Join the Vinspire Team! We're Looking for Drinks Bloggers

It's a very exciting time for us here at Vinspire - for the first time in 18 months, we're looking for a brilliant new drinks blogger to join our team.

Six of us started this drinks blog back in April 2013, and three of the original members remain (myself as editor included), but over the years we have seen several fantastic, passionate drinks enthusiasts take part in Vinspire's crazy shenanigans and adventures.

One thing that has united all of our contributors is a wish to create a platform for the younger generation of drinks geeks, whether your passion is wine, gin, cocktails, craft beer, whisky, coffee or anything else you can imbibe gleefully. And to do so without the slightest hint of snobbery - we write for all budgets, all lifestyles and all knowledge levels.

We're so proud that our writing now reaches thousands of people per month and our voice can be heard by our 6000+ followers on social media.

We are now a team of six: Sam, Lucienne, Tim and me (that's Laura - hello!) post almost every week, and Adam and Hugo are currently taking a bit of a break while they do very exciting drinks-related things in their jobs.

That leaves a bit of a gap in our weekly posting schedule (and we're looking to post more frequently anyway) which is why we're reaching out for a friendly and exciting new contributor.

Let's get down to the facts:

Is this a job?

No. We aren't one of those blogs that call this a 'recruitment' or 'hiring' and then tell you we're paying you with "exposure" (they're the absolute worst, and one of the reasons I set this blog up in the first place). Some of the team are also professional writers on the side and we've learned the difference the hard way.

This is an invitation for someone to blog with us, not for us, as a joint endeavour for the love of drinks. We're a team that actually likes each other and everything.

Will I get paid anything though?

Yes. We do earn the odd few quid here and there thanks to advertising, sponsored posts and affiliate links (more on that on the FAQ page), and anything we earn we split amongst the team on a fairly regular basis (so any money you get needs to be declared to the tax man). Fortunately, the rewards do appear to be on the rise.

We also get samples quite frequently and we dish them out amongst the team too so you should get some new booze to try every now and again.

Who are we looking for?

A young (or young at heart!) drinks enthusiast - particularly if they have an interest in whisky and coffee. If you work in the drinks industry, all the better, but don't worry at all if you don't.

What skills should you have?

In case you wondered, this is what we look like.

BASICALLY ESSENTIAL, OBV

• The ability to come up with super, original ideas for blog posts.
• A flair for the English language.
• A good knowledge of your favourite drinks

BONUS EXTRA SKILLS

• The ability to take a good photograph
• Experience using Blogger
• An eagerness to travel to drinks events, particularly in London (some of them are really cool dinners and interesting evenings with brilliant people... sometimes they do end up being a cocktail and a sausage roll, though. We don't write about those...) 

How often do we want you to write blog posts?

Ideally you should have time in your schedule to write something for the blog at least once a week. We are all flexible when there's weeks we can't manage but if you don't think you can commit to this at least most of the time then I'm afraid you're not really what we need at the moment. Feel free to email us with guest post ideas, though!

How do I show my interest?

Just send us an email (vinspireUK AT gmail DOT com) with the following:

1. Tell us a bit about yourself - who you are, your drinks passions, your best food and drink experience, what you do for a living, your favourite member of S Club 7, that sort of thing.
2. Give us a list of 3 blog post ideas you'd like to write for Vinspire so we can get a feel for the kinds of things you like to blog about.
3. Attach a sample blog (it doesn't have to be longer than 250 words - but feel free to write up to 800 words if you like) to show us your style. If it's good we'll publish it here, if you're happy with that.
4. If you've blogged before, send us a link to your blog/any recent posts, and if you're happy to then please also give us your Twitter handle (we'll follow you, promise).

What's the deadline?

Well, next Friday is the 31st July, which sounds nice and official. So please send us your email by the end of the month.

Any questions?

Just send us an email or ask in the comments below.