What Type of Articles Do We Accept?

Blog contributions featured on the CFLA website are comprehensive, data-driven, and compelling posts that teach our readers something new about the world of leather.

Here’s the full spectrum of topics we’re looking for:

• Leather Supply / Value Chain
• ChromeFree Alternatives and Best Practices
• Tanning Methods and Leather Chemistry
• Leather Innovation (Technological development)
• Leather and the Environment
• Leather Traceability
• Market Reports and analysis
• ChromeFree Leather Fashion Trends
• Expert Advice
• Leather and the SDG's
• The Leather Industry in China
• Brand Success Stories (ChromeFree®Case Studies)
• Leather History

Got expert insight you want to share? We’ll be your avenue of unique ideas and engaging content.

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What are the Editorial Guidelines for Contributors?

Before you get started, read our editorial guidelines to get a clear picture of what your content should consist of to be publishable.

Below are the 7 contributor guidelines you need to consider before writing:

1. Your content must be unique — Your content needs to be original. Talk about a topic no one else has discussed before or talk about it from a different angle. Rather than focus on what people already know, give us your fresh take on innovative insights that can benefit the leather world. Also, this should not have been published elsewhere prior to contribution. This is a must and non-negotiable. You may reference previous materials, but you must link and credit authors respectively.
2. Write for our audience — You’re not just speaking to a singular audience. You’re contributing to the whole nine yards of the the leather world. Write impactful pieces that apply to the whole lot; so make sure this speaks to audiences of all levels of the supply chain.
3. Consider our brand — We speak clearly and honestly: no beating around the bush, no frills.
4. Write engaging yet readable content — Write comprehensive articles that are both engaging and relevant to readers. Let’s not bore them with lengthy technical information. Rather, involve them in the process of reading your articles as leather novices or experts.
5. Mind the article length and keyword usage — Let’s also be mindful of the article length. We prefer a minimum of over 750 words and a maximum of 2,000. Consider SEO, in terms of keyword usage, the length of the article, and content relevance.
6. Use relevant and timely research data — No fake news allowed here. Fact-check the sources you cite to establish credibility and avoid plagiarism. Don’t quote the page, quote the original source.
7. Use credible images — Images engage your readers. Post proper images relevant to your article, and cite the sources. We’re particular with copyrights, as well; so be sure to submit royalty-free images, only, or obtain permission to use copyrighted images.

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Content That We (and our audience) Love

Let’s not give you a hard time thinking about your articles and save you the bother of revisions.

Here are some ideas to help you ideate your content:

1. How-to posts: These are detailed posts that precisely outline how to do something specific; templates, checklists, and step-by-step guides that define a successful approach.
2. Case studies: These posts should include factual data, actionable takeaways, and thorough definitions of each step in the analysis process. The readers must have enough data to replicate your study, if they want to.
3. Best practices posts: Readers are always looking for best practices. These are blog posts that feature the learning and insights that you have been able to pick up from experience and continuing education.
4. Research- and survey-based content: These are posts acquired through extensive research from multiple sources, like interviews and questionnaires. These are used to gather the opinions, thoughts, feelings, and beliefs of a particular sample or demographic.
5. Data-driven posts: These articles focus on creating high-quality posts that solve the audience’s problems or issues they care about by providing proof and backing up every claim with scientific findings, data, and up-to-date research.
6. Interactive content: These are content that requires active engagement and participation from your audience. Some examples are polls, quizzes, infographics, and video content.

Now that you have an idea on the type of content we’re looking for, let’s have a quick run-down of content that we WON’T publish. Below are the no-nos when sending your content.

