EHL Insights

Choose a Topic to Develop

We do not require idea pitching but we appreciate being involved in the creative process. We will gladly offer suggestions and help you structure your content to fit our audience while putting forward your expertise.

Just because we like your pitch does not mean we’ll publish your article. We need to see the final piece before committing to running it on our blog.

EHL Insights’ content focuses on helping our readers understand the hospitality and service industries in the large sense.

Topics we cover fall under these 5 broad categories:

1. Culinary Arts: Gastronomy, F&B, Practical Arts, Restaurant Management, Recipes.
   
   
2. Hospitality Industry: Trends, Entrepreneurship, Hotel Management, Sustainability, Travel, Tourism, Customer Service.
   
   
3. Business Management: Sales & Marketing, Finance, Real Estate, Luxury, Technology, Strategy.
   
   
4. Education Trends: Leadership, Industry reports, Skills Development, Innovation.
   
   
5. Student Resources: Culture, Lifestyle, Internships, Study Tips, Program Information.
   
   

Tips to choosing a topic:

• Make sure it is insightful, informative, industry-related and if you wish personal.
• Choose only ONE topic or question to be answered (Too many issues bring confusion and cannot be fully developed).
• Writing about a topic that’s been in the news lately is always welcome.
• Read our blog for inspiration.
• Avoid topics like religion, competitors and politics.

 

Tone of Voice & Style

EHL Insights is a forward-thinking platform that delves into hospitality, business and education-related topics in order to educate and inspire, be it via a creative recipe, thought-provoking opinion piece, or hard hitting article. 

We continually aspire to be an industry thought-leader, an active contributor to the conversations occurring within hospitality and education, and an authoritative voice on those topics backed by EHL’s world-class reputation.

Our articles aim to be helpful, reflecting passion for what we do and knowledgeable but not arrogant. We always strive to be positive and informative.

Download EHL's style guidelines for more information.

We publish content in English, French and German.

Please write in your native or fluent language(s) and note that we use the US spelling of English.

Know Your Audience

Who are you speaking to? The key to writing clearly and engagingly is visualising your reader. The most effective blog posts which get shared far and wide are those that have a human touch and solve a real problem.

Our audience includes but is not limited to: Prospective students, students, parents,
industry professionals, leaders or influencers, Alumni, school counselors, etc.

To help, we have identified some personas which encapsulate our typical readers, pick one and write it for them! 

Youngsters

• 16-21 years old
• I am a young and aspiring business professionals looking for study tips, industry insights, lifestyle and cultural information. 
  
  

Professionals

• 22 to 35 years old
• I am a professional and need to be inspired with the latest & greatest in the industry. I look want to stay in the know and identify opportunities for growth.

Business starters

• 22 to 50+ years old
• I have an entrepreneurial spirit. I am business oriented and looking for opportunities to capitalize on previous experience and connect with my peers.
  
  

Thought Leaders

• 30+ years old
• I am established in my career and need to be in-the-know. I like to connect with like-minded peers.

Each persona is clearly defined and has a different agenda when it comes to reading content online. EHL Insights aims to cover a range of topics targeting each of these audiences, this means we are looking for different levels of content which is accessible to each audience.

Seek to Provide Value

Your content should add value to the reader, meaning it should be useful, entertaining or pertinent content. EHL Insights has an independent editorial voice, whilst we are happy to receive content from businesses we won’t publish any work with overarching sales or promotional messaging

Ensure you are writing about a topic which is not too niche or technical, and that it is clear and understandable. Academic research papers might be a great starting point for researching a blog idea but the style of writing is much too complex and will need to be translated for a wider audience. Bear in mind the age and experience level of your target audience at all times.

Pay Attention to Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

We want your hard work to be seen!

SEO (search engine optimisation) is the tactics Web Masters use in order to get web pages ranking in those prized top spots on the search engine results pages. The higher we rank for your blog, the more likely it will be to get clicked on and read for relevant search terms. It also increases your content “shelf-life” onsearch engines.

SEO Tips:

Below are a few tips for how content writers can produce blogs which are both compelling for readers and also please the Google bots (and Bing, Yahoo, etc…). In most cases, the EHL Insights will provide you with a focus keyword for your blog, in which case you can skip straight to the second point. 

• Keyword Research

Once you have your blog topic, think about all of the closely-related terms people interested in your blog might be searching for in order to find it: their ‘search intent’. These can often be questions and ‘long-tail’ keywords. 

Note: Long-tail keywords are often less competitive but have a smaller search volume, whereas more generic terms i.e ‘hotel management’ might be directly related to your blog but be highly competitive, so it’s important to strike a balance between search volume and competition. 

Use an SEO tool to help, such as: https://www.seoreviewtools.com/content-analysis/

• Include these Keywords in your blog 

Insert the keywords you want to target in Headings and body copy, these should fit naturally as they are closely linked to your chosen topic. Try to insert the most relevant keywords higher up on the page and at the start of your headings to show the hierarchy of your content.

