This is information from our blogger's newsletter. If you write for our sites and have questions, please comment here and I'll respond.
Selecting keywords and phrases for good traffic
A great way to check out keywords related to your topics is the Google AdWords tool. You don't have to pay for words to estimate their worth. Another technique is to be specific, particularly in your first sentences. Think about what you would google and build phrases that way.
Writing snappy headlines
A headline is the promise to a reader that your article will fulfill. Try to be timely, mention by name the specific popular product or person, and when it naturally fits use lists (5 ways to...). Copyblogger has these additional tips.
Images
We must have the rights to each and every image. This includes infographics. A great place to find images to use is with the Creative Commons license on Flickr under Attribution or Attribution-NoDerivs. If you take the picture or create the graphic, please say so in your post so we know.
*Important: Charts and graphics from sources such as Marketing Sherpa are sometimes open to sharing and will say so, but they're definitely not if they come from a source you paid for such as a whitepaper or subscription area of the site. Please be cautious about this, I often have to reject excellent articles that depend on a graphic we can't publish.
Let us know any questions you have.
Carissa
Site Curator