Write for American Football International
In our never-ending quest to make American Football International the go-to resource for the global American football fan, we’re always looking for smart, savvy people to share their knowledge on our site.
Interested in writing for American Football International? Awesome! Below are the answers to some frequently asked questions about submitting a post for consideration to AFI.
How do I pitch American Football International?
It’s easy! Send a brief email with your idea and outline of the article to Roger Kelly, AFI’s Editor at [email protected] or [email protected]
But wait! Before you hit send on that pitch, please read the below FAQs.
Who should write for American Football International?
AFI is looking for guest contributors who have a strong passion for the fields of public relations or sports journalism. You should be a strong writer (that’s a given!), proficient in English, forward-thinking and understand sports journalism, digital media, and American football. Our writers aren’t afraid to showcase their personalities, take an unpopular stance or share ideas that give our readers an informed and fresh perspective on this rapidly growing international sport.
We’re looking for content from writers of all experience levels, so whether you’re a VP or fresh out of college/university, we’d love to hear from you.
And of course, you should be familiar with American Football International. Read our site, subscribe to the our mailing list, and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
What reach and exposure do American Football International contributors get?
There are lots of benefits to writing for the American Football International, including:
- The articles on our site are viewed nearly 200,000 times a month by a worldwide audience.
- Social media promotion through AFI’s channels with a total following of nearly 40,000 people across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
- Inclusion in the popular American Football International e-newsletter, distributed to more than 5,000 American football fans, PR pros and media executives every twice a week
- A three-sentence bio at the end of your post and 3-4 links to your own blog, website or social media accounts
What kind of content is AFI looking for?
Here are a few subjects for articles on American football that we think would be interesting for the AFI audience. These topics could also apply to whatever others countries and/or organizations you are most familiar with.
- Team-by-team review with photos/videos
- Previews and links/photos to any games being live stream the each weekend.
- Recaps of each week’s round of games with photos/videos.
- Play-off/championship preview and post-games summaries
- Cultural and/or thought pieces on, history and/or current state of American football in a given country, challenges present to the sport in given country, or a case study of an organization that has newly founded or become newly successful
- Profile(s) on players or coaches
Can you give me a few examples of really well-written American Football International posts?
Sure! The most successful AFI posts push the envelope and make readers think about global American football in a new way. Here are a few of our recent favorites:
Top Defensive End from Mexico Turning NFL Heads
12 Teams Announced for 2015 IFAF Europe Champions League
2015 IFAF World Championships Cancelled in Sweden
Set The Edge: ”Do you play rugby?”
10 Ways to Become a Better Football Player
Oh, and be sure to take a look at our top 12 most popular posts of 2014 for even more examples of the kind of posts that work best for the American Football International audience.
Should I pitch you an idea first before writing the post?
Definitely. We’d love to hear your idea before you get writing to make sure it’s a good fit for American Football International.
How long should my post be?
Keep your post between 500 and 800 words. Of course, there are always exceptions, but this is a good rule of thumb for the American Football International.
Should I include links to other websites or blog posts in my post?
Absolutely…in fact, we encourage it! All posts may contain 2-3 links. You are welcome to include outside links or a relevant link to a post from your own blog.
How should I submit my post?
Please write and submit your post through Google Drive’s documents feature or email. When you share your post with us, be sure to give us editing power, so we can easily make changes.
Any tips for submitting posts?
Please draft a headline for your post. We may change it, but we’d love to hear your suggested blog title.
Consider formatting your post using bullets, a list or subheadings to break up the text for easy reading.
One space between sentences, please.
AFI’s style is authoritative, but conversational. Don’t be afraid to show personality in your writing.
Keep first-person references to a minimum.
Please suggest an image to support your post- you can submit an original image or provide one from a free site with appropriate photo credit.
Include a two-sentence bio at the end of your post. Feel free to include 1-2 links to your own blog or social media accounts.
Do you edit submitted posts?
Yes, we reserve the right to edit all posts submitted for consideration. If your post requires major changes, we will loop you in and work together on edits. If your post needs minor edits, we may make the changes without notifying you.
This doesn’t happen frequently, but we also reserve the right to not publish your post if we decide it’s not a strong fit for the blog. You are then free to publish it elsewhere.
After the post appears on AFI, can I republish it on my own blog?
You most certainly can! We only ask you provide a link back to the article as it originally appears on American Football International.
American Football International has content partnerships with select media outlets who have the option to republish posts that originally appear on AFI. If your post is republished to one of these sites, your byline will be included and the post will link back to the original American Football International post with your full bio.
Ready to pitch your idea? Send them to:
Roger Kelly, Editor