 

• Avoid Keyword stuffing

Whilst it’s great to mention your focus keyword and variations such as plurals, synonyms and abbreviations throughout your blog, only do so where it feels natural. Keep your writing focused on its core topic and avoid mentioning keywords for the sake of it - Google penalises over-use of keywords. 

 

• Be inspired by the current top ranking articles

There’s no harm in checking out the competition. Do a Google search for those terms and see what is currently ranking highly, i.e. what works in terms of format, titles, etc.

 

• Use subheading and sub-subheadings

Creating distinct sections in your blog through headings not only helps the reader to scan through the article more efficiently, it also helps rank higher for SEO by signalling to Google what content is going to be covered. Include keywords in subheadings and sub-subheadings.

 

• Cite credible sources with external hyperlinks 

Use credible sources when quoting facts and figures, using others’ research or ideas, make note of them at the bottom of your article and link throughout if necessary.
Credible sources can be found anywhere but here are a few examples: https://www.forbes.com/business
http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/
https://www.huffpost.com/

 

• Include Internal hyperlinks 

Including EHL Insights’ internal links will also help with the SEO of your blog post. If you have written anything similar for EHL Insights or have seen other blogs on a similar topic that will help back up a particular point you are making or go into more detail on one specific point, then hyperlink it within your copy. 

Write for the Web 

We love creativity! It’s important to convey passion about your chosen topic, however, be aware that writing for the web isn’t always compatible with overly stylistic copywriting.

Tips to succeed at writing for the web:

1. Think about making your writing accessible to all (remembering those who don’t speak native level English). 
   
   
2. Think about readers accessing your content from various devices: reading on a desktop or mobile is not the same as reading on paper!
   
   
3. Online readers tend to have a short attention span, so aim to get to the point early on (within the first paragraph).
   
   
4. Keep sentences and paragraphs short and concise where possible. 
   
   
5. Explain complex ideas in a few sentences. This is where citing external resources with hyperlinks could be useful and save you lengthy amounts of copy.
   
   
6. Structure your article with descriptive subtitles for each section or idea.
   
   
7. Acronyms and industry jargon should be written out in full in brackets or explained right afterwards. 
   
   
8. Use lists and bullet points to summarise key points. 
   
   
9. Choose an eye-grabbing title which clearly explains what the content will be. See more info on how to write an excellent title below.
   
   
10. Check for grammar and spelling.

Choose the Right Format/Structure 

There are 2 formats to choose from on EHL Insights, choose one which allows you to showcase your subject clearly.

Long-Form Article

This format encapsulates opinion blogs, in-depth reports, listicle blogs, how-to blogs, etc...

Use this long format to delve into big topics that require quite a bit of explanation and analysis. 

Check our templates:

• "How to" Blog Post Template
• "Listicle" Blog Post Template

 

Short-Form Q&A

The goal of the Q&A format is to answer a very concrete business/user challenge/question in a concise and useful way.

Check our template:

• "Q&A" Blog Post Template

 

How to choose a format?

Research what kinds of content rank highest for your primary keyword. If the top results are videos, that suggests you should create a video in order to compete for those top spots. Don’t mess with something that is tried and tested, other sites have put time and energy into ranking highly for that topic, so learn from them and follow their lead. 

 

Formatting points to remember: 

1. Word count for long-form: 1,500+
2. Word count for short-form: 500 - 1000
3. Remember an introduction and conclusion. 
4. Use subheadings and sub subheadings within the body copy to divide your blog into easily digestible sections.

Write a Compelling Title

Headlines are really important, not only does the headline make the reader decide whether or not to click on your blog and read it, but it sets the tone and establishes the key subject of the article. 

This blog post goes into detail about the different types of titles and why each of them work to grab the attention of your target audience. 

What makes a good headline? 

• It must appeal to their target personas.
• It must promise to provide value to their target personas (see above).
  
  

How to write one?

• Make it short or relatively short

Your title should not be more than 70 caracthers.

• It can be written after you’ve finished the blog 

Often this is the best time to find the title as you know exactly what message you want to convey and can extract that message into a succinct title. 

• Don’t forget SEO

Try to find a title which both satisfies SEO and grabs your audience’s attention. Remember your focus keyword should be used near the beginning if possible.

• Don’t just write one title

Come up with a few titles, share them with others, and pick the one that best sells your blog to prospective readers. 

• Show you’re credible

Readers are looking for proven and trusted answers so if your piece is backed by science or data from a particular study, mention it.

E.g. ‘How A Sustainability Strategy Can Increase Your Bottom Line, According To An Oxford University Study’.

• Tell the audience what value they will get from it

Make sure you mention the main benefits to the reader from clicking on your post. If you’re writing a Listicle blog post, make sure to include the number of points in your title, it indicates to the reader that this post is easily digestible.

E.g. ‘7 Ways Your Hotel Can Increase Its Profit Margin’.

Write a Description

The description will serve as abstract during Google searches and should encourage people to read the full article.

This description will also appear on social media when sharing the article for example.

