Crypto Handbook Editorial Guidelines

For background: Read about the Crypto Content Quality Problem here.

👉 The form to submit your story is at the bottom of this page.

Quality above all. All the work we publish in Crypto Handbook strives to be the highest degree of quality. Quality means different things to different people. Seven years of publishing on Medium and growing our subscriber base to hundreds of thousands of followers have taught us a few insights about content quality, but there’s also a personal element. We publish content that we’d like to read ourselves. As longtime Medium writers, we know what works and what doesn’t work on Medium.

No advertising. We’re not trying to sell anything. We’re not here to make money through ads. There are no ads in our content. We have a community but we are not a traditional publication with a financial northstar. Fortunately, Medium takes this administrative function off our hands.

Crypto fact-checking. We have an editorial process to verify the claims of our pseudonymous writer. Security in crypto still has some catching up to do. And because of that, our writers opt to write behind a pseudonym, for personal protection. However, these pseudonymous writers have been independently verified by Crypto Handbook’s editors through phone calls and screenshots.

Pseudonyms are okay. We prefer pseudonyms and real numbers over real names and no numbers. We want people, especially those dealing with big sums, to be able to share openly what they’ve experienced and learned without fear of being tracked down and hacked. So we’ve developed a system to verify them while also keeping their identity safe. This is in order to deliver the highest quality content to readers like you.

Note: if you choose to write under a pseudonym, we will require more content with specific numbers, screenshots, and data.

No “crypto-skeptics.” The reason is that a Handbook should have a generally positive outlook on the topic it’s teaching and educating people, otherwise we’d be proliferating something we don’t believe in. We believe in the future of cryptocurrency as a staple technology that will shape not just economies at scale, but individual lives. So we are critical of our sources and opinions, but we are optimistic in our beliefs.

Crypto Handbook Editorial Guidelines

• No selling or promoting. You can’t use Crypto Handbook as a part of your backlinking SEO strategy. You can share about the new coin or token you’ve launched, but if it comes across as promotional, we won’t accept it. Motivation in writing bleeds through. No content marketing. No reposts. No backdoor sales pitches.

Note: We’re not anti-CTA. We’ll assess CTAs on a case-by-case basis.

• No news. We’re a handbook, not a news publication. We provide commentary and analysis that helps our readers leverage the news. We’re a layer deeper than current events. We’re an educational resource that helps readers think about the news. Example: Coinbase releases XX, here’s what it means for you. Of course, we want hyper-relevant content and if that means writing about something announced today, we’re all for it. It just needs to have a personal narrative and practical takeaways.
• Write for non-technical audiences. It’s okay to be broad and provide non-technical background as the audience tends to be business-minded readers who may have a small percentage of their net worth in crypto or none at all but are thinking about it. That said we don’t want it to be so broad that it’s surface level and uninteresting.
• No adult, pornographic, harmful, or illegal content. That should be pretty straightforward.
• Bring it back to real-world dollars. Every piece should serve in some way, as a layman‘s guide on how to make money with crypto. There are millions of “getting started“ articles out there so try to attach the takeaways to actually making money. Provide actions and nonactions a reader should take to be successful.
• Proof. You must have good examples, anecdotes, and data. Don’t rely on people believing you are an expert, despite the fact you probably are.
• Must include a personal story. We want Crypto Handbook to be a place where you as a writer can tell your story freely. Let readers get to know you. The more you build trust, the greater traction your story will have. If you prefer to use a pseudonym, go for it (see our requirements on pseudonyms).
• No technical jargon or “insider” esotericism. You need to explain strategies, ideas, and terms so that a non-finance person can understand the concepts.
• Don’t go down rabbit holes, just link to them for those who do want to go down them.
• Avoid sensationalism. We’re not looking for crypto-fanatics, we’re not looking to enter debates, take sides, or get people riled up. Try to remain balanced and objective in your perspectives and tone.

By the end of the article, a reader should feel confident in taking their first steps in investing in crypto.

Nitty-gritty writing style rules

• Capital case headlines.
• Grammar is a tool, not a rule.
• Minimum 800 words. No cap.
• Short sentences are preferred over long ones, but variety is best.
• Short paragraphs are preferred over walls of text.
• Hyperlink in line to cited sources.
• Source and credit a non-stock(y) high res hero image.
• Screenshots of graphs with captions are highly recommended.
• Adult language is okay but use with taste, not liberally.
• Embed tweets.
• Cut adverbs, long descriptions, and embellishing language.
• Headlines that contain the following words are highly recommended: “I”, “you”, “$n”, and “how to.”

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