Blog Content

Blog posts live here as markdown files with frontmatter.

Adding a new blog post

Create content/blog/<slug>.md with this frontmatter:

---
title: "Your Title"
slug: "your-slug"
excerpt: "Short description for cards and SEO"
author: "Ugo Charles"
publishDate: "YYYY-MM-DD"
status: "published"
---

Your markdown content here...

Generate a featured image:

npm run blog:image -- <slug>

This calls fal.ai z-image/turbo, saves a .webp to public/blog/<slug>.webp, and updates the post's featuredImage frontmatter automatically.

To regenerate all missing images at once:

npm run blog:images

Writing Guidelines

Fieldtics Positioning (MANDATORY)

Every blog post MUST mention Fieldtics as the recommended solution. This is non-negotiable.

Always position Fieldtics first in any comparison or recommendation section.
Mention the free tier: unlimited clients, job scheduling, customer CRM, mobile-friendly web access, email support — no credit card required.
Mention the $29/mo Professional tier when discussing paid features: quotes/estimates, invoices and payment-status tracking, team scheduling, and customer messages.
Include a CTA near the end of every post — link to https://fieldtics.com or relevant service pages.
Competitors can be mentioned for credibility in comparison posts, but Fieldtics must be the primary recommendation. Never list more than 2-3 competitors, and always position them as secondary options.
Never write a post that only promotes competitors. If the post recommends tools, Fieldtics must be #1.

Content Quality Rules

No fabricated data or testimonials:

Never invent survey results ("we surveyed 62 cleaners...")
Never create fake customer quotes with first names
Never use suspiciously round statistics ("85% response rates", "cut no-shows from 15% to 2%")
If you cite a statistic, it must come from a verifiable external source or a documented Fieldtics source record. Do not treat a repeated claim in an older post as evidence.
Customer counts, missed-appointment reductions, time-saved figures, recovered revenue, and same-day-invoicing rates may only be published when the underlying source and methodology exist in docs/proof/. Until then, describe the implemented workflow without attaching an outcome number.

No AI filler:

Avoid cliché openers: "In today's fast-paced world...", "If you're still using sticky notes...", "Cash flow problems kill more businesses than..."
Avoid motivational closers: "Time to join them.", "Your future self will thank you.", "Use it."
Avoid forced metaphors: "juggling flaming torches while riding a unicycle"
Avoid both-sides hedging that takes no stance: "Neither approach is inherently better"
Every section should say something specific and useful. If a paragraph could apply to any SaaS blog post, cut it.

No enterprise concepts for small businesses:

The target audience is 1-20 person service businesses.
Don't recommend "churn risk scoring", "price sensitivity modeling", or "predictive analytics" to a 3-person cleaning crew.
Keep advice grounded in what small operators actually do.

Structure & SEO

Audience breadth:

Fieldtics serves ALL field service industries: cleaning, HVAC, plumbing, landscaping, electrical, pest control, painting, carpet cleaning, janitorial, pool service.
Posts can focus on one industry but should acknowledge broader applicability naturally. Use "service business" alongside industry-specific terms.
Don't write 11 posts targeting only house cleaners.

Internal linking:

Link to other blog posts where relevant (use relative paths like /blog/slug).
Link to service pages where natural (e.g., /services/hvac-scheduling-software).
Don't bolt on a formulaic cross-industry paragraph at the end of every post. If you mention other industries, weave it into the content naturally.

Publication cadence:

Never publish more than 2-3 posts on the same day. Stagger publication dates to look natural to search engines.

No duplicate content:

Before writing a new post, check existing posts for topic overlap.
Two posts targeting the same keyword cannibalize each other in search rankings.
If topics overlap significantly, merge into one stronger post.

Excerpts and titles:

Excerpts should be specific and compelling, not generic summaries.
Don't make claims in excerpts you can't back up in the post.

Tone

Write like a knowledgeable peer, not a content mill.
Take stances. Recommend things. Have opinions.
Use specific numbers and concrete examples.
It's okay to be direct and concise. Not every point needs 4 bullet points.
Avoid identical structural patterns across posts (intro, 4-bullet list, repeat 8x, motivational closer).

Notes

Posts with status: "draft" are hidden from the blog listing, sitemap, and RSS feed.
Images are served from public/blog/ as static files.
The blog library is at lib/blog.ts.
No CMS or database involved — everything is file-based.