Purpose

This guide governs all guest content submissions to Flying V Group. Every piece published under our editorial umbrella must pass an information gain threshold — meaning it must contain specific, useful, and well-sourced insight that a reader cannot assemble from the first page of Google results for the target keyword. Rehashed listicles, thinly veiled link-building plays, and “top 10 digital marketing tips” posts will be rejected without review.

We publish content that teaches something. If it doesn’t, we don’t run it.

What Is Information Gain?

Information gain is the difference between what a reader can already find with a quick search and what your article teaches them. Content with zero information gain restates the obvious. Content with high information gain introduces:

• Practitioner-level specifics: Real campaign numbers, named tools and workflows, platform-specific nuances, failure modes, edge cases — detail that comes from doing the work, not summarizing someone else’s blog post about it
• Strong sourcing: Industry reports, platform documentation, case law, regulatory filings, academic research, trade publications — not just other marketing blogs citing each other in a circle
• Original analysis or case studies: Data you gathered, campaigns you ran, tests you conducted, results you can show
• Contrarian or corrective framing: If the top 10 results all repeat the same advice and it’s incomplete or outdated, say why and back it up

If your draft reads like it could have been written by someone who Googled the topic for 20 minutes, it doesn’t meet our standard.

Who Should Apply

We accept guest contributions from:

• Marketing practitioners with hands-on experience in the topic they’re pitching (SEO, paid media, content strategy, web development, analytics, CRO, email, social, etc.)
• Agency owners or team leads who can speak to real client outcomes and strategy decisions
• Specialists in adjacent fields (UX, data science, sales enablement, branding) whose expertise intersects meaningfully with digital marketing

We do not accept contributions from:

• Anyone whose pitch is clearly a vehicle for a backlink with no real editorial value

All applicants must complete the submission form below. Incomplete applications will be automatically rejected.

If your questionnaire is approved, you’ll receive a content brief. All approved guest posts must follow these standards:

Content Architecture

Opening Hook Place the primary keyword in the first sentence. Orient the reader to the specific problem or question your article addresses. No throat-clearing. No “In today’s fast-paced digital landscape” preambles. Get to the substance within the first 100 words.

Paragraphs must not exceed 5 lines. Keep sentences direct and scannable.

Heading Structure

Opening Hook Place the primary keyword in the first sentence. Orient the reader to the specific problem or question your article addresses. No throat-clearing. No “In today’s fast-paced digital landscape” preambles. Get to the substance within the first 100 words.

• One H1 (article title, exact or near-exact keyword match)
• H2s function as chapter headings — each introduces a distinct subtopic
• H3s for sub-sections when an H2 covers enough ground to need subdivision
• Every heading should be descriptive enough that a reader skimming headings alone gets the article’s full argument

Information Gain Section(s) Every article must contain at least one section that delivers insight not available in the top-ranking competing content. This might look like:

• A data table or comparison drawn from primary sources or original analysis
• A documented process from real professional experience (not a reworded version of existing how-to guides)
• A sourced correction or update to widely repeated claims
• Vertical-specific, regional, or platform-specific detail that general guides miss
  

Sourcing Requirements

• Minimum 2 external sources, at least 1 of which should be a non-obvious authority (platform docs, industry reports, government data, academic research, trade publications)
• Factual claims must be hyperlinked to their source
• Do not cite content farms, AI-generated roundups, or unsourced “ultimate guides”
• Named expert quotes must include the expert’s full name, title, and organization

FAQ Section

• 5-6 questions sourced from Google’s “People Also Ask” or similar for the target keyword
• Answers should be 50-100 words each
• At least one FAQ answer should contain a data point, citation, or practitioner insight not covered in the main body

Internal Linking

• Include 3-5 internal links to existing FVG content (we’ll supply eligible URLs with your brief)
• Anchor text should be keyword-relevant and read naturally

Word Count

• Minimum: 1,700 words
• Optimal: 1,700-3,000 words
• No filler. Every paragraph should earn its place.

Writing Standards

Voice and Tone

• Write in plain, direct language. Short sentences preferred.
• Do not use filler phrases: “It’s important to note that,” “At the end of the day,” “In today’s digital landscape,” “When it comes to,” “It’s worth mentioning”
• Do not use the word “actually”
• Limit em-dash use to one per article
• Avoid “it’s not just X, it’s Y” constructions
• Write with authority, not like a sales pitch

What Gets You Rejected

• Generic content that restates what’s already ranking
• Unverifiable claims or unsourced statistics
• Promotional copy disguised as editorial
• Hidden or excessive outbound links to commercial pages
• AI-generated content submitted without substantial human rewriting and expert review
• Any attempt to game the link policy

Submit your completed draft as a Google Doc with suggesting mode enabled. Include:

• A completed Source Log (template below) listing every source cited, its type, and where it appears
• Your author bio (2-3 sentences, one link to your professional site or profile)

Expect one round of editorial revisions. We may request additional sourcing, restructuring, or cuts. Publication is not guaranteed upon submission.

Submit your completed draft as a Google Doc with suggesting mode enabled. Include:

• A completed Source Log (template below) listing every source cited, its type, and where it appears
• Your author bio (2-3 sentences, one link to your professional site or profile)

Expect one round of editorial revisions. We may request additional sourcing, restructuring, or cuts. Publication is not guaranteed upon submission.

• Guest Posting: $100
• Link Insertion: $75 per link
  
• Guest Post Drafting: $150 — we’ll write the piece for you, following our guidelines.

Submit Your Article