What is an Inman contributor?
For more than 20 years, Inman has been finding unique voices in the real estate community to elevate on our site, onstage at our events, and now onscreen at our virtual events.
Inman contributors are those exceptional real estate professionals out there who love to lend their insight, foresight and hindsight (in the form of articles, videos, podcasts, infographics, and more) to help their fellow agents and, in turn, make the industry better.
Who can contribute?
Agents, brokers, independent brokers, team leaders and staff, and broker-owners. We also take contributions from mortgage professionals, investors, thought leaders and more — on a case-by-case basis.
We’re always open to new voices and perspectives, and we work hard to ensure everyone has a chance to be heard. Diversity and inclusion are a priority for our contributor program.
If you have something to say, reach out. We just ask that you be clear about any conflicts of interest that you might have (working for companies mentioned, consulting, former relationships, etc.) and that you not apply if you market goods or services to agents and brokers.
How does the program work?
Anyone on the mentioned on the list above is invited to reach out to contributors@inman.com. Please send a letter of interest telling us who you are, what you do, and why you think you’d make an excellent addition to the Inman contributor program.
Here’s the general breakdown of the program:
- Contributors: The majority of our 500+ contributors fall into this category. They are typically industry professionals who are practicing in the field. They typically write on a monthly or quarterly basis. Accepted contributors have an open invite to contribute. Contributors will be notified of any changes to that.
- Columnists: Only the crème de la crème contributors are asked to contribute regularly. A regular columnist contributes on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis. Regular columnists tend to be more tuned into the industry’s ecosystem, and thus, they often receive top billing on editorial products and are often asked to be speakers at our events, both virtual and in person. Having a regular column is an invite-only situation, but we do invite you to reach out with interest. More on that process below.
- One-time contributors: We often have contributors reach out who want to do a think piece about a particular event or relevant topic. That’s perfectly fine, we’re open to one-time contributors. Please just mention that in your initial contact.
How do you become a regular columnist?
If you would like to join the ranks of regular columnists, become a contributor, let us know your intent, and contribute regularly for at least three columns. From there, we can decide if a regular column is a fit. And we are always on the lookout for new voices and perspectives.
How do I get started?
Reach out to contributors@inman.com. Tell us who you are, what you do, and why you think you’d make an excellent addition to the Inman contributor program.
We will respond to your inquiry with next steps or other directions, the new contributor spiel. From there, we’ll ask you to submit a story. Once you submit, we’ll either reject or accept and work with you to get your story in shape to publish. That might require some edits or additional information, such as more research, links or anecdotes, from you.
When we schedule your first post, we’ll send you directions on how to officially sign up as an Inman contributor. You’ll receive an authors page on our site before we publish your first story. (The link will be: https://www.inman.com/author/your-name/.) From then on, you’ll always be able to find your published content on your author’s page.
How will I know when my story will publish?
When your story is accepted, the editor will send you a targeted publish date. Your story should publish on or near that date. If not, you will often be notified. If you haven’t seen it, just reach out to the editor to inquire.
What should I write about?
- Topics that matter to you, your clients, colleagues, competitors, vendors, real estate industry leaders and policy-makers.
- A specific niche within the real estate industry (luxury properties, teams, investing, etc.).
- A personal experience that taught you a lesson or two.
- A valuable insight no one else can offer.
- The pros and cons about an industry practice or policy, government action or anything else controversial.
- Educate your colleagues about a new process, practice or technology that helped grow your business.
- Inman’s monthly theme.
- Remember: if you haven’t read about it, consider writing it!
I need ideas. What do I do if I’m stuck for a topic or have writer’s block?
First thing’s first, let your editor know. Just shoot us an email, it’s happens all the time. Also, we have a weekly voluntary assignment email. If you’re interested in being included, it’s flush with ideas for contributors and information on our latest theme month — just reach out to contributors@inman.com.
Do you have any tips for writers? Yep, see below.
- Articles should be 500-800 words (longer, if the subject merits it).
- Start with a headline, and follow with an outline.
- Limit your introduction — get to the point.
- Offering advice? Provide an odd number of takeaways (5, 7, 9, 21) takeaways. Or a nice round 10 always works.
- Anecdotes help provide color and make your article unique.
- Use simple, direct prose and active verbs.
- If you pull something from an online source, link to that source, and put quotes around any material taken directly from the source. Paraphrase a resource, be sure to attribute it and link within the text.
- If you quote someone directly, attribute properly, and mention how this information was conveyed do you. Was it a phone call, an email, a text, social media, etc.? It matters in the editing and fact-checking processes.
- It never hurts to send screenshots of relevant conversations to your editor, along with any PDFs, links, images, etc. for fact-checking purposes.
- Use Associated Press (AP) style.
- Every writer needs an editor. We are here for you, but it never hurts to have someone else put a read on your work before submitting it to your editor.
- Don’t be nervous about your writing. Not everyone is a pro, but if you have great insights, we’ll get you there.
What is not allowed or not likely to be accepted?
- Advertorial content.
- Endorsements for your company, product, team, or service — or for a company, product, or service for which you have consulted or been paid to promote. (No commercials for you, your company, your client’s or family/friend/loved one’s company, please! If you wish to have publish a sponsored article or other sponsored content, please contact sales@inman.com for rates and further details.)
- Overt critiques or attacks.
- Contributions that rely heavily on math, data, or claims that Inman editors cannot research and independently verify.
- Surveys or data that have not been published publicly elsewhere.
How do I submit an article?
Submit an article for publication by sending a Word or Google Document to contributors@inman.com.
What system does Inman use?
Inman publishes using the WordPress (WP) system. You don’t need to know the ins and outs of WordPress to be a contributor. Your editor will handle most of the backend, but it is good to keep this link handy for trouble-shooting your author page bio.
Do I need to provide images?
We appreciate original photography but do not accept copyrighted material. If you have an idea about how to illustrate your article, talk to us! Feel free to send links from sites such as Unsplash as a suggestion.
What happens after I submit my article?
Our editors will review it for content and determine where it fits with our upcoming editorial calendar. Often we will ask you to make some edits, such as elaborating on aspects of the piece we think readers will find interesting or including more links or research.
When we accept your content, we’ll reach out to let you know a targeted publish date and how to sign up to become a contributor and find your author’s page.
Do you edit my article?
Our editorial team will evaluate all contributed submission for compliance with guidelines and publishing policies and then edited to fit Inman style, which often aligns with AP Style.
Inman reserves the right to edit or change all article headlines and content, and to fact check any claims with sources at other organizations and companies, to ensure that contributed articles are accurate.
Do you publish content that’s been published elsewhere?
Typically not. Submissions to Inman should be written or recorded specifically for publication in Inman. If you have previously published content that seems particularly well suited for the Inman audience, we would be happy to review it.
What about publication rights?
All submissions become the property of Inman upon publication.
Do you take paid contributions?
We do not take money for contributed stories. Any contributors who are paid by outside parties to insert links should disclose or risk the end of our relationship and their stories and links being removed from our site.
Who do I contact if I have questions?
Contact contributors@inman.com with any questions about contributing to Inman. We’re here to help!