CatholicSingles Writer Guidelines

In order to speak most effectively to our audience, we ask that all writers follow and adhere to the following guidelines.

Article Length

  • Ideal Length. Generally speaking, longer articles get more pageviews and more shares. We love articles between 1,500 and 2,000 words.
  • Average Length. Most articles will fall between 800 – 1,200 words.
  • Minimum Length. Minimum article length is 800 words.
  • The rule to follow: Articles should be the length they need to be. If you need 2,000 words, use 2,000 words. If 1,500 words would be too much, then use only what is necessary.
  • Multi-part posts. A post should be broken up into a series only if will exceed 3,00 words in a single post. Blog series that could be combined into a single post under 3,000 words will be compensated as a single post.

Article Style

Style will be dictated partly by the type of article you are writing. However, some general rules should apply.

  • Be informal. Use “you” a lot and speak directly to your reader. This isn’t academia, so keep it light and easy.
  • Paragraphs. Short paragraphs are easier to read and do better on the web. Keep paragraphs to 2-4 sentences.
  • Use simple language. Avoid college level vocabulary. Articles that are easy to read do better.

Article Structure

When people read online, they don’t actually read: they skim. Because of this, article structure is extremely important.

  • Great intro. Always try to write a great intro to your piece. Be intriguing and hook the reader.
  • Subheads. Your blog piece should have sections so someone can skim through and read headlines. Readers tend to skim headlines and bold text, then read what they find useful.
  • Bullet lists. If you notice, this document has a lot of bullet lists. It makes it easier and faster to read.

Types of Articles

  • List articles do great. XX Horrible Pickup Lines on a Dating Site, or X Saints for the Single Life. When doing a list article, avoid lists of 5 or 10 (odd numbers do best)
  • Tell Readers a “How”. Don’t just preach, give practical tips. For example, don’t tell people they need to pray more: give them tips to help their prayer life.
  • Be controversial. See Matt Walsh as an example – people love controversy. Please note: we can only have so many of these posted…
  • Tell a story. It can be your story, or it can be someone else’s story, but tell a story.
  • Give People a Guide. Make a complex topic simple. Example: “Everything You Need to Know about Theology of the Body in 3 Big Points.”

Approvals

Finally, all articles are subject to approvals and may be rejected entirely. Only articles that are accepted for publication will be eligible for compensation.

All writers are strongly encouraged to email christian@catholicsingles.com before they write a blog post with their proposed topic. While this will not guarantee publication, it will reduce the chances of having a blog post rejected.

Blog Post Tiers

Not all blog posts are created equal as some are more valuable to CatholicSingles than others. Because of this, blog posts will be divided into three tiers with different pay rates:

Tier 1 – Posts on Life as a Single – $65

Many of our members are hurting in their singleness. Many are very lonely. These blog posts address living life as a single within the life of the church.

Examples:

Tier 2 – Posts on Dating Advice – $50

Please note: there is a line here between what is acceptable and what is not.

  • We will not be accepting blog posts that give relationship advice.
  • We will accept blog posts that offer advice on dating.

What’s the difference? Try to answer this question about your blog piece: does this speak to someone in a relationship or someone who wants to be in a relationship?

Examples of blog posts that will be accepted:

These are often the most difficult to discern, so please check with us before writing.

Tier 3 – General Catholic-y and “Other” Articles – $35

We still want general blog posts about Catholic culture and modern events. Since these are often easier to write, they have a lower compensation. We also only expect to publish a handful of these per month.

Examples:

Republishing Policies

The post belongs to CatholicSingles, is credited to the author (with a link to a blog or site, if desired) and cannot be republished elsewhere without permission.