This checklist is intended as a mentoring guide for new writers, as well as a quick reference for veterans.

Title:

• Proper Capitalization of post title (except articles / forms of “to be” / conjunctions).
• Relevant Keywords used for SEO. See http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com or Google Adwords

Images:

• Post has image at or near the top.
• Top image is 500px “Center” aligned, and subsequent images are 240px and “Left”/”Right” aligned.
• Proper Use of “Alt” tags (Right click on image, then click “Properties”). Good to put something in the Alternative Title or Caption that includes your keywords.

Content:

• Post topic fits best on your home blog rather than another site in the network. Please ask your editor if you are unsure.
• No blatant self-promotion or conflicts of interests.

Body:

• Correct Spelling (WP spell check feature), Grammar, and Punctuation.
• Word Count: Different word count targets for different sites and writers, but posts of about ~100-400 words are ideal in most cases. If 750+ words could it be broken up into two posts?
• Books, films, mags, newspapers, albums, and other longer works italicized.
• Shorter works (articles, songs, short films, etc.) placed in quotation marks.

Linking:

• At least 1 internal link to other IM blog posts.
• Keywords selected for internal links (eg “biodiesel” not “click here”).
• Linking out to relevant sites, ie Seventh Generation. (These should open in new window.)

Credits:

• Documentation of sources (either direct citation, link in body, “via ____,” or “h/t_____” — this stands for “hat-tip”).
• Image is licensed via Creative Commons or author has permission to use it.
• Proper image credit citing photographer, link to source, and license (eg: Image credit: bcballard at flickr under a Creative Commons license).

Tags:

• Uses relevant tags.
• At least 5+ tags used.

Categories

• Using relevant categories.

Social Media / Search Engine Optimization (SEO)*:

• Subheadings should use <h2>…</h2> or <h3>…</h3> tags.
• Title uses popular relevant words from http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com or Google Adwords