SUBMITTING ARTICLES
FOR PUBLICATION
Our vision is to have the content for Saint Augustine BeachSide e-Magazine (SABM) to come from local residents, businesses and local government. It is not our vision to be a traditional media that re-uses content to sell ads. We want and will publish as much original appropriate content as we can get. You, as a reader and hopefully a contributor will be the heart of SA BeachSide.
What kinds of articles are we looking for?
We are looking for a broad range of general interest stories. Obviously we want to find stories that appeal to you, our readers. There is SO much unique to St. Augustine Beach. The beaches, surfing, dining, cultural landmarks and historical stories, the arts, recreation, farmer's markets, birdwatching, scuba, fashion, events, fishing, entertainment, concerts, financial help, tips and tricks around the island, kayaking and so much more. Events that happened and events that are coming up. What about unique people and places on Anastasia Island? Do a profile. How about a "10 Best" list or a restaurant or local band" review? The sky is the limit!
How long should an article be? There is no limit to the size of your article, but it will be more readable if it is robust regardless of the length and includes 1 or more photos. Being short and catchy is always a good way to go.
Submitting content (an article) to BeachSide could not be easier.
It's a simple email to michael.trufant.sabm@blogger.com. Here is the format you must use:
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The TITLE of your article goes in the Subject of your email.
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The ARTICLE COPY is the Body of the email. START your email with "by YOUR NAME". Then add your article.
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At the bottom of your email, please include your name, email address, phone number and address. If you are part of a business, please include that as well. This information will not be included in your article, but will be useful if we need to contact you.
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You may add any photos you wish to include in the email. They will appear in your article. By submitting photos, you agree that you are responsible for the rights to publish any pictures you send us if they are not yours.
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Any hyperlinks you include in your email, including YouTube video links, will also appear in your article.
It's that easy. Please check for spelling and grammar.
Editorial vs. Advertorial vs Advertising
Editorial: We are looking for stories to be told. This not a sales platform and we won't publish outright ad copy. Say you own a scuba shop and write an interesting article about scuba diving in the area or about learning to dive. It is perfectly fine to include your name, business, and your contact info for readers wanting to know more. It's the story that moves people, not your self-promotion.
Advertorial: This is advertising put forth as editorial. It may be a great story, but it is designed as a sales tool. Our Editor will review each submission and determine if your self-promotion is too far over the line. If you don't see your post in the Saint Augustine BeachSide Digest, it did not meet the criteria.
Advertising: At this time, we are not accepting ads. If you want your business to be a Supporter (with free business supporter recognition at this time), please visit the Supporters Page.
How does the process work?
When you submit an article via email, it is automatically loaded into our blog platform as a draft. Our editors will review it for appropriateness, grammar and content. Any article that meets their criteria will be published to the St. Augustine BeachSide Digest. It technically is a blog of all our submitted stories. From that pool of articles, our email e-Magazine, the Saint Augustine BeachSide e-Magazine (SABM), will look at articles in Digest as well as the other sources the e-Magazine uses. the e-Magazine uses AI (Automated Intelligence) technology to send stories in a custom list to each SABM subscriber based on their past viewing selections. Yep, every subscriber gets a custom selection of story suggestions. So your article may or may not make the e-Magazine email and it may not make it to all the subscribers we have. But, if you article made it to Digest, it is always available to all our readers.