Does your nonprofit have a blog, but you're wondering if it's being used effectively? Or are you considering starting one? Having a content channel on your website for news, updates, and happenings can be a powerful tool.
A "blog" is no longer just a digital diary. You might call it a "Newsroom", "Updates", or "Insights". Whatever the title, it is a space to share with your community, and showcase impact. For the purposes of this article, we will use “blog” to refer to a place on your website for regularly published content.
If you're wondering how to make the most of a blog or why it's worth the effort, read on.
A steady stream of content on your website can serve a variety of different website visitors. This can help a potential partner get to know you better. For someone interested in your programs, it can help them gain a deeper understanding of what you offer.
Here are five different reasons why a blog can be worth the time:
A website visitor often wants to get a sense of the organization's "movement" or energy. Are there regular happenings? What's new? Where can I see the latest updates? A blog can answer these questions and more. Having a collection of posts helps a visitor get to know and in a way, feel the dynamism of your organization.
Blog content can take your website beyond a digital brochure. Imagine a program page. Like a brochure, it can tell you all about the program. But how much richer could it be seeing and reading recent posts that highlight program events, stories of impact, and more?
At the heart of every nonprofit is a story—often, many stories. Your blog is the perfect place to share them. A place to share a story of someone whose life was changed by your work. A place to celebrate a volunteer who went above and beyond.
A great story creates an emotional connection with a reader. It can inspire action, whether it's a donation, volunteer sign-up, or sharing the post with others.
Suppose your organization is launching a new youth mentorship program. Instead of waiting until the end to share the results, use your blog to document the journey. Post about the program's kickoff, the first impressions from mentors and mentees, and early successes. This keeps your audience engaged and allows them to feel like they're part of the process.
A blog is a platform to demonstrate your nonprofit’s expertise.
Thoughtful, well-researched content can help you stand out as a trusted voice in your field. It helps to build credibility and establish your organization as a leader in your area of work.
This type of content could be impactful to many different audiences. But consider a potential partner and funder. Imagine them following up on a great conversation they had with you. They do a little research on their own and find a collection of valuable posts showcasing your leadership in the field on your website. They do a little reading and get a boost in their trust and excitement to partner with you.
Blog content can boost trust in your audience and build your confidence that your website can back up the great conversations you have with supporters or partners.
When done well, your blog can help drive significant traffic to your website. As you build your library of content, search engines get to know you better. The more quality content you have on key topics related to your mission, the more you are likely to rank well in search results. As this happens, you can expect to see more organic traffic over time.
Search engines such as Google aim to identify great content from trusted sources. It does this via indexing content from all over the web and assesses it via algorithms. The more thoughtfully created content you have, the greater the potential for search engines to consider you a trusted source.
It takes time to write a good blog. Get the most of that effort but using it as a source to create social media posts and content for email marketing. At the most basic, you can promote the blog pushing links out for others to click to view it. You can also take sections of the blog to share directly as resource and/or thought leadership posts that can stand on their own.
A website-out content strategy can make the time spent on a blog have a much larger return on your investment.
Pace and frequency of posting can help. But, quality content is most important. Your content should share a connection between your mission and what will resonate with your audience(s) based on their needs.
Think about what your audience cares about and craft posts that speak directly to those interests. If you don't have your audience personas documented, consider that as an important next step.
When your content aligns with what your audience is searching for, you're more likely to offer them something of value. This can get their attention and bring them into your community.
How often should you post to your blog is a common question. The answer will vary depending on the content strategy, desired outcomes, and resources available. Without knowing all those details for you, we'd suggest a cadence you can be consistent with. If you only have the resources to produce one post a month, start there and try to be consistent with it. If you find you can do more without undo stress, do it.
Writing is a fantastic way to develop how you talk about what you know and do. Your writing creates a bridge between your organization and the people you seek to support and/or engage. Getting good at creating those bridges takes practice. A blog is a fantastic way to get this practice.
Reviewing your website metrics can be a great way to inform your blogging efforts. Make sure you have an analytics tool (Google or other) in place for your website. Also, make sure you review key metrics consistently (monthly, quarterly, ...).
Some basic data questions might include:
SEO is a huge topic with many intricacies. This said, there are some practical, common sense SEO thinking that can help your blog content efforts.
Consider the keywords that someone might use on a search engine to find information about the topic you are writing about. Put yourself in their shoes. What terms might they use? What questions might they ask? Use your answers to these questions to help guide the topics you decide to write about and how to write them.
There are a host of writing best practices, like how to use headers in your content, that can help with SEO as well. Please take a look at our article with everyday SEO tips for content publishers.
Your blog can be a place of action and engagement. Encourage interaction by inviting your readers to share your posts, submit their stories, or ask a question. Highlighting personal experiences from your community can make your content more relatable. Community stories can foster a sense of connection.
Consider featuring guest posts from volunteers, donors, or beneficiaries. These contributions diversify your content and strengthen the bond between your organization and its supporters.
By giving your community a voice, you make your blog a living, breathing space where people feel seen and heard.
If you are blogging now or thinking about starting, keep the following in mind:
Content ideas are all around you
When writing
If you’ve been on the fence about starting a blog or wondering how to make the most of the one you have, now is the time to take the leap. With a thoughtful approach and a focus on meaningful content, your blog can become an essential channel for advancing your mission.
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Minds On Design Lab is a strategic design studio with digital expertise. We're passionate about elevating small and mighty teams in the social sector. We connect people to mission through beautifully designed branding, web, and print.
