Signature’s Liverpool
Liverpool has changed. It’s a city that is growing by the day – and we want you to be part of that growth. The aim of Signature’s Liverpool is to highlight everything wonderful on offer, ensuring visitors and residents can make the most of their time in the city.
We are looking for people who love the written word, who feel as passionate about Liverpool as we do, and who aren’t afraid to write in a unique tone of voice. If you have all of those qualities, you’ll be a perfect fit for Signature’s Liverpool.
What You Need
We don’t care if you have or haven’t been published. We’re just looking for a great angle, an excellent writing style and a love for everything Liverpool. All articles must be 100% unique – and we don’t accept imitations.
Don’t copy what you see online. Create articles that people will want to imitate. Think about what you would like to read – and write that.
As long as you have a working computer, a passion for writing and Microsoft Word, you can become part of the Signature’s Liverpool family,
We don’t expect your first article to be perfect – but we hope to guide you as much as we can to ensure you’re confident when you sit down to write it.
So, let’s get started.
The Article
We want to help you write the best article you possibly can for Signature’s Liverpool. That’s why we’re offering some top tips to help you understand exactly what we’re looking for.
While we don’t believe in restricting your creative freedom, there are some must-dos to ensure your article is approved by our team.
All articles must:
• be 100% unique (we will check)
• be a minimum of 500 words
• be grammatically correct and clear
• not include any profanities
• feature a unique tone of voice
• focus on Liverpool culture
If you have any questions we have failed to answer, or you would like us to expand on a point above, don’t hesitate to ask.
What We’re Looking for
We’re not looking for one style of article. We want to provide our readers with interesting, entertaining articles about the city. To help you start your first article, we’ve compiled a list of the various article forms you can write for us:
• Reviews
• List posts (e.g. 10 ___ ____ You Might Have Missed in Liverpool)
• A behind the scenes look
• Opinion pieces
• In-depth facts
• Photography pieces
• Q&As with local celebrities or figures
The above is simply a guide on the type of articles we’re looking for here at Signature’s Liverpool. If you have an idea that you believe would be an excellent fit, tell us all about it.
How to Make a Good Article Great
We’re not looking for articles that offer information we could easily find online. We want to hear about your experiences. For example, if you’re passionate about Liverpool theatre, why not write a review on a recent production – or even write an opinion piece on theatres such as the Liverpool Empire or Everyman.
Love a bar that you want to share with the world? Tell us what makes it so special. Grab a quote from the bar manager. Take some fantastic photographs and include them in the piece.
When writing an article, ask yourself how you can make it different to anything else we could find online. A quote, amazing photograph or just an insightful opinion could be all you need to take your article to the next level.
How to Research
If you love writing as much as our team, the chances are you’ll be eager to start your article, but hold your horses. This is a marathon, not a sprint. We’re all about the quality here at Signature’s Liverpool, not the quantity. We would rather it take you three months to write one amazing 500 word article than an hour to create a mediocre 1,000 word piece.
That’s why research is so important to us – and we encourage you to go away and do as much as possible before you even pick up a pen or open your laptop. Plan out exactly what you want to achieve from the article, what it is you want to say and what you’ll need to take the copy to the next level.
For example, if you’re writing an opinion piece or review, you could plan:
• A catchy title
• Introduction
• Opinion/Review
• Quote from the manager/supervisor/company
• Summary
The last thing you want is to visit a bar or restaurant and completely forget everything you need to include in the article. A plan will ensure you have all your bases covered, so you can just start writing the article once your experience is over.
You don’t have to go out into the big wide world to write a great article, though. Websites such as Reddit are a great way to write a superb piece without having to leave the comfort of your own home.
Reddit is a superb way to gather feedback from the public, as you can submit a question to AskReddit and the online community will provide their answers. Obviously, Signature’s Liverpool is all about our beautiful city, so ensure you ask a question that’s focused on Liverpool culture. For example, you could ask people to tell us what they think about our city, and write an article on your findings. Include quotes from Reddit users and provide an interesting introduction and summary. Are the opinions a fair assessment of the city? What did you believe the response would be before you asked the question?
Think about a question you’d like to know about the city and see what the people have to say. You never know, it could just make a superb article.
The Title
An article’s title is incredibly important. In fact, it’s so important we’ve dedicated a whole section just to cover it. A title can often be the difference between a person clicking on an article or heading elsewhere.
According to David Ogilvy – the father of advertising – five times as many people read the headline as the body copy.
The title should make a reader feel they will regret not reading the article right away. A great title will make a reader ask a question, whilst the body of an article should answer it.
Place yourself in a reader’s shoes. Would you click on your article if you stumbled on it over Facebook or in Google? If you wouldn’t, change it.
Use words that hook readers in.
The Body
Your title has to be likeable, but the body of the article has to be loveable. It’s the very thing that will make people return. An interesting article will result in a reader remaining on the website a lot longer, as they’ll head from one article to another.
Here are some top tips:
• Use short sentences, short words and short paragraphs.
• Write about a topic you care about.
• Avoid using fluffy language or jargon words.
• Write, rewrite and rewrite again.
• If in doubt, cut it out.
• Do not use too many exclamation points.
• Hear your voice.
• Ask someone to read your work.
Now you know just what to do, all there is left to do is write the article. So, what are you waiting for? Start writing.
Remember, you can take as much time as you need to write an article, as we’re looking for a high quality piece that will wow our readers. Once you’re happy, send it over to us at Signature’s Liverpool for our approval.
