Complete Water Guide works with outside contributors and brands in two clearly separated ways. Please read the relevant section carefully before getting in touch, and tell us which track you’re writing about.
- Track 1 — Editorial guest contributions. You pitch, you write, we edit. Unpaid, byline-based, and competitive.
- Track 2 — Sponsored placements. You supply the brief, our editorial team writes the article. Clearly labelled and disclosed.
Track 1: Editorial Guest Contributions
We accept a small number of high-quality guest contributions each quarter. We’re looking for evidence-based, original writing that helps readers make better decisions about water — drinking, filtering, hydration, bottled brands, sustainability, or related health and science topics.
What We Publish
- How-to guides with concrete steps, screenshots, or photos.
- Explainers that translate science or regulation into plain English.
- Comparisons and reviews backed by your own testing or sourced data.
- Personal essays with a clear takeaway (rare, but we love a great one).
What We Don’t Publish
- AI-generated text without substantial human editing and fact-checking.
- Thinly disguised press releases, brand promotions, or product advertorials.
- Content that already exists on the web in similar form.
- Pieces that link to gambling, adult, supplements, or low-quality affiliate sites.
- Speculative health claims unsupported by peer-reviewed sources.
Editorial Standards
- Original. Not previously published anywhere — including your own blog or LinkedIn.
- Evidence-based. Health, science, or regulatory claims must cite reputable primary sources (peer-reviewed studies, EPA, WHO, FDA, NSF, government agencies). Commercial blog posts are not accepted as sources for regulatory limits or health claims.
- Length. 1,500–2,500 words is the sweet spot. Quality over quantity.
- Voice. Conversational but precise. Read 5–10 of our existing articles before drafting.
- Structure. Use clear H2/H3 headings, short paragraphs, scannable lists, and a single clear takeaway.
- Images. Your own photos preferred. Otherwise, sourced under CC0 / Unsplash with attribution.
Author Bio & Links
- One short bio (60–100 words) — credentials, current role, why you’re qualified to write on this topic.
- One headshot (square, 400×400px or larger).
- You may include one link to a relevant personal site or LinkedIn in your bio. In line with Google’s guidelines, author and outbound links in guest contributions carry a
rel="sponsored"attribute. - In-article links to your own work are permitted only when they directly support a claim and add reader value, and will also be marked
rel="sponsored".
What We Don’t Pay For — and What We Offer Instead
We don’t pay cash for editorial guest contributions. We offer:
- A permanent, indexed byline on a site that ranks for thousands of water-related keywords.
- Editorial promotion via our newsletter and social channels.
- Honest editorial feedback — we work with you to make the piece stronger.
How to Pitch
Send a single email to support@completewaterguide.com with:
- Subject line: “Guest Pitch — [Working Title]”
- 2–3 sentence summary of the piece and the reader takeaway.
- Suggested headline + 5-bullet outline.
- Why you’re the right person to write it (links to prior work or credentials).
- One sample of your writing (link, not attachment).
Editing Process
- You submit a complete first draft via Google Doc with comment access.
- Our editor returns suggestions within 7 business days.
- You revise. One round of revisions is standard; sometimes two.
- We finalize copy, format for the site, and schedule a publication date.
- You see the live URL on publication day and may share it freely.
Rights & Republication
By submitting, you grant Complete Water Guide a perpetual, non-exclusive license to publish, edit, and promote your piece. You retain copyright. You may republish on your own site after 30 days, with a canonical link or note pointing back to the Complete Water Guide URL.
Track 2: Sponsored Placements
If you’re a brand or an agency working on behalf of one, this is the right track. It works differently from editorial contributions, and the difference matters.
We write the article. You don’t send us a draft.
Why We Changed This
We used to accept finished drafts from brands and edit them. In practice, almost every submission needed a full rewrite — unverifiable claims attributed to medical authorities, regulatory positions written as current when they were years out of date, secondary sources standing in for primary ones, and a voice that didn’t match the rest of the site. Editing around those problems took longer than writing the piece properly.
So we no longer accept pre-written articles for sponsored placements. Our editorial team researches and writes the piece to the same standard as everything else we publish. This is better for readers, and it’s better for you — your brand appears next to content that holds up.
What You Send Us
- Target URL. The page you want linked.
- Preferred anchor text. We’ll tell you if it doesn’t work in context and suggest alternatives.
- One or two target keywords or a topic. We’ll confirm whether it fits our coverage and doesn’t overlap existing articles.
- A short brand brief. What you do, what you’d like mentioned, and anything you specifically don’t want claimed on your behalf.
- Optional: product specs, test data, certifications, or original images. If you have primary data, we’ll use it and credit it.
That’s it. No draft, no outline, no revision rounds on your side.
What You Get
- An original article researched, written, fact-checked and formatted by our editorial team.
- One contextual link to your target URL, placed within the body of the article rather than buried in a footer.
- A sponsor disclosure box naming your brand and describing what you do.
- A custom feature image.
- A review copy before publication. You confirm accuracy about your own brand; editorial and scientific conclusions remain ours.
- The live URL on publication day.
How We Handle Links and Disclosure
- Every sponsored link carries a
rel="sponsored"attribute. We do not sell followed links, and we don’t make ranking promises. If that’s what you’re looking for, we’re not the right site. - Every sponsored article carries a visible disclosure identifying the sponsor.
- One link per article. Additional mentions of your brand are unlinked.
- Anchor text is agreed case by case. We’ll flag anything that reads as obviously commercial and propose a version that works editorially.
What We Won’t Do
- Publish health, safety, or performance claims we can’t support with primary sources — regardless of who is paying.
- Attribute a position to a medical or regulatory body without verifying it first.
- Describe your competitors unfavourably, or write comparison content designed to disparage a named brand.
- Work with gambling, adult, or unregulated supplement sites.
- Backdate, hide, or later remove the sponsored disclosure.
Process and Timeline
- You send the brief. We confirm within 3 business days whether the topic is a fit.
- We agree scope, anchor text and rate by email.
- We research and write. First version typically within 7 to 10 business days.
- You review for factual accuracy about your brand and confirm.
- We publish and send you the live URL.
Rates
Rates depend on topic complexity, research required, and volume. Email us for current pricing. We invoice on publication.
Republication
Sponsored articles remain exclusive to Complete Water Guide and should not be republished elsewhere, in whole or in part. Duplicate versions weaken the placement’s value for both of us. You’re welcome to link to and share the live URL anywhere you like.
Pitches We Reject Without Reading
- “Hi Sir/Madam” mass templates.
- Pre-written articles sent cold, on either track.
- Requests that ignore everything above and ask “do you accept guest posts?”
- Anything mentioning DA, DR, or link packages.
Contact
Tell us which track you’re asking about and we’ll reply either way: