, 48 Hours In Series, guest blogging, Blogging, blog

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Are you interested in writing for The Wandering Thistle? I have your opportunity right here. There is no way I can cover the whole world in my “48 Hours In….” series and even if I could, I might have missed something a true native would have seen. People also have varying opinions on “must see” activities. So I’ve decided to open up the mailbox and let you, my readers, take a shot at writing a post.

Guest posts are an important part of blogging. Many bloggers feel like “my website, my voice” but I disagree. It says something to me when I see a guest post; that they like this other person and believe in this other person enough to allow them into their “sacred” space. Additionally, this will improve your credibility by adding one more thing to your writing resume, it will improve your writing, build your online authority, widen your internet circle of influence, boost social media and readership, and boost traffic. Those are a lot of benefits!

Hopefully you’ve read a few of the 48 Hours In… Series. If you haven’t, then that is where you should start. Study them because they need to be written in a similar format, style and voice. I have a simple spiral notebook where I jot everything down for the blog and you should have some kind of method for taking notes. A lot of phones have a voice recording app, sometimes I will turn it on and pretend like I am talking on the phone, leaving pauses so I can catch up when I transcribe because we all talk faster than we can type. Otherwise, bring pen and paper and jot stuff down. Here is a screen shot of notes from notepad on my phone:

It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, because that usually isn’t what people see. A few pointer’s for what to take notes on:

Where should people stay? Clearly, if it is a 48 hour trip they need to sleep and/shower. So what will it be? Recommend your favorite Hotels, Hostels, AirBnB, ect and make sure to list not-so-nice areas to avoid. When I plan a trip, I use Google Earth to look at the surrounding area of the hotel. If the area looks shady, I move on. Save people the time and tell them “avoid anything in Boyle Heights (it’s cheaper because it’s not safe!)”

What should they do? This could be the whole point of them going to this location, so make it count. Let them know about must see museums, Art Galleries, Zoo’s/Aquarium’s, Shops, and definitely throw in Free Activities. If they are a family traveling, free activities are almost always well received. Just make sure they are frequent. If it’s a one-time thing (as in isn’t annual or every couple of weeks, ect) don’t recommend they do it.

How do the natives get around? If someone is flying to this city, they may not have a way to get around. Is it better to rent a car? Should they take the subway, bus, an Uber? Should they walk part of the way? Tips for passes, ect should also be given.

Things to Avoid: Should they avoid going to this place during certain times of the year? Why? Is it snowbird season, love bug season, bad weather, impossible to get a hotel room, everything is more expensive, ect.

What Areas Am I Interested In Having Covered?
I am open to anyone writing about any area, but am favoring someone who can write about the following places:

Montana
Wyoming
Idaho
North Dakota
Hartford, CT
Des Moines, IA
St. Louis, MS
Kansas City, MS
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Kentucky
Delaware
New Jersey
Alabama
Mississippi
Alaska
Hawaii
Puerto Rico
Wherever you live! Prefer major metropolitan area’s, but if there is a must-see small town, convince me why and I’ll consider it. 😉

I’m in! Where do I sign up?
Write me a quick e-mail! The subject line should be formatted “48 Hours In [City Name].”
In the body of the e-mail include a little biography of yourself plus:
-How long you’ve lived in the city you’re pitching (2-5 years minimum)
-What you’d cover
-Can you provide original, semi-professional, high quality photographs for use in the article (used with credit of course)?
-Timeline of when you can have the first draft of the article ready for proofread, then when you can have the final draft to me for submission.
-What social media networks you use and the follower numbers (must have Instagram).
-If you have a blog, please include the URL so I can check out samples of your writing style. If you don’t have a blog, attach something for me that you’ve written please.

If I’m interested in working with you I will e-mail you back and let you know how everything will go from there. You can pitch multiple cities.
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