Correspondent Field Guide
BECOMING A CORRESPONDENT
Hello future Correspondents! We're so glad you've found us.
Here at The Venue Report, we're looking for talented and creative folks to report in from geographical regions all over the globe. Each time you visit a potential venue space, such as a hotel, restaurant, art gallery, national park, cave, igloo or yurt (for example's sake), whether for an event or in your personal time - you can submit your work to be featured on The Venue Report.
When published, pending review by our team of event planners, writers, travelers, photographers and wayfaring wanderers, we'll feature the venue (and you, very important point) on our website and social media platforms. You'll be listed on The Venue Report as a featured Correspondent, bringing you some lovely social media buzz and forever attaching your name to your outstanding venue selection.
This means when our audience is searching for this venue, they will also find you.
How to get started? So glad you asked.
Before we dive in, we want you to know we do receive more than our fair share of submissions each week (lucky for us) so we kindly ask you to read our Correspondent Guidelines below and give us 2 business weeks from the date of your submission to review. If you do not hear back from us, we invite you to re-submit at a later date.
With hundreds of venues coming our way each week, we search for the diamonds in the rough, the cream of the crop – how do you ensure your work stands out? Following these guidelines will surely improve your chances?
FIELD GUIDE FOR A SUCCESSFUL SUBMISSION
PERSONAL BIO Included in an approved correspondent submission is a photo of you, a 2-4 line bio and website hyperlink if applicable. We want our celebrators and venues to know who you are and to easily find you. This information will be collected from your “My ACCOUNT” Tab in your dashboard. If you want to be highlighted with a photo, bio, location, and website hyperlink, we will need you put this information into your account page and update your profile. Once you have done this the first time, every time you submit a report the information will already be saved. Please feel free to change your photo or update your bio, location or website at any time.
NEW REPORT Fill out a Report on either an existing member venue OR a new venue that you want to introduce to us. We’ve created a submission process that is one easy-to-use form. Here is an example of the submission dashboard where you will be inputting all the data necessary for a successful submission. At any time during the process of filling out the submission fields you can reference this field guide to answer questions you may have.
CURRENT VENUE To submit a report on a member venue currently published on The Venue Report, utilize the drop down under Venue Information and choose from the selection made available.
THE REPORT The content you provide about your experience at a venue is just as valuable as the images that paint a visual picture. Here are some questions to keep in mind as you fill out your report. Feel free to answer as much as you like, our writers will craft your notes into a blog-worthy beaut.
- First of all, name the report. Include the Venue Name in the title.
- Highlight your experience at the venue or provide background on the event that took place.
- Is there any historical fact or story about the venue you learned while onsite?
- What kind of events would work well here?
- Did you meet anyone at the venue space who was memorable? Ex: The mango mojitos Bob the bartender made were out of this world!
- Favorite design element of the space.
- Is there anything existing on the property you would incorporate into an event? Ex: the 100-year-old weeping willow made a perfect arch for the ceremony on the outdoor lawn.
- Why should we highlight this space on The Venue Report?
VENDOR CREDITS Include credits for all vendors involved, from planners, stylists, florists, caterers and invitation designers, including URL’s. The more information provided here will improve your chances for publication.
IMAGE GUIDELINES For some "it's all about that bass" but for us, it's all about images. We'd like for you to highlight the interior and exterior of the venue as well as any beautiful historical elements or structural aspects, the grounds, views and various onsite possible venue locations. We also love event images that capture the joy that comes from inhabiting these spaces with gatherings. While our focus is the venue space, don’t hesitate to send close-up shots of elements from the event that contributed to it’s greatness – a wonderful table setting, gorgeous flower arrangement or even a killer shoe shot. We want to give our readers an idea of what can be done at a venue space as well as what the raw space and existing features are.
PHOTO REQUIREMENTS
We require a minimum of 15 photos and a maximum of 80 photos uploaded. These images should be hi-res, un-watermarked images relating to the venue, or event that took place at the venue you are reporting on. All Photos must be at least 900 pixels wide and less than 10MB in file size.
ADHERE TO OUR AESTHETIC
Light, bright and beautiful shots are our bread & butter. However a well-lit tent at night or dreamy dusk shot is just as encouraged. Color photos are preferred over black and white but if they fit with the story, please don’t hesitate to send them.
IMAGE SELECTION
Trust your eye and curate to the best of your ability, we believe in quality over quantity. Think of your report as a storyboard, painting a picture of what is possible at this event space. We love your POV and want to feature it as you see it.