1) The Pass-it-Along Post 2) The “We’re Real People” Post 3) The Community Appreciation Post 4) The “Our Response” Post 5) The Informative Listicle 6) The Mobilization Post 7) The Ignored News Story 8) The Guest Post 9) The Email Interview

1. 9 Quick-Start Blog Posts
for Activists
MARY JOYCE
FOR THE OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATION
AND THE EURASIAN HARM REDUCTION NETWORK
DECEMBER 2013
image: Flickr/JohnCrider

2. THE BLOG POSTS
1. The Pass-it-Along Post
2. The “We’re Real People” Post
3. The Community Appreciation Post
4. The “Our Response” Post
5. The Informative Listicle
6. The Mobilization Post
7. The Ignored News Story
8. The Guest Post
9. The Email Interview

3. FOR ALL BLOG POSTS:
1. Know Who: Speak to a specific audience.
2. Know Why: Have a clear goal for posting.
3. Be Clear: Speak in accessible language.
4. Be Brief: If you can say it in fewer words - do!
5. Attract Attention: Include a visual element
(photo, video, gif) that illustrates the post topic.

4. 1. THE PASS-IT-ALONG POST
Pro Tip:
This is the easiest
type of blog post to write.

5. 1. THE PASS-IT-ALONG POST
1. Keep track of relevant news by reading other NGO
blogs, Twitter feeds, and listservs.
2. When you find content that would be useful to others
(could be your own content too), copy and paste the
content into a blog post.
3. Link to the original source to give credit.
4. Comment on why you think the content is useful.
5. Publish!

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Ex
1. THE PASS-IT-ALONG POST
Share a photo that
powerfully illustrates the
problem.
source: SURFRIDER Foundation

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1. THE PASS-IT-ALONG POST
Share an infographic that
illuminates an issue your
organization cares about.
source: postwhoreamerica.com

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1. THE PASS-IT-ALONG POST
Share in internal report.
source: Amnesty International

9. 2. THE “WE’RE REAL PEOPLE” POST
Pro Tip:
In social media people listen to other people,
not to organizations.
Reminding readers that they are reading posts from
real people helps create an online relationship.

10. 2. THE “WE’RE REAL PEOPLE” POST
1. Be attentive to the stories of staff and the work they
are doing.
2. Remind your readers that your organization is full of
real people by sharing stories about staff (or ask staff
to share their own).
3. Publish!

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Ex
2. THE “WE’RE REAL PEOPLE” POST
First-person stories from
staff about they work
they do.
source: The King’s Fund

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Ex
2. THE “WE’RE REAL PEOPLE” POST
Office decorations,
celebrations, silliness.
source: ONE Campaign

13. 3. THE COMMUNITY
APPRECIATION POST
Pro Tip:
Activist blogging is about creating
relationships between people that allows them to
work together to achieve a common goal.
People work together better when they feel appreciated.

14. 3. THE COMMUNITY
APPRECIATION POST
1. Be alert to the good work being done in the
network.
2. Write posts that describe this good work.
3. Use photos and video to illustrate this good work
whenever it is available.
4. Praise generously.
5. Publish!

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3. THE
Ex
COMMUNITY
APPRECIATION POST
Appreciate a group of
people.
source: ONE Campaign

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3. THE
Ex
COMMUNITY
APPRECIATION POST
Let individual volunteers
and community members
tell their own stories
about the good work
they do.
source: Human Rights Campaign

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3. THE
Ex
COMMUNITY
APPRECIATION POST
Sharing a video that
shows a network
member hard at work.
source: SURFRIDER Foundation

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3. THE
Ex
COMMUNITY
APPRECIATION POST
When appropriate,
sympathize with
community members
during tough times.
source: SURFRIDER Foundation

19. 4. THE “OUR RESPONSE” POST
1. Keep track of what governments and the media are
writing about your topic.
2. When they say something about your topic (either
good or bad) publicly respond to highlight or to
correct.
3. Publish!

