Do you have something interesting and valuable that you’d like to share with the Central Park community? If so, then maybe being a guest contributor to our neighborhood blog, the “Central Park Scoop” is for you!

In this post we’ll explain what being a “guest contributor” means, explain why you may want to do it and then give you the tool to get started today! To do this efficiently, we’ll do this all in an “FAQ” format.

What is the Central Park Scoop?

The Central Park Scoop (“the Scoop”) is a blog with informative & uplifting local information focused on building community. It started well over a decade ago and it’s evolved from one voice to many, which is exciting! It has built up a large local following, both on the blog and on its related social media channels, by being an informative and positive source of local information.

What is a Scoop “Guest Contributor”?

We love bringing value to our community and what better way to expand that value than by making the Scoop a platform with many voices. That is where guest contributors come in! The goal of adding guest contributors is to provide our readers/viewers with fresh content and diversified perspectives on a wide range of topics.

A guest contributor is someone who wants to provide content that will go out on the Central Park Scoop blog and/or the related social media channels (Scoop Instagram, Scoop Facebook and Scoop Youtube)What “content” are we talking about? By content we mean pictures, videos, blog posts, etc.

For example, a guest contributor could be a local business owner that wants to submit pictures and videos about an upcoming event they are hosting for the community. Let’s say it’s Second Dawn Brewing and they are having an upcoming community event around the holidays where local vendors will be selling their wares. They could submit pictures of some of the vendors products and a description of the event with details. We’d then take that info and get it out on the Scoop channels for them!

As a final example, a guest contributor could be someone who is passionate about a topic and wants to provide on-going information on the topic through written blog posts. In this example let’s say the contributor is passionate about kids mental health. That would be a topic our community would care about and they could upload a new written blog post on various sub-topics related to kids mental health once per quarter. We’d then get them posted on the Scoop!

Ready to get started? Let’s do it! Here is our Guest Contributor Submission Process. Save the link to your phone or desktop for easy future use.

If you’d like more info, read on!

Why Be a Scoop Guest Contributor?

Guest Contributors on the Scoop do not receive direct financial compensation, so why do it? The main reason is it’s free access to an established neighborhood audience. As a content contributor, you’ll gain exposure and free marketing for your business or cause that you care about. The Scoop has over 6,000 followers on social media, most of whom live and work in the neighborhood. This can be a great way to get the word out about your business, charity, cause, passion project, etc. Your Scoop content can go out via our website/blog, Facebook page, Instagram channel, Youtube channel and occasionally on our email newsletters. For many of our current and past contributors, writing blog posts helped them feel more connected to the community…..and who doesn’t want that?

What are Some Potential Scoop Topics?

Below is just a short list of ideas to help get your juices flowing! If you have other suggestions, let us know. The only real guidelines are that topics be informational and relevant to Central Park Scoop readers. While we won’t prohibit posts on sensitive subjects, we do ask that posts about sensitive subjects be fact based, informational and generally have a positive “spin”. The world doesn’t need more sensationalized, negative news. (I was about to list out all the places that do provide sensationalized, divisive news but that would be breaking my own rule!)

Your local small business!
Interior design
Real Estate (we have this one covered!)
Active Lifestyle (work out, nutrition, etc)
Relationships/Therapy
Good causes (Judi’s House, Brent’s Place, Project Worthmore, etc)
Education
Outside 80238 (things outside of our neighborhood but that people may want to know about)
Restaurant Scene (inside and outside 80238)
Local Businesses
Travel
Personal or Business Coaching
Household finances
Foster care
Parenting/Kids
Kid Sports
Estate Planning
Vendors
Insurance
Date night ideas
Healthcare
Mountain real estate
Home Maintenance/Inspections
Autos
Home Connectivity (Audio/Visual/Apps/Smart Features)
Drone videos of the area

What are the Guidelines for Content I Submit?

Goal should be to add value to the readers/viewers
Focus on serving the community, not “selling” them
Be positive but realistic. It’s ok to address issues but we want a solutions-focused approach
Do not put other businesses, groups or individuals down…..including through comparisons
Do not engage in disparaging or argumentative comments on your posts
Be open, respectful, and inclusive
Be authentic and vulnerable. We don’t all have it together all the time, readers/viewers will enjoy it more if we are open about our shortcomings. It’s a blog, which is by nature more personal than a website, so it’s ok to open up a bit.
We retain the ability to edit or delete posts as we see fit. 95% of the time we’re going to be fine with what you have to say. We’re not looking for perfection.

Additional Frequently Asked Questions:

Do I need to submit polished “Reels” etc for social media?

No! If you can submit multiple pictures, short “snippet” video clips (short 5- 10 second clips of the subject), etc (the raw materials that are needed to create Reels) and your write up for the social media post our social media manager can turn them into Reels and get them out for you! Disclaimer: Social media isn’t our main role as a company, we’re neighborhood focused Realtors, so we can’t always commit to creating Reels and polished social media for you. That said, if you give us good raw materials and some time we’ll do our best to make it look great!

Do I need to be an established/professional writer, photographer or social media expert to contribute?

No experience required! We’re real estate brokers; not professional writers or social media experts ourselves, and we don’t expect you to be either. Don’t stress about perfect, just get started and our team will help along the way.

Do I need to be tech savvy?

No significant tech knowledge required. We’ll provide clear instructions below on how to submit content to get started. It’s quick and easy!

How frequently do I need to contribute content?

There is no set requirement for content frequency. We know people are busy, and we don’t want this to become a stressor for anyone. Shorter posts, pics, and videos get more reach, and posting with some sort of regularity will make you and your business/charity/cause/etc. more memorable. For example, rather than writing a single post explaining every aspect of your business/charity/cause/etc. (which can be a bigger time commitment), break it up into a series of posts. Example: if you’re a property inspector, write individual posts about plumbing, electrical, HVAC, radon, common issues with older homes, frequently missed items, home maintenance, etc.

Success will be built on posting continually over a long period of time. You can’t build trust or awareness with the reader community without putting in effort over a long period of time.

What types of media can I provide for content?

We are open to all types of content/media, from pictures and videos with short blurbs on the topic to longer written blog posts.

Can you provide some example posts or ideas?

Social media post examples: To see what types of posts we put on social media you can go to our channels and scroll through. Our social media channels include the Scoop Instagram, Scoop Facebook, and Scoop Youtube.

Blog post examples: For blog posts you can go to the Central Park Scoop blog itself and review the latest blog posts to see what they look like. Feel free to put your own spin on your posts though!

How do I get started?

Ready to give being a guest contributor on the Scoop a try? Great!

It’s easy! You can submit your content with the link below. We suggest you save the link to your phone’s home screen and/or desktop for easy future access.

We’re all about progress and getting better as we go. So as you try out this process in the link below please feel to give us feedback on how we can improve it.