Title (roughly 10 words)

In italics, give a very brief (1.5 lines roughly) description of the trend that leaves the
reader wanting to learn and read more.

~INSERT TWO TIKTOK LINKS HERE~

~INSERT RANKMATH TABLE OF CONTENTS HERE~

TL;DR
● 🤖 Ask ChatGPT to summarize the article into 3 bullet points. The specific

😃
prompt is at the end of this guide.
● Head each bullet with a relevant emoji to catch the reader’s eye. I usually

🖊️
put the emoji in size 14pt font to make it stand out more and improve definition.
● Put important words and phrases in bold. This can include the name of the
trend, characteristics of the trend, names of relevant people, songs,
franchises, etc. Trust your gut, but don’t overuse the bold tool, try to keep it to

🔎 In the Trends
2-3 words/phrases, depending on the length of the point.

What is (Keyword) all about?

Provide an overview of the trend, giving a basic description of what the average
example of it looks like. Very briefly discuss its popularity and if there are any important
phenomena related to it (significant controversies, what popularized it, or any other
significant part about it beyond the basic description).

Impact on Pop Culture

Talk about how successful the trend is/was/might be, and whether or not people
like it. If there is a controversy or other significant point of discussion regarding it, now is
the time.

Origins and Popularity

Briefly discuss the origins of each part of the trend (ex. mention when the
song/movie scene/etc. in it came out, who made them). Then describe the origin of the
trend itself, making sure to mention the original creator and describe their original post
(note: this is not always possible, as finding the source of a trend [especially a meme]
can be extremely difficult, but make an effort regardless).

Unique Elements
Describe what makes the trend special, such as its specific tone, feel, subject
matter, or anything(s) about it that make it memorable. And on the rare occasion where
a popular trend isn’t that unique, make sure to mention that too. This is also where you
ought to include an in-depth description of the trend’s characteristics (the dance moves,
punchline, etc.), though this can be largely omitted if the trend is simple enough to
summarize entirely in the “What is ___….” section.
 FORMATTING OVERVIEW

TEXT: Text should be 12pt Arial, with the title, “TL:DR” and “In the Trends” being in 24pt.

LINKS: Provide 2 links from popular examples of the trend (if you choose two examples
with just a few views it undermines your message that the trend is popular). Try to make
both links examples of the most common form(s) of the trend, including the original post
if possible.

THUMBNAIL COVER: Screenshot key moments from three separate examples of the
trend, keeping them eye-catching, high definition, and generally as visually appealing as
possible. Additionally, make sure they are in mobile format if possible, as the black bars
at the bottom and top make the cover less appealing (though this may be unavoidable,
such as in the case of a movie clip).

Side-by-side they should form a rectangle- then simply trim enough off the top and
bottom so that the image is about twice as wide as it is tall. I personally use Adobe
Photoshop Mix on my phone, then transfer the images to my laptop to embed in the
post itself.

CHAT GPT AI PROMPT: Word these details into 3 attention-grabbing TL:DR bullets
with relevant statistics or data and make the information 1 sentence per bullet.

TAGS: Find words directly related to the subject. If it's a meme, include “memes” as a
tag, same with “music” if there’s music, or the name of whatever movie/series/game/etc.
the trend may be related to. Try to avoid anything too specific (don’t make a tag for the
trend that you know will likely never be used in another post).

TITLE: Titles can come in a variety of forms. I personally suggest asking a question that
the reader may have asked when they googled the trend, such as “Why is ____ __ing
____?” Other forms work too though, such as “Name of Trend | ___ing ____ and ____.”
 GENERAL WRITING TIPS

● Active/Passive voice: Try to use as much active voice as possible as it keeps the
article engaging. Active voice essentially means the subject is acting on
something else, rather than something else acting on the subject. Note that
passive voice is not always avoidable, but try to avoid using it if you can.
Example:
- Active voice: George Lucas (subject) directed (acts on) Star Wars.
- Passive Voice: Star Wars (subject) was directed by (is acted on by) George Lucas.

● Keep the tone casual, but still informative. Not as stiff as writing an academic
paper, but still try to sound like you know what you’re talking about. Largely avoid
slang unless it is relevant to the article.

● Keep sentences varied in length. Avoid extremely long sentences, but don’t write
a series of short, choppy sentences that feel as though they are one thought
broken up in pieces. Once again, Wordpress’s built-in system is helpful for this.

● Use other posts as guides whenever you are unsure about formatting.
Remember, we want articles to look uniform, so the more consistent they are the
better.

● The points within the “in the trends” section do not necessarily need to be 1
paragraph each, but in most cases that is all that is needed. If a paragraph is
getting too long for instance, it is better to split it up than just to have one huge
block of text. Keep it skimmable.

● If you’re having difficulty fitting the keyword into some of your sentences, you
don’t necessarily have to include it in its exact form every time. Simply refer to it
as, “the trend” or “this trend,” or refer to it by its characteristics.

● If you’re still stuck, just ask in the writers’ channel in Slack, and one of us will try
to get back to you as quickly as possible.

● If there is anything you think should be included in this guide, feel free to let
@Jasper Taylor know!