When it comes to spreading awareness of your nonprofit’s mission, your website’s blog is one of the most powerful tools out there. A well-run blog allows you to tell your nonprofit’s story on your own terms and share updates on everything from new projects to upcoming events.
If your nonprofit’s website doesn’t already have a blog, you might be interested in starting one. To ensure your content is engaging and effective, you’ll need a clear purpose and strategy to guide the planning process. In this guide, we’ll explore the benefits of nonprofit blogs and tips to get started to help determine whether you’re in the right place to launch your own.
Starting a blog for your nonprofit will likely require approval from leaders like your digital marketing lead. In addition, getting your blog up and running will require time and energy from your marketing team as a whole to create and promote content.
So, what makes this effort worth it? A blog offers a unique platform to tell long-form stories and send out real-time updates. Blogs also offer other benefits, such as allowing you to:
A blog gives your supporters an authoritative resource to learn more about your organization and cause. Maintaining a well-written and updated blog helps build awareness of your mission and connect with digital audiences who may eventually become loyal, dedicated supporters.
The first step to creating a nonprofit blog is to set up a blog section on your website. Popular nonprofit content management systems like Drupal and WordPress make it easy to establish one, and you can work with a web development agency to refine your blog to fit your nonprofit’s branding.
But beyond these basics, it’s important to have a clear content strategy for your posts. A content strategy ensures that your blog is easily accessible, updated, and engaging for online audiences. Follow these tips to start your nonprofit blog:
Setting goals gives your marketing team objectives to strive for when creating content. You shouldn’t create a blog just for the sake of it—your blog should act specifically as a tool to further your existing marketing efforts. Your goals should align with your nonprofit’s overall marketing strategy and supporter outreach efforts.
Here are a few examples of blogging goals you might set:
Also, assign blogging roles and responsibilities to team members, so everyone’s on the same page. Responsibilities will include interviewing, writing, editing, taking photos, creating infographics, and promoting your posts.
Your tone is a reflection of your brand’s personality. When it comes to blog writing, how you speak to your audience is just as important as what you say.
For example, you might describe your tone using any of the following terms:
Your tone will come into play when making decisions about word choice, whether you’ll incorporate humor into your writing, and how you’ll interact with supporters in the comments of your blog posts.
Make sure your blog’s tone aligns with your other digital platforms like your social media and email to promote a cohesive brand voice.
Incorporating multimedia elements into your blog posts is critical for driving engagement. Including photos, videos, charts, and other visual elements makes your blog posts more engaging and interactive, increasing the likelihood that your audience will read them all the way through.
You can turn to your volunteers and staff members to help gather compelling visuals. Ask team members to send in any photos and videos they’ve taken at your events. Then, create a photo bank that you can draw from to include authentic imagery in your content.
NXUnite’s nonprofit graphic design guide includes plenty of examples of how you can use compelling images in graphic design, including digital brochures, educational infographics, and videos. Creating high-quality, original imagery will elevate each of these digital components, bringing more realism and authenticity to your blog.
In addition to engaging imagery, your blog posts should include additional interactive elements to capture audience members’ attention, increase the time they spend on the page, and give them a unique way to engage with your organization.
Incorporate additional audience interaction with these ideas:
One of the most important aspects of creating an engaging blog is ensuring your content is mobile-friendly. According to nonprofit fundraising statistics, about half of all nonprofit website traffic comes from mobile devices. Optimize your blog posts for mobile devices by compressing your images to promote fast load speeds and ensuring that your font is legible on mobile devices.
Imagine you come across an intriguing nonprofit on your social media feed or during a Google search. You head to the organization’s website to check out its blog, only to find it hasn’t been updated since 2018. This gives the impression that the organization isn’t very active or digitally savvy.
Regular posting keeps your blog updated and fresh. Develop a reasonable posting schedule for your marketing team and assign tasks to cover each step of the content-creation process. Check in with your team regularly to ensure your posting schedule is feasible and that everyone’s staying on track.
The last step in developing your blog posting strategy is to create a marketing plan to help build your organic audience. How will you get your content in front of both new and existing audience members? You have several options for promoting your blog, including:
One of the most foolproof ways to increase blog traffic is to simply create high-quality content. When your posts are educational and engaging, you’ll naturally appeal to website visitors and earn more readers.
After reviewing the benefits and best practices for creating a nonprofit blog, you might feel inspired to start your organization’s blog. With a clear content strategy and schedule, you can grow your audience organically and develop a reputation for creating valuable educational content.