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Ex
4. THE “OUR RESPONSE” POST
Give your organization’s
opinion of a government
policy report (that’s
shorter and easier to
read than the report
itself.)
source: Results UK

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Ex
4. THE “OUR RESPONSE” POST
Refute a misleading public
statement about your
issue.
source: Huffington Post

22. 5. THE INFORMATIVE LISTICLE
Pro Tip:
This is a more challenging kind of post
because the purpose is to take something
complicated and/or long
and present it simply and briefly.
list + article = listicle

23. 5. THE INFORMATIVE LISTICLE
1. Think of something that you want your network to
know, but the complexity of the information is making
comprehension difficult.
2. Use your expertise as issue analysts to break the
information into easy pieces.
3. Present the pieces as a list (bonus if each item also has
a photo to illustrate it).
4. Publish!

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Ex
5. THE INFORMATIVE LISTICLE
Explain the elements of a
confusing new law or
government policy.
source: Buzzfeed

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Ex
5. THE INFORMATIVE LISTICLE
List a lot of similar
content all at once
(usually positive content).
source: Buzzfeed and SURFRIDER Foundation

26. 6. THE MOBILIZATION POST
1. State why action is necessary (the crisis).
2. State why action will help (the opportunity).
3. Be clear about how to take action (make it easy).
4. Publish!

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Ex
6. THE MOBILIZATION POST
Use links and boldface so
the reader can see where
and how to take actions
without reading the
whole post.
source: No H8 Campaign

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Ex
6. THE MOBILIZATION POST
Make it personal with an
ask from a staffer or
community member.
source: Beth’s Blog

29. 7. THE IGNORED NEWS STORY
Pro Tip:
News is something that happens out in the world,
not in the organization.
When an organization publishes a report,
that is not a news story, it’s a pass-it-along post.

30. 7. THE IGNORED NEWS STORY
1. Be alert to stories from inside your network that are not being covered by
mainstream media.
2. Write the news story yourself, as if you were a journalist. Include:
• Who it affects (start with the story of a person who is part of the event)
• What + When + Where the event happened
• Why the reader should care
• How the reader can take action to help (if applicable)
3. Include an image (with permission) wherever possible, to illustrate the story.
4. Publish!

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Ex
7. THE IGNORED NEWS STORY
A creative solution to an
ongoing problem.
source: Invisible People

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7. THE IGNORED NEWS STORY
A new threat that you
want your network to be
ready to take action on.
source: Human Rights Watch

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7. THE IGNORED NEWS STORY
Updates on a ongoing
story members of your
network are already
interested in.
source: Greenpeace

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7. THE IGNORED NEWS STORY
Success stories
source: ONE Campaign

35. Pro Tip:
These next two post styles are time-savers.
You are basically asking someone else
to write the post for you.

36. 8. THE EMAIL INTERVIEW
1. Select a community member who has a good story to
tell.
2. Email them a list of 5 questions that bring out the
story.
3. Edit the interview for clarity and length if necessary.
4. Publish!

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Ex
8. THE EMAIL INTERVIEW
Put questions in bold so
they stand out.
source: The Open University

38. 9. THE GUEST POST
1. Select an expert on a topic that is of interest to the
network. This person should have good writing skills.
2. Ask the the expert to write a post on the topic.
3. Edit the post for clarity and length if necessary.
4. Publish!

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Ex
9. THE GUEST POST
This is also a great way
to appreciate a network
member...
source: The Nonprofit Technology Network

40. THE BLOG POSTS
1. The Pass-it-Along Post
2. The “We’re Real People” Post
3. The Community Appreciation Post
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4. The “Our Response” Post
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5. The Informative Listicle
e m
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6. The Mobilization Post
7. The Ignored News Story
8. The Guest Post
9. The Email Interview

41. THANK YOU!
MARY JOYCE
@MetaActivism
mjoyce@uw.edu
www.meta-activism.org