Home » Editorial Guidelines

Our authors are passionate about personal finance. Here are some of the editorial guidelines that our authors follow.

1. Topics We Cover

We are happy to consider pitches as long as the undertone is finance-related. Topics might include (but are not limited to):

  • Credit & Debt Management
  • Saving and Spending
  • Investing
  • Real Estate
  • Small Business

For example, if you want to pitch an article about web hosting, you could offer “N Ways to Invest in a web hosting company”. Or if you wanted to pitch about starting a blog, you might consider pitching a “How to start a blog with no money”. The key is that the subject needs to have a component related to finance.

1.1 How to Pitch

We take an SEO approach to all articles published on this website. That means we will only accept contributions that we think will have a good chance of being able to be seen.

What’s the point of writing an article if it never gets found?

So, when pitching a title idea, please also send 2-3 alternates. One of our editors will check for a fit. Considering there is significant competition, we may either accept one of your titles or propose a title that we think will work better.

2. Syndication

TFIM As Seen On

Many of our articles get syndicated and appear on sites like MSN, Yahoo Finance, Insider, etc.

For example, here are some recently published articles:

If you’re looking for syndication opportunities, or a content partner on a one-off, or ongoing basis, please contact us.

3. E-A-T Model

This website adheres to Google’s E-E-A-T model (Expertise, Authoritative, Trust) as we are a YMYL site (Your Money, Your Life). Page quality, or “the complete package”, is of the utmost importance to us. As a result, be sure to pitch us an idea before writing. One of our editors will either approve the idea or suggest alternatives based on what we think we can rank for.

3.1 Experience

Could you explain how pizza tastes in Naples, Italy if you’ve never been to Italy and experienced it yourself? It’s one thing to write about something – and it’s another to have experienced it. Your articles should have examples of your experiences.

3.2 Expertise

Our readers want to see that the author has expertise in a given topic. For example, if an author writes about stocks, the reader might want to know that the author is an investment advisor, or has a CFA designation. It’s important to expect readers will “Google” the author’s name, and will often check LinkedIn, past education, etc.

3.3 Authoritative

Our articles must be well-written, researched, and authoritative. Each article should answer the question, entirely. If the article is about saving money, it should cover as much as you can think about it. And then, “Google” the title, and see what others have written. This will give you the surety that you’ve left nothing out.

3.4 Trustworthy

Our readers trust RickOrford.com. And, to maintain the standard of trust, we publish verified authors’ information. That means we will publish the author’s photo, bio, website, LinkedIn profile, etc. Further, we encourage our authors to have a well-developed LinkedIn profile, complete with accomplishments, testimonials, experience, and education.

4. Submit Your Best Work

Authors who write for us provide their best work. It should give the reader as much information as possible. And, it should be authoritative and complement our own work, in the following ways:

  • Beneficial to our readership with a component of a financial nature.
  • Listicle format: I.e. 15 Ways To ….. or 18 Tips to …..
    1. Each tip/way is a headline (Usually H3) with ~150-250 words.
    2. Comprehensive & well-rounded.
    3. Length: Determined based on the article.
    4. This means about 15-20 tips/ways.
  • Add an FAQ Section at the end. Not sure what questions to add? Google the title, and pick 4-5 from the “People also ask” section. FAQ answers should be about 50 words.
  • No photos please – we will add our own. Exceptions can happen – check with the editor first!

4.1 Stick to the “3rd Person” Whenever Possible

“You/yours” should largely be replaced with who the “you” or “yours” are.  Let’s take, for example, an article about investing in stocks.  Someone might write:

If you feel that the stock is something you’d like to buy, then go ahead and buy it.

Rather, authors should rewrite it in the 3rd person:

Investors who feel the stock is something they’d like to buy, then they can do ahead and buy it.    

4.2 Spell and Grammar Checking

Obvious, but we have to say it: Please spell & grammar check the article. We don’t have hours to edit an article. Run it through the free version of Grammarly – because we need a >95 or better to publish. And yes, we will send it back to you if it needs significant work.

4.3 Copied Content

Your article may not include copied content or appear on any other website. That means the content cannot appear on any other website.  During edits, we will run it through Copyscape and Grammarly Premium. Please don’t waste our time spinning – we will find out!

4.3.1 Syndicated Content

Syndicated content may get published on this site if it’s of value to our readers. Contact Us for more information.

4.4 AI/ChatGTP/Jasper/Wordhero

Thinking of using Jasper to write your content? Don’t waste your time – USE YOUR BRAIN! AI is fine for some things (Ie. keyword research, competitor research, etc.), but writing content isn’t one of them. We will run the content through AI detectors, and with few exceptions (i.e., unless you’re writing about AI content writers), we will reject any words that contain AI-generated content.

We adhere to the link payment policies as outlined in the Google Webmaster Guidelines. We do not charge for contributing.

5.1 Backlinking Policy

You may insert backlinks to relevant, authoritative, and trustworthy websites/articles – as long as it supports the topic. For example, if you are referencing a study, it might be a good idea to backlink to the original study.

As outlined in the Google Webmaster Guidelines, we do not charge for backlinks.

In general, we accept backlinks to authoritative and trustworthy sites that support the content. As laid out in sec. 9 of our guidelines, we reserve the right to strip backlinks at any time. Backlinks that get stripped are often related to low authority sites, casinos, CBD, dissertation writing, etc. sites.

6. Advertorials

Advertorials (AKA Sponsorships) are those that include an enhanced form of product placement. For example, if your name is Harry, and you sell green tomatoes and want to tell the world how amazing Harry’s Green Tomatoes are, how much they cost, and where to buy them, then this is a sponsored post. Contact us to publish an advertorial.

7. Next Steps

Now that you have a sense of what we expect, please know that we seek to publish pieces that are relevant to our core topics (as listed above), and does not publish explicit, vulgar, or otherwise inappropriate content. As a result, we’re eager to review your pitch that complements our core topics. Once your article gets written, one of our editors will look it over. If it’s a good fit, we will put the finishing touches to meet the style our readers come to expect and then publish it!

7.1 How to Submit an Article

To submit a finished work, please write and save it in Google Docs, and send us the shared link. Don’t forget: No images, please!

8. Once Published

Once your article gets published, we’d ask that you and your team kindly help promote it. Because, as mentioned earlier, what’s the point of writing if it’ll never get found? That said, social shares, backlinks from various sites (to your article), email blasts, etc. will all go a long way to ensure your article gets visibility.

9. Disclaimer

All content submitted to RickOrford.com / this website becomes the exclusive property of 0978791 BC LTD. And, while incredibly rare, we reserve the right to modify, edit, disseminate, distribute, syndicate, and remove content at any time.

Contact Us Today to Get Started!