Write for us

Custom Pools publishes reported, first-person and explanatory essays of 1,000 words or more. We are interested in Australian conditions: climate, soils, codes, water chemistry, and the social life of a backyard. We are not interested in thin listicles, spun manufacturer copy, or “10 stunning pools” galleries with no argument.

What to pitch

• A method you have used on a real Australian site, with the failures included.
• A regional problem: Perth sand, tropical wet seasons, alpine winters, salt air.
• A materials essay that can be checked against a data sheet, not a mood board.
• A compliance explainer that cites the standard, the certifier and the common mistake.

House rules

• Australian English. Metres, litres, summer meaning December.
• Original work. We run similarity checks and we keep the copyright in our publication or a written licence.
• No AI-generated first drafts presented as reported work.
• Facts a reader could act on. If you quote a price, give the year, city and inclusions.
• Images must be Creative Commons, public domain, or owned by you, with credits supplied.

Guest posts and paid links

If your organisation wants a guest post that includes a commercial link, say so in the pitch. Those links are published with rel="sponsored" and a line of disclosure in the article. Undisclosed paid links are deleted. Editorial mentions of public bodies such as Standards Australia or SPASA are not sold.

Example of how a sponsored credit should look in copy: “This essay was supported by a materials supplier; the outbound company link is marked sponsored.” We would then render the company URL as a sponsored example link.

How to send a pitch

Use the contact form and choose “Write for us”. Include two published samples, the hub you have in mind, and a sentence on conflicts of interest. Read editorial standards before you write. If you are unsure which desk fits, start at the hubs index.