Most non-profits organizations now incorporate some sort of blogging component into their website design and fundraising campaigns. But whereas setting up a blogging platform, putting all the design elements in place and the like is a relatively simple process thanks to such programs as WordPress, one problem which haunts many non-profits is actually generating the content—and doing so on a consistent basis with regular updates that demonstrate to readers your organization’s viability.
So when it comes to the question of “who’s going to write the content?,” consider this: all the topics you need are most likely in your non-profit’s email folder right now.
According to non-profit marketing strategist John Haydon, the main objective for blogging is to answer the most common questions from your supporters in ways that are simple and straightforward. And, Haydon adds, more specific questions answered by your blog increases search engine rankings and, in the end, garners more regular readers.
Here are seven easy ways to get blogging quickly once you’ve established email-driven topics.
- Choose questions from your emails that are relevant and useful to a wide audience.
- Be sure to have a comment section on the blog where people can respond to your post and, as a result, help you create even more relevant content.
- Write the title first, which helps you focus on the topic as you construct the body of the blog.
- When you’re done with a first draft of your blog, condense it down by half.
- Most people scan web pages rather than read every word, so encourage them to stay on the page by adding bullet-point subheadings.
- Make use of images, which testing shows helps keep readers on the page longer. And place the image at the top of the blog post just under the title.
- Once you’re done with your blog, have someone else read it before posting.
