How to Blog your way to Increased Constituent Engagement and Fundraising

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How to Blog your way to Increased Constituent Engagement and

Fundraising

Claire Axelrad

May 8, 2012

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Today‟s Speaker

Claire AxelradPrincipal,

Axelrad Social Benefit Consulting

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How to Blog Your Way to Increased

Fundraising and Constituent

Engagement

Put it together and what’ve you got?

It’ll do magic believe it or not!

Bliggidi-BLOGgidi-Bloo.

Of all the killer social media engagement tools, it‟s

the „thingamabob that does the job.” Few tools, if

any, beat it.

Businesses that write on

blogs get 55% more website

visitors and have 43% more

indexed pages in Google

than businesses that do not.

Next to email, blogs are the

most mature form of social

media.

Blogs are among top 5 social

media tools used by

marketers.

I. 4 Reasons You Should Blog

1. Create awareness among potential new

audiences

a. Don‟t just blog for SEO.

b. Think about who should know more about you.

Define your target audiences so you can create

relevant content.

c. Don‟t just think from perspective of your existing

audiences.

d. Create valuable content audiences will find/read/

share. (Websites get stale fast; Blogs keep us fresh).

2. Build bonds with existing supporters

a. Don‟t just take the money and run.

b. Re-enforce messaging that drew people to you in the first place.

c. Ask for feedback; create a two-way dialogue.

d. Be human; have the blog post come from a real person with a photo.

3. Build your brand; Establish yourself as a thought leader in your field

a. Your blog is the hub of your content and where your leadership can be showcased. Show what you know better than anyone else.

b. Offer useful tips and advice (e.g. “news you can use”).

c. Report from conferences to show you‟re on the cutting edge of the latest advances in the field.

d. Have your staff post.

4. Drive traffic to your website (and vice-

versa) Your leadership, and ideas you generate through

your blog, is what will drive this.

a. Get folks to subscribe to your blog; then link back to your

website (where, btw, your donate pages lie).

b. Put a blog subscription form front and center on your website

home page.

c. Use universal share buttons to ask folks to follow you on your

blog (in addition to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or whatever

else you are using).

II. How to Get Started Blogging

Plan First

Persuade the “powers that be” this is a good

idea by sharing blogs from other respected

organizations.

Put your blog into the context of your larger

communications/social media plan.

Figure out your audience so you can target

your strategies to meet your goals, stay

personal and know to whom you‟re writing.

Select a Template

Look at Blogger, WordPress or Typepad.They‟re all free (you can pay for „extras‟) and they all

work. Generally I see folks recommending the latter

two for professional purposes. WordPress also has a

self-hosted installation option. I use Blogger and am

happy with it. You have to choose what you're most

comfortable with and what works best for your level of

expertise and for the defined purpose of your blog.

Look at some blogs you like; then make your

selection.

Trust me, they’re simple. I’m a trogolodyte, and I can do it.

Decide What You’ll Post About

Develop a 3 month+ editorial calendar with topics of interest to your audiences.

Cover a range of topics. Some folks like chocolate; others vanilla. Have something for everyone.

Identify need(s) your readers have. Ask customer service or your receptionist what your FAQs are. Offer help!

Be confident you can change the world by sharing your expertise. Go to a relevant LinkedIn group in your industry. What are people discussing?

Light Bulbs are Everywhere

Look at what others are

writing about; find a new

angle.

Write about something

that matters to you.

Write about something

topical. What‟s in the

news?

Try to stick to one topic

per post. Attention

spans are short. Focus.

Decide How Often You’ll Post

Recommend: One post/week.

Too often? Quality can suffer. Readers can suffer fatigue.

Too infrequent? You‟ll lose followers.

Ideal? What you can manage. Consistency is key.

Decide When You’ll Post

Recommend: Test for yourself

Try different days of the week/times of day.

Monitor which posts get the most page views.

Develop a schedule; stick with it. Exception: A blog

schedule is about keeping YOUR peace of mind. Different things can

come up, life may throw you something you just HAVE to blog about, or

promotional opportunities may come your way. Blog when you have

something to say.

Decide on the Post’s Length

Recommend: 500-700 words

It‟s not a book; too long and you‟ll lose readers. 500 words is just one page double-spaced. You can do it!

Aim for something you can accomplish. If that‟s shorter, try: “Top 10 Lists”; Event photos with short descriptions; Excerpts from workshops you‟ve already created; Summarize an article in your field and comment on it. Voila!

Strive for variety. Use different formats. Have some fun. Example: Repurpose videos, play with cartoons or other graphic images.

Write a Great Title

Headline copy is read by 8 out of 10. Only 2 out of 10 will read the rest.

Technically, it becomes the link when the post ranks in search engines. Use any key phrase you think folks will search on here, preferably towards the beginning of the title.

Limit yourself to eight or less words, or 66 characters.

Emotionally, the title is what captures folks‟ attention and conveys a first impression of your brand.

Format so your Post is Scannable

Headers and subheads: Ask yourself: If folks read only my headers and subheads, will they get the gist of the article? If to, you‟ve succeeded!

Short paragraphs: Generally no paragraph should include more than 3-4 sentences. One sentence paragraphs can be used to add emphasis and break up lots of copy.

Bulleted lists and numbered lists: These are easy to scan and work well within almost any post.

Bold, Italics, Underline, Color: These are excellent ways to add emphasis and make content more easily scanned. Like anything else, moderation is the key.

Add Images

They break up your copy, making it easier to read.

They‟re worth 1,000 words.

They make your post more likely to be shared. Plus you can share yourself on Pinterest. This is a great way to showcase a different side of yourself and perhaps gain a whole new group of followers.

III. Finding Time to Keep it Up

Spread the work among a team.

Invite folks to write “guest” posts.

Include “who will write this?” as part of your

content calendar.

Designate a content manager/editor to assure

everything meets the criteria in your content

calendar, adheres to your brand guidelines

and doesn‟t look sloppy.

Decide who‟ll reply to comments.

IV. Leverage Other Strategies

Consider the blog as the

hub of your marcom

strategy.

Repurpose; share

information in your post

on other platforms.

Link to your blog from

your e-news. No more

scrolling for fans; less

work for you!

Share Everything Back and Forth

The magic of blogs lies in sharing.

To be perceived as a thought leader, you must be visible in places where your fans hang out.

Link to your blog from your Home Page.

Let folks subscribe through RSS feed, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

Comment on other blogs to raise more awareness of what you do.

Acknowledge your sources and inspiration.

Nonprofit Blogging Checklist

I‟ll provide a Top 10

Checklist summarizing

this Webinar.

Unleash your inner

blogger… Create

inspiring, relevant

content... Become a

leader folks will follow

and, ultimately, invest

with to help achieve your

mission.

Go Forth and Conquer

Axelrad Social Benefit Consulting

caxelrad@alumni.princeton.edu

Clairification.blogspot.com

@charityclairity

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