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Nonprofit Blogging for Beginners

October 27, 2009 By Abny Santicola

Blogs are a good way for nonprofits to expand their reach and communicate more directly with supporters and their community. But where do you start?

In August, TechSoup sponsored the webinar "Introduction to Blogging for Nonprofits and Libraries," in which presenters Allyson Kapin, blogger for Care2's blog Frogloop, and Jason Griffey, co-author of the book "Library Blogging," discussed the basics of getting started with a blog, covering how much staff time to devote to it, who should blog and which tools to use, and offering best practices.

A blog, or Web log, is a Web page where content is created by a single author — or select group of authors — and the presentation of the content is (usually) in reverse chronological order. Blogs also usually have some form of social component, whether through comments, trackback, or other mechanism of communicating content or feedback, Griffey noted.

Blogging allows nonprofits and libraries to:

1. Communicate and stand out.
Blogs allow organizations to have direct communications with supporters, potential supporters, the press and influentials, and decision makers such as political representatives and staff. Regularly updated and relevant blogs ensure that your organization doesn't get lost in the shuffle.

"Your opposition or competition probably has a blog," Kapin said. "You should too!"

Example: NARAL Pro-Choice America

2. Tell their stories with their voices.
Blogging is an easy and cost-effective way to share latest news, tell your story, solicit feedback and foster discussion among supporters or potential supporters. It gives your nonprofit a distinct voice within a movement and can distinguish you from other nonprofits working on similar issues.

Example: Greenpeace UK

3. Brand their missions.
Blogs help organizations build brand recognition around their missions.

Example: Amnesty International, whose blog name — Human Rights Now — says it all.

4. Deliver fresh information.
Kapin said integrating a blog feed on your organization's homepage is an excellent way to freshen up your homepage content and make it dynamic. RSS (really simple syndication) feeds allow you to automatically deliver updates from your blog onto your homepage.

 

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