Thank you for joining the UI Writer’s Team! We are excited about sharing stories about our past, present and future. Here are a few housekeeping rules for our writers.
Purpose
Our aim is to provide short, quick burst of information that makes the reader aware. Most pieces will be short and to the point.
Think Media Take Out, but with information relevant to our readership.
Who
The Urban Intellectual market is 25 to 55 years old, African American or black people with a similar experience with poverty, the “ghetto”, “hood”, racism, slanted legal system, poor educational system….yet still striving for more.
Like you, they are mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, sisters and brothers. They are part of family, the community…us. They are a cross section of the community socially, economically, educationally, and consciously. However, they are striving for more.
They seek to connect with the struggle, with what is going on in the community and seek a voice they identify and trust….Urban Intellectuals is that voice. You are that voice.
They are tired of mindless discussions, gossip and the meaningless. They want to keep the pulse of the community and build on what’s important.
They are looking to connect with Urban Intellectuals to stay informed, engaged, and inspired.
Before You Write
You will be working on the WordPress platform writing for Urban Intellectuals. It is kind of like working in MSWord. You will make edits to your content, click update and it will post to the website.
Profile: Each writer is given an author profile which is accessible under “Your Profile” in the site’s dashboard. You may craft a short biography about yourself, including a link to your personal website or blog (if you have one). This will show up at the bottom of each of your posts. If you would like your image to show up next to comments and in your author bio, visit gravatar.com to upload an image. Please note, this image will show up on any site that you comment on using the email attached to your UI profile.
Where to find content?
Inspiration for an article can come from anywhere. If it moves you emotionally, chances are it will impact our audience. You can make up content yourself, expressing ideas, thoughts, lessons the community should know or have more resources.
UI Writing Group on Facebook: We share articles, stories, news and ideas someone might want to write for the website.
Writing Your Article
Article Title & Image:These are the most important elements. If the title doesn’t grab their attention or the picture don’t make the reader click to read more, then it doesn’t matter what you wrote…so give some thought to your title and image used.
Post Length: The length of most articles are 200-500 words. Again, you are not writing an indepth piece, but making the people aware of your subject. Stick to the details.
Paragraphs are good: Use them liberally because it makes for easier reading via computers, laptops, tablets and phones (every 2-3 sentences….4 or 5 is stretching it)
Spelling and Grammar: Please do your best to catch any spelling and grammatical errors. Posts will be proofread before it is published.
We ask that you only upload original content, and not content that has been published elsewhere, including your own site or blog. If there is a post you’ve written that was published a year ago or further, we may consider it.
SEO: We do optimize our content for search engines in order to be found by users of Google and Bing. The editor will fill in your SEO information for your post before it publishes.
Links: We ask that you limit outbound links to no more than 2. If you’re referring to other websites, please include a link directly to the story you’re referencing.
Social Media Integration: If you would like to embed a post from social media, such as a tweet, Facebook post, or Instagram photo, or YouTube video, leave the URL to the content in the body of the post. The editor will embed it for you.
Categories: Choose the category that best relates to your story. If you’re unsure, the editor will choose the correct category for you.
After It’s Published
Social Sharing: Social media is an integral part of our traffic plan. Share your posts as well as fellow writers’ posts to your network. Every post will have share buttons for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+.
Comments: We have 2 comment systems: WordPress’ native system, and Facebook comments. It’s good to reply to comments to keep up with engagement. Please remember, when it comes to writing for the public, you have to have thick skin.
So there may be a time when you receive a comment that may come off as rude or hurtful. The editor will delete any comments that are negative, a personal attack on the author, and do not add to the discussion in a constructive manner. If there’s a comment you feel should be removed, but hasn’t yet, please reach out and we will address the issue.
