FAQ

Who is the owner of the SWLing Post?

The owner of the SWLing Post is Thomas Witherspoon (K4SWL).  You can read more about Thomas on our about page.

What topics do you cover on the SWLing Post? Is it only shortwave radio?

While most of our posts focus on shortwave radio, we publish articles and news items about a wide variety of radio topics. This might include:

  • A focus on the HF/Shortwave portions of the radio spectrum
  • International broadcasting news
  • Amateur radio news
  • Software Defined Radios
  • Scanners
  • Field radio
  • Radio Astronomy
  • Radio history and nostalgia
  • The internet and, specifically how it influences radio broadcasters and free speech
  • The history and future of various aspects of our radio hobby
  • Shortwave radio reviews
  • Ham radio reviews
  • Occasionally off-topic posts about travel, history or current events

Can I contribute to the SWLing Post?

Absolutely! Indeed, it is our dynamic and knowledgable community of contributors, commenters and readers that make the SWLing Post what it is today.

How can I contribute a guest post or idea?

Simply contact us with your idea for a guest post. Our only guidelines are that the posts must be radio-related and of interest to radio enthusiasts. Typical topics cover the bullet points listed above.

We receive about a dozen requests each day for guest posts from Spammers. Sometimes they’re humorous.  Point is, if a request reads like a spammer inquiry, it will simply be trashed. Here’s a real life example:

Dear Team,
I’m Anna. I read seen your blog today and I think you have a lot of awesome articles. Moreover, your site content holds quite a similarity with my blog.

For that reason, I’m interested in connecting with your site through native ways, in the form of content. Do you accept guest posts?

To make things easy, please provide me with the estimated cost involved for taking the the following types of links on your site:

1. A link on your homepage
2. A guest post provided by me
3. A sponsored post written by you
4. Link placement on your existing articles

I look forward to hearing from you soon and wish you much success in your endeavors.

Kind regards,

Annie

It’s obvious this inquiry was sent to thousands of websites and no specifics are given. These folks are simply wanting link backs to their websites to build better search engine results or to drive more traffic to products they’re retailing.

If you send in a guest post inquiry, simply be specific about the topic you wish to cover. You don’t need to be a professional, only a radio enthusiast! 🙂 We will do light editing on our articles, but we ask that you read through your work prior to submitting it. You can reach us via the contact page.

Can you plug my personal website if I contribute to the SWLing Post?

Absolutely! You’ll notice that we always credit our sources and plug our contributors’ websites with a link when we post any original guest articles. With that said, we only link to personal websites–not ones that are only designed to sell products, are “click bait” or political in nature, for example. We don’t always link to websites if the contributor is simply sending in a tp or link.

Amazon and eBay Affiliation

Many of you have suggested in the past that the SWLing Post join an affiliate links program.

The SWLing Post now participates in two affiliate advertising programs with two large retailers that still sell shortwave radios, the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and the eBay Partnership, designed to provide a means for sites like ours to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to these retailers of radio products. Many of our links now function as affiliate links.

This means that by clicking on these links–at no cost to you–a small percentage of the purchase price for goods you purchase from these sellers will help support our site’s running costs. We hope you understand, and are grateful for your support.

But please note that we will never create a post and product link explicitly to receive a commission. Additionally, we always try to include links to other retail options if they are available, as we support and freely advertise independent ham radio retailers. Thank you, too, for your support of these sites.

Click here if you would like to search Amazon and support the SWLing Post at no cost to you.

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