Blogging 101 : Quick Guide to Blogging for Non-Profits

Filed under How To, NonProfits, Social Media |

Blogs are one of the easiest ways to provide regularly updated information to online audiences. Because blog set-up and maintenance is much more simple and inexpensive than website development or print design and production, blogs enable non-profits to quickly and efficiently share organizational updates, news, human interest stories, photos, videos, podcasts, event invitations, volunteer calls-to-action, and fundraising requests.

General Blog Features :

• Brief entries running one to three paragraphs in length.
• Two to three columns per page, with new content added to the largest column – the “main” or “body” column.
• Sidebars featuring blog navigation (often via categories, archives, or tag clouds), links to other blogs and/or sites, previous posts, or readers’ comments.
• Many links within blog entries to other blogs, websites, press releases, articles, photos, and audio and video files.
• Frequent updates, with updating schedules from several times daily to two-three times each week.

Examples of Effective, Well-Designed Non-Profit Blogs :

• Girls For A Change (http://girlsforachange.typepad.com/national/) : Vibrant, relevant, engaging, and informative blog with links to all points of contact at social networking sites
• FirstBook (http://blog.firstbook.org/) : Very clean, easy-to-read blog, with clear links to the organization website and donations page
• March of Dimes “Share Your Story” (http://www.shareyourstory.org/) : Engages people and builds community for the organization by allowing constituents to create their own blogs to share stories

How to Make Blogs Work for Your Organization :

• Summarize and link to articles, images, videos, podcasts, webinars, or other resources online that are relevant and appealing to your audience.
• Encourage audience (or selected blog users) comments and feedback on critical topics.
• Invite experts in your field to contribute as guest bloggers.
• Get timely information out : try “real-time” reporting from a conference, field visit, or legislative session.
• Cross-promote and re-use all the content you create for your website, print materials, and e-newsletter.

Develop an Audience :

• Add your blog headlines and link to your organization’s home page.
• Add your blog link to all promotional materials, including your social network profiles and email signature.
• Syndicate your blog via RSS format. When you syndicate your organization’s blog content (RSS=real simple syndication), people can subscribe to it using a “reader” or “news aggregator” to automatically retrieve the latest stories from your non-profit (and thousands of other sites and blogs).
• Form a blog network with colleague organizations to share blog links and run your headlines on their websites, and vice versa.
• Comment on other blogs, re-post other blogs’ highlights, and use trackback (a link back to the original entry that you’re commenting on) to strengthen your network and motivate audiences when important issues need attention (such as pending legislation).

… And finally, integrate it into your routine and make it a habit.