Solar Marketing Think Tank-Guidelines

This image is not how you should contribute to the Solar Marketing Think Tank.

Thank you for your interest in contributing to Kiterocket’s Solar Marketing Think Tank. We appreciate your solar advocacy and your wish to contribute your thoughts on how the solar industry can market and communicate more effectively to the B2B world, as well as help accelerate solar adoption to businesses and consumers.

Please use the following guidelines when writing your post. We’ve written this guide in an FAQ format, but if you don’t see your question answered here, contact us at cleantechthinktank@kiterocket.com with “guidelines question” in the subject line.

What is the purpose of the Solar Marketing Think Tank?

Marketing, public relations, brand, and related research information for the solar industry is scattered across the Internet and is intermittent at best. Kiterocket established the Solar Marketing Think Tank to centralize solar marketing and PR information in one place, regardless of whether the content comes from a client, a nonclient, or a solar marketing agency competitor. We sincerely believe that our true competitors are the fossil fuel industries as well as consumer and political apathy about clean energy, not each other.

Who is the target audience for the Solar Marketing Think Tank?

Mainly, you’re writing for professional solar marketers and solar advocates. They may be solar and energy storage veterans or newbies. They may be high-level executives or starting their career. Nevertheless, you should assume that readers are familiar with the solar and energy storage industry as well as its most common acronyms. Write as if you’re giving advice, information, or inspiration to your own team. Although the Think Tank is a serious forum, the judicious use of humor or creative exposition is welcome.

What sectors can I write about?

We welcome your marketing/communications thoughts for the solar power, energy storage and adjacent sectors.

What topics should I write about?

You can write about anything, so long as it’s related to solar and storage marketing, PR, communications, and media. Please do not write anything that is purely self-promotional about your product or service. If you have a solar marketing/PR- related software tool, show how it can help solar marketers with a case study. Likewise, if you work for another marketing agency, that’s fine, but donate “how-to” marketing advice or tips to the Think Tank community.

We’re also open to asking the community some tough or controversial questions, such as “Are solar panels a commodity?” or “Is solar energy mainstream yet?” However, don’t just ask the question, but offer your opinion. Climate change and solar activism topics are also very welcome.

Will you edit my contributed posts?

We hope that your posts will be well-written and ready to be published, but we will at least edit your post for style and consistency. If we feel your post is too self-promotional or confusing, we will tell you why and ask you to rewrite and resubmit.

What content is not appropriate?

Once again, your content should not be overly self-promotional. We realize you may be writing about a product or service that may be useful for solar marketers, but we reserve the right to not publish material that we believe is blatantly advertorial. If you contribute genuine insights, you’ll stand out to readers who will be interested in your work.

Will I get credited for my posts?

Of course! As the author, you will receive a brief introduction and have a byline. You should also submit a 75-word bio with a link back to your company’s website or to your LinkedIn profile.

Should I submit images, videos or graphs with my posts?

Pretty please. We believe that visual media will enhance any post. Please include the photo credit and any desired caption. By submitting your image, we will assume that you own the rights to publish the image and that you are granting Kiterocket permission to use it.  If you are using public domain or copyright-free images, such as Wikipedia, please credit the source.

Should I submit my headshot?

We’d rather not include head shots, but we’re happy to link to your LinkedIn profile in your bio.

When will my contributed posts be published?

We’re limiting Solar Marketing Think Tank posts to twice a week. After any editing, your post will be published in the next available slot in the queue. We’ll let you know what that date is. In addition to being published, we’ll include your post in the next Think Tank newsletter to nearly 1000 subscribers.

Can I submit previously published material?

We require your Think Tank submission to be unpublished original content. However, you are welcome to republish it after publication on the Solar Marketing Think Tank, giving credit to the Think Tank as the media source of the original publication. Also, if you have previously published material you want to let us know about, we may include it in a “Solar Marketing Around the Web” round-up post.

How can I participate or contribute discussions on social media and contact you?

Thanks,

Tor “Solar Fred” Valenza