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What We Don’t Publish

Consider these the red flags when writing your blog posts:

1. Articles with self-promotional links and links to corporate websites — Let’s be professional. We’re already promoting you and your article, as is. Also, these links won't be included and attributed as a No follow, but links to relevant resources are fine.
2. Topics that have been discussed repeatedly — If you’ve ever heard the phrase “been there, done that”, then this can apply to articles, as well.
3. Articles that offer no value — As a a leather alliance, we expect the submitted articles to cover topics relevant and related to our field.
4. Opinion-based or editorial articles are a no-go — Focus more on crafting informational material, like tips, strategies, how-tos, and in-depth guides, to name a few. We understand that the industry tends to give in to popular beliefs and we'd like to occasionally challenge those beliefs by making a few exceptions for advisory pieces, however they must be backed with reports and credible data to support your opinions.
5. Hard-to-read articles with many and major grammatical errors will not be considered — This needs no further explanation. Being knowledgeable isn’t enough if you can’t communicate your thoughts effectively.
6. Keep your socials in your author bio — Keep all your promotions and personal information stored in the author bio. We’ll give you and your article sufficient space for your author bio

Now that that's out of the way, learn how to submit your articles to us.

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How To Submit an Article

You can submit your articles to hello[@]chromefree.org  with the following content:

• A completed post in Google Docs format, but initial pitches are welcome, too. You may consult your topics and ideas with our editors first before writing your content.
• Attach the image(s) with a proper attribution and the link from the websites that give royalty-free photos in a separate folder. For reference, kindly check our Image Guidelines below.
• Provide a maximum of 50-word author bio, including your headshot sized 350px x 350px, one anchor text link to your own website and links to your social media accounts such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

If your article fits our editorial standards and aligns with our content strategy, we will respond to let you know when your article will be published.

The turnaround time for an article to be published is ten (10) business days or depending on our editorial calendar.

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The Submission and Editing Process

• Here at ChromeFree®Leather alliance we aim for high-quality content. We have a team of in-house editors and content strategists who will help refine your article upon submission. On your end, however, the team expects your output to be free of major grammatical and formatting errors. We’ll be limiting revisions to two rounds and require your active participation in rewrites and revisions.
• The submitted article will be added to the queue of our Editorial Blogging Process. From there, our editors will have a run-through of the article. The team may decline submissions that are either not a proper fit for the site or in need of some improvements. We’ll inform you once your article is approved. You will only be compensated for your work once the article has been approved.
• The Editorial Team reserves the right to decline content for not meeting any of the above-mentioned guidelines.
• The Editorial Team reserves the right to remove links or any content that is deemed offensive, harmful, or overly promotional. Any infringement of our policies can result in the removal of your content at the editors' discretion.
• The article should not be published on other sites once it has been posted on the CFLA blog.

If you have questions or clarifications, you can reach out to our team at hello[@]chromefree.org

Let’s get your expert insight out there. The leather world needs what you have to say.

Grow as an influencer in the space with your published articles that you can link back to your website, to establish better page authority and digital presence.

This is also a way for you to connect with other contributors and experts in the industry, to grow your network and expertise in different leather disciplines, as well.

Contribute to the CFLA Blog today!

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Image and Digital Asset Guidelines

We have a set of guidelines to follow when posting visual assets on the CFLA website, to maintain consistency and relevance to the brand and its overall page aesthetic:

1. Stock images are a no-go — Let’s maintain originality through the images and visuals we use for our articles and website. We don’t accept submitted stock images as visual assets.
2. Make your images original — We accept images that you and your team made as long as these images are clear, informative, and consistent with your topic.
3. Follow our image specifications — Likewise, observe the nitty gritty details below for visual asset submissions:
4. Open-Graph (OG): We require at least two (2) photos to be used as an OG image with a size of 1200px x 630px.
5. Content Images: Size width should be 1024px with a maximum file size of 200kb. These images should be in landscape orientation.
6. Infographics: The required size width is 1200px. The length, on the other hand, totally depends on how long your content is.
7. Videos: The ratio size should be 16:9. We also prefer that you upload it on YouTube for easy linking and attachment.
8. Include Proper Image Attribution — Kindly follow this format when attributing your photos: Photo courtesy of [NAME OF UPLOADER/LINK TO THE IMAGE LINK] via [IMAGE SOURCE]
9. Submit a PDF copy of the Visual Asset Agreement (VAA) — We’re very careful with copyright infringement. For all images and visual assets you submit with your full name and signature.

That’s about it! We look forward to receiving your digital assets and, more so, put them up on our website soon.

If you have questions or clarifications, don’t hesitate to email us at hello[@]chromefree.org

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