Blog Contest Rules
Travel Mamas is accepting submissions for the first Travel Mamas "So You Think You Can Blog" Contest. The first place winner will receive a $100 gift certificate to Diapers.com, the largest online specialist offering baby care necessities in the United States. The winning entry will be featured on the Travel Mamas home page for two weeks. Additionally, the writer will be interviewed for a profile story to accompany the winning blog.
Please send blog contest submissions as an attachment or in the body of an email to info@travelmamas.com by August 31, 2009. Both unpublished and professional writers are encouraged to participate. Submissions should be 500 – 800 words and provide tips for travel with children. Suggested topics include: trip reports about a specific location, multi-generation trips, diapering on the go, potty training while traveling, bedtime while away, feeding issues on vacation, travel while pregnant, or any topic beneficial to traveling parents. If you write about a trip you have taken, please include specifics like names of restaurants, hotels, and attractions and provide prices when appropriate.
TravelMamas.com will choose three finalist blog articles based on usefulness for traveling parents as well as writing style and entertainment value. Links to the three finalist articles will be highlighted on the Travel Mamas home page September 7 – 20 of this year. During this time, site visitors will be able to vote for their favorite of the finalists’ submissions. The article that receives the most votes will win the contest. The winner will be announced on TravelMamas.com September 21, 2009 and will be featured on the Travel Mamas home page for two weeks. The three finalists will receive a Travel Mamas Tote Bag.
Finalists will sign a contract for first world rights, meaning that the material has never been published anywhere prior to Travel Mamas, including on other blogs or websites. Rights revert back to the writer after the piece is no longer featured on the Travel Mamas home page with the understanding that the story may be featured indefinitely on the Travel Mamas Blogs & Trip Reports page or elsewhere on the Travel Mamas site. Additionally, material from any of the finalists’ stories may be quoted or featured in entirety in the upcoming book, “The Travel Mamas’ Guide.”
Blog entries must include only original material and should be based primarily on personal experience and interviews. Please review Travel Mamas Blogs & Trip Reports prior to submitting. Direct quotes (words cited between quotation marks) must not be paraphrased in any manner and should reflect exactly what a person said. You must provide a list of all sources, including but not limited to: websites, interviews, articles, and books.
Submissions should have a one-inch margin and be double-spaced. Include word count, a title for the piece, a brief bio (one to two sentences, including web address, if desired). Use 12-point Times New Roman font. Include hyperlinks or provide the web path for any links to be used within the blog. Please be sure to do a grammar and spelling check before submitting.
The contest sponsor, Diapers.com, offers a wide selection of staples like diapers and baby food, plus baby toys, books, strollers, baby carriers, and more – much of which is perfect for traveling with tots. You are encouraged to provide links to products at Diapers.com within your submission, but only if doing so enhances the piece.
Photos that illustrate contest submissions are not required but are welcomed. Photos should be sent as jpeg attachments. If a contestant does not own a photo’s copyright, signed permission from the photographer must be submitted with the photo. Provide the date and location of the photo, full names of all individuals pictured, and ages of any children in the photo. You must have permission from anyone pictured in a photo to submit it for use on Travel Mamas.
Good luck and enjoy the journey!
For more information on this topic see:
• So You Think You Can Blog Press Release
• Travel Mamas Blogs & Trip Reports
