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Who can become a columnist and what to write about
No journalism degree or previous publication record is required. What matters is a subject you genuinely know, enough range for ten columns, and no advertising.
You do not need a journalism degree or previous publications to become a columnist in Columnist. The central content requirement is simpler: you need a subject you can write about repeatedly from your own knowledge, experience or observation, and each article must be useful to a reader on its own.
Who already has something to write about
A practitioner can explain how a profession actually works. A local activist can analyse city decisions. A teacher can explain education. An entrepreneur can write about business processes and recurring mistakes without promoting their own company. Doctors and lawyers can explain general issues in their fields while respecting professional and local restrictions. A sports supporter with deep knowledge can analyse matches and history without presenting emotion as fact.
Status is not a substitute for substance. A famous person with a promotional press release is less suitable than an unknown engineer who can explain a difficult problem clearly.
How to choose your subject
Describe the area as a working sentence rather than one broad word. “Psychology” is too wide. “How parents and teenagers negotiate digital rules at home” gives a direction. “Technology” is too wide; “why small teams make mistakes when choosing automation tools” is more workable.
Then write ten different possible headlines. If everything repeats after the third, the theme is too narrow. If the headlines have no connection, it is too broad.
What you can write
Suitable formats include opinion on an event, professional experience, explanation of a complex subject, analysis of a common mistake, cultural observation, historical context, a practical guide or a position on a public issue.
A column can be subjective. That does not remove the responsibility to get facts right. If you use a number, quotation or accusation, verify where it comes from and name the source in words.
What is not published
Direct advertising for your company, product or service is rejected. A press release does not become a column by replacing “the company” with “I”. You cannot publish someone else's text under your own name. External addresses, phone numbers, prices and sales calls do not belong in the article.
Political campaigning as a promotional or campaign task is also not accepted. Discussion of politics as a public subject and an author's opinion can still be possible within the publication's rules and the law; the requirements of the specific outlet matter.
The professional boundary is simple: a column answers the reader's question; advertising answers the client's task. A lawyer may explain which lease clauses people read too late. “Our firm will check your contract, call us” changes the genre into advertising.
How approval works
After registration and profile completion, the author submits an application. The network owner manually approves the profile once. This is protection against bots and spam, not pre-editing of every future article. No exact approval time is promised.
After approval, the author publishes independently as long as the column passes the automatic checks.
What to do while waiting
Prepare your first three topics, write one complete column, choose a cover with clear rights and check the biography. Do not write ten complete articles before your first publication. Once the first one is live, you can see how it looks in the chosen outlet and adjust the series.
Test the topic against ten publications
- you can name at least ten different questions;
- you can contribute your own observations or verifiable sources;
- the topic is useful outside your immediate professional circle;
- not every article ends by selling a service;
- the topic includes events, mistakes, explanations and disputed decisions;
- you can still imagine writing about it in three months.
Columnist is available at columnist.mib.news.
Topic matrix: is there enough for ten columns?
Test the topic by the number of different questions inside it, not by how attractive the label sounds. “Psychology in general” is too broad. “Why people postpone one specific type of decision” may be only one article. A sustainable column sits between those extremes.
| Test | Good sign | Bad sign |
|---|---|---|
| Different situations | you can name 5–10 genuinely different cases | every example leads to the same advice |
| Own experience | you have seen recurring mechanisms | you would only retell other people's articles |
| Clear reader | you know who benefits | the subject interests only the author |
| Boundaries | you know what you will not cover | almost anything can fit the topic |
| Continuity | questions remain after the first text | the first column exhausts the subject |
If three of the five rows fall in the “bad sign” column, adjust the wording before building a series. It is faster than changing your positioning every second article.
FAQ
Do I need a journalism degree?
No. Columnist does not require one for author approval. Publication also does not grant a profession, job title or press card.
Can I write about my own profession?
Yes. It is a natural source of topics when the article explains a problem or experience to readers and does not advertise your firm.
Can I use a pseudonym?
Yes. The byline can differ from the account name, but fully anonymous columns are not available.
Can I write in two languages?
Yes. One person may publish columns in different languages. Each individual article must be written in the language of the selected publication.
Reading is half of it. The other half is a column with your name on it, in a real publication.
Start writing