The descriptions should be a maximum of 150 caracthers.

We reserve the right to tweak it for SEO, style or simply to make it more attention-grabbing.

Illustrate Your Content

You can send us pictures, videos and inforgphics to be included in the article but it is not required.

Tips for Visual Content:

• Images need to be relevant to the content.
• Make sure you have the rights to use them or send us the link to its hosting website (YouTube for example).
• They should be providing useful information completing the topic.
• They should be high quality and full of relevant, useful information

We don’t promise we’ll use them, but we’ll definitely consider them.

Use Links and Calls to Action

• All links must naturally fit into the sentence/article and add value to the content.
• Please do not use generic links like “click here” or “learn more”.
• You can link to appropriate posts on your site or on any other news site or blog.
• We encourage you to link to other EHL articles.
• Please do not link more than once to any domain.

What are acceptable links?

• Relevant articles and blog posts
• Research or data
• Resources that will genuinely benefit the reader and make sense in the context of the post

What are unacceptable links?

• Affiliate links
• One’s own company links (homepage, About Us, Contact, Prices, Products, etc.)
• Product/service/pricing pages
• Category/tag pages
• Company social profile links - please place these in your profile instead.

No link building. If we believe that you are contributing content for the sole purpose of
building links for yourself or others, we will either ask for such links to be removed or
simply not publish the post.

Calls To Action

We accept relevant CTAs within your article.
These need to bring additional information about the topic.

These need to be text-based (1-2 sentences maximum).

What counts as an acceptable CTA?

• A download for some sort of content resource (guide, report, white paper, eBook, etc.)
• Registration for an event (webinar or live event)

What does not count as an acceptable CTA?

• A call to visit a company website not related to the article or promotiona
• A call to follow the company on social media, including social profile links
• A call to subscribe to email newsletters and other related subscriptions
• A call to contact a company, including all forms of contact information

Do Not Plagiarize or Copy

You are responsible for the originality and accuracy of the articles you submit. If found guilty of plagiarism, you will be banned from the community.

What counts as plagiarism? (this list is not exhaustive)

• Copying another person’s work and submitting it as your own, word-for-word.
• Copying another person’s work and changing some words or phrases.
• Copying any part of another person’s work, whether changing words or not.
• “Spinning” another person’s work.
• Using another person’s idea as your own, including the progression, flow, and main points of a post, examples, images, etc. without giving them the credit

If the post was originally published elsewhere, please give it credit, link back to the original content and use a canonical link.

Quote Your Source

Quotes should serve a clear purpose within the article. They can be extracted from other articles found on the internet if referenced correctly.

Republish The Content

EHL owns the rights to all content once it’s published. We however encourage you to summarize and/or link to the post on your own blog or social media accounts.

Please make sure you mention that the article was first published on EHL Insights, give it credit, link back to the original content and use a canonical link.

Sign and Promote Your Content

As a contributor, you will have an author profile on EHL Insights. It will include:

• A profile picture (Format 300x300 pixels)
• 1 line bio
• Link to your website and/or linkedIn profile

If multiple authors wrote the post, we will mention them all.

 

Promote Your Content

Once your article is published, share the link!
Tweet, share on LinkedIn, Facebook, or wherever you hang out.

In addition to being published on our blog, we include posts in our internal and external newsletters, Social Media, etc.

Use our Blog Templates

“How to” Blog Post Template

People are searching “how to” do things on Google all the time. And you can help those people out with a “how to” blog post. 

“How to” blog posts provide your readers with a step-by-step guide to doing, well, anything.

These blogs are an amazing opportunity to position yourself as customer-focused and selfless, as if you were laying out a tactical approach to fixing a problem or addressing a need without asking for anything in return. 

Check and download the template

"Listicle" Blog Post Template

We all love countdowns, rankings, and lists – including your readers. This presents an unignorable opportunity for your blog team: list posts. 

List blog posts are exactly what they sound like – a blog post listing off examples, resources or tips pertaining to a topic your readers will love, are interested in and would benefit from knowing more about. List posts can range from as low as three to as high as 100+, though the sweet spot that most bloggers gravitate towards tends to be between five and 20.  

Another perk of the list approach to blog posts is that it is appropriate for every stage in the buyer’s journey.

Check and download the template

"Q&A" Blog Post Template

How often do you find yourself typing “what is [blank]” into Google? Weekly? Daily? Hourly?

Sometimes, your readers just need a quick answer to a question. Enter: the “what is” blog post. This is the opportunity for you to answer that question – and provide further details on the topic for the readers that want them (and, of course, to help your post rank better).

Writing these posts can also help you be chosen for Google’s featured snippet – the box that appears in Google search results with a few dozen words answering the question people search for.

Check and download the template

Browse Helpful Resources

How to Write a Blog Post: A Step-by-Step Guide [+ Free Blog Post Templates]

13 Types of Blog Headlines That'll Get You More Traffic [+ Examples]

Writing for SEO: How to Write Blogs That Rank on Page 1 of Google

Keyword research and content analysis free tool