Publish Trend Alerts

If you would like to submit a Trend Alert please do so using the outline guide below.

We do not pay for Trend Alerts but you can raise your name awareness, influence others and obtain paid assignments by writing for the benefit of our members. And, if we like your writing you may be asked to join our research team on major client assignments.

Outline Guide

Aim:
To highlight an unusual or interesting development that will have significance in the medium to long term for business, research, government or society.

Length:    
500 – 1000 words

Style:

• Business/ journalistic rather than research/ academic
• Direct, lively language - not passives
• Not loaded with abstract nouns
• Make EVERY word count
• Business, so not too informal
• Explain any acronyms / abbreviations used
• Interpretation of implication but NOT personal ‘I think’ piece
• Not a personal rant but evidenced argument of what is happening out there

Structure:
Very brief over view of key argument (almost an abstract) for Para 1.

Short paragraph(s) on 'what is changing?' the different items you are bringing together, the trend, direction of change, issues  i.e. the key 'story' of the alert.

Short paragraph(s) on 'implications' – some can be adapted from the text of articles found/ used to develop / demonstrate the change.

Title:

• Make it “tweetable short.”
• It should be descriptive and accurate. Don’t EVER mislead readers.
• Make it creative enough to stand out in a crowded blog reader.
• Numbered lists in a headline work well and increase social transmission by 50 percent.
• Make sure the “value proposition” offers something helpful.
• Use descriptive, active and unusual verbs and adjectives.
• Ideally it would contain one keyword that would help a search engine determine the theme of the article and aid your SEO.

Don’t make your headline an after-thought. It’s the most critical part of the post. Work it.

Audience:  

Business/government - so what to do useful but not essential.           
Implications important, at every step.

Focus:     
Some on all of the following:

Something new, that has made you go 'oh that's interesting',

Longer term issue that is important and new aspects are emerging, or overlooked,

Preferably referring to / drawing on several items to give it substance, and a firm basis, rather than pure opinion or simply one item which makes it more like an abstract or a précis!

Preferably relevant to more than one sector / audience / industry.

It can be a new aspect of an existing trend; a completely new development; a speculative ‘what if?’ based on a combination of events and the author’s knowledge and judgment.

It should be based on more than one item, unless that is a key item and you can then interpret and add value around it; to avoid it simply being a précis.

Sources:     
Links used to develop the alert. Please insert footnotes in the text of the alert, at the location for the link, and put the link itself into a footnote.

Ethos:
Win:win – that it should help you the author as well as providing us with new content. e.g. help you develop ideas on an area of interest; reinforce research / scanning you do on a regular basis. Target areas when you want to develop new client business.

In the first instance, contact us using the free-form message box below and we will respond with an email address to send your brief too. We will comment and make suggestions, if any are needed.  It is then forwarded to our webmaster for inclusion in a future newsletter.