As we discussed, we are always looking for articles that will be both valuable and interesting to our readers (your customers). Here are our simple Feature Article guidelines:
Articles should be 800-1,000 words. Submit only the finalized version of the article as a regular MS Word document (Arial 12 font) with NO footnotes, italics, editing, changes, or corrections. Any appropriate credit to other authors or articles needs to be incorporated into the body of the article text and not as footnotes.
The piece should focus on your area or your company’s area of expertise — what you and your company know best.
Articles may not be self-promotional. Write about a type of product, service, technology, program, solution, or about best practices. Do not write exclusively about your own company or products. Be inclusive.
Historically, generating interest attracted more readers than overly technical.
TITLES need to be a MAXIMUM of FIVE thought-provoking and descriptive words.
SUBTITLES may be as descriptive as you care to make them. A major consideration:
The best articles include Concise, Logically Placed, SECTION HEADERS to maintain article flow and readability. These should be BOLD and in CAPS but NOT in DIFFERENT COLORS or BIGGER FONTS.
Our readers are Fixed Operations Directors, Service and Parts Managers, General Managers, and Dealer Principals. Keep this management audience in mind as the article is written. Our readers and your customers are the same people.
Articles must have an overall positive tone. If there is a negative issue being addressed in the article, we do not advocate putting people (or groups) down to make a point or to suggest corrective action. Broad, sweeping negativity will be deemed sufficient to request that the article be re-focused, rewritten, or published elsewhere.
Articles may NOT have been published in (or submitted for future publication in) other automotive industry business magazines or blogs. Articles also need to have been written by the submitting author and not created by any form of AI. Your email submission is your bond in these regards.
If you have no more than 3 or 4 hi-res photos, illustrations, infographics, charts, graphs, statistics, screenshots, etc. to accompany the written article, please send those as well. (To be included, they must be JPEG Format, CMYK, and 300 dpi or better when properly sized for placement in the article.)
Please include the author’s headshot photo (also JPEG format and 300 dpi minimum at 4x6) and a 100-word bio along with any applicable contact information. Please know that a bio no longer than one hundred words will be published as received only if space is available. Otherwise, it will be edited as closely as possible to the 100-word limit.
