How to work blogging into your organization's communications plan, how to write an effective blog post, and why blogging is (or might not be) important. Participants will leave with an understanding of how to get started on blogging for their organization and inspiration to keep it going. Presented in a webinar for RE-AMP on 10/10/12

1. Photo: nettsu on Flickr

2. What is the deal
with blogs?
Blocks: weesen on Flickr

3. Staggering Stats
• By the end of 2011, the Nielsen/
McKinsey company had tracked
over 181 million blogs around the
world, up from 36 million in 2006
Source: blog.nielsen.com

4. Staggering Stats
• There are an estimated 31 million
bloggers in the United States
Source: blogging.org, July 2012
• There are 70 million WordPress
blogs & 39 million Tumblr
blogs worldwide
Source: webgranth.com, July 2012

5. Staggering Stats
• More than 50% of all internet
users read blogs at least once
a month
Source: thedataoctopus.co.uk,
September 2012
• Social media sites & blogs reach
80% of all U.S. internet users
Source: webbiquity.com, August 2012

6. Staggering Stats
• There are over 1.4 million new blog
posts per day
• Blog readers average 23 hours
online each week
• 6% of the entire US adult population
has created a blog at one time
or another
Source: blogworld.com, May 2012

7. Why Would My
Organization
Want A Blog?

8. “Blogging is NOT just a marketing
tactic to get your message out.
Approach it as a conversation.”
Missy Berggren
marketingmama.com
Co-founder Minnesota Blogger Conference

9. Nonprofits Should
Blog IMO
• Blogs about a specific topic are
tend to be more successful.
• Blogs with passion stand out.
• Most nonprofits are built around a
central mission. Connect these dots.
• Blogs encourage sharing and
advocacy. Again, what nonprofit
doesn’t desire that?
• The cost of entry is very low
compared to the potential benfits.

10. But Is It Right For You?
• Can a blog help your organization
achieve a goal you desire?
• Are your goals realistic?
• Do you have the human resources
to support a blog?
• Be honest. You won’t hurt my
feelings.
But you might want to stick around to
hear the rest of what I have to say…

11. Does Your Blog
Have a Goal?
• Act as a fundraising tool?
• Share news about your
organization?
• Provide resources?
• Tell your story in a new way?
• Engage and activate supporters?

12. “There are no magic wands, no hidden
tracks, and no secret handshakes that can
bring you immediate [blogging] success,
But with time, energy and determination
you can get there.”
Darren Rowse
problogger.net
Author of 31 Days to Build a Better Blog

13. Be Realistic
• Visitors won’t come overnight.
Don’t be discouraged by your site
analytics at first.
• Little or no comments are normal.
Pay more attention to social
sharing activity.
• Building engagement is a
foundation. Give the cement time
to cure.

14. Who’s Doing It?
• Someone should be directly
responsible for the blog, it’s content,
& maintenance.
• Ideally, this person is in-house, very
knowledgeable about your
organization & a supporter/advocate
• This role will represent a very public
extension of your organization.
Choose wisely.

15. You Can
Do It!

16. Choose a
Blogging
Platform

17. Blogging Platform
blogger.com

18. Blogging Platform
wordpress.com

19. Blogging Platform
tumblr.com

20. Blogging Platform
posterous.com

21. Blogging Platform
wordpress.org

22. Content
Considerations

23. Make Some Decisions
Look at other blogs. Take notes on
what you like and don’t like.
Some must-haves for Nonprofits:
• An about page
• A “Donate Now” button
• E-Newsletter sign-up
• Social media icons linking to your
active organizational accounts

24. How Often to Post?
• Start with one post per week.
• Work up slowly to two.
• Create a 3 month calendar of topics
and types of posts. Stick to it.
• After that, set a time to review/revise/
adjust/augment your process.
• Don’t give up. Keep going!

25. “There is no magic number.
Daily, weekly, monthly, blogging
is not dependent on how frequent,
but more on how impactful.”
Scott Stratten
unmarketing.com
Author of The Book Of Business (Un)Awesome
& UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging

26. Anatomy of a Post
• The title is the most important
element. Make it good, relevant,
& compelling.
• Pictures are worth 1,000 Words.
Use them.
• What’s your story? Tell one.
• Include links if needed.
• End with a call to action
Source: Five Critical Components of
a Blog Post, lockergnome.com

27. “One remarkable idea is better
than many small ideas.”
Chris Brogan
chrisbrogan.com
CEO & President of Human Business Works
Author of The Impact Equation & Trust Agents

28. Show Don’t Just Tell
• Include photos, video (and even
audio if applicable) from your
organization’s activities whenever
possible
• It’s never been easier. All you need is
a smart phone
• Set up accounts on social sites
dedicated to specific types of media
(Instagram, Flickr, YouTube, Vimeo,
etc.) and connect them to post
updates on your blog.

29. Content Ideas
(for Nonprofits)
• Share & comment on breaking news
• Post calls to action
• Share stories, photos, & videos from
events
• Provide organizational updates
• Share stories from the field
• Interview experts
Source: 11 Blog Content Ideas for Nonprofits,
nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com

30. Content Ideas
(for Nonprofits)
• Allow guest bloggers to post
commentary & share their expertise
• Share resources and useful tips
• Solicit feedback & direction from
supporters
• Write numbered Lists
• Highlight special donors & volunteers
Source: 11 Blog Content Ideas for Nonprofits,
nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com

31. Repurpose Your Content
• Use your blog to help feed
social accounts (Facebook,
Twitter, Pinterest)
• Streamline your email
newsletters: link headlines to
full articles on your blog

32. Don't Steal
• Link, link, link (to your sources)
• Give credit whenever quoting or
excerpting text
• If the photo doesn’t have a credit,
chances are it’s being used without
permission. Don’t use it.
• Ask to use anything that seems
ambiguous.
• Pay attention to copyright
& stated licenses

33. creativecommons.org
• Simple, standardized method of permission to share
and use creative works
• Change copyright terms from “all rights reserved” to
“some rights reserved”
• Work alongside copyright, enables creator to
modify your copyright terms to best suit your needs

34. • Learn the different licenses/symbols & RESPECT them
• An ever-growing collection of photos, video, music
and more is CC-licensed and available online now
• Keep it growing! Use CC licenses for your creations

35. Google Image Search
It works like magic.
What could possibly be wrong with…

36. Don’t Even Think
About It!
Simply culls relevant images based on search terms.
Very hard to determine photo credit, license, etc.

37. Flickr to the Rescue
Search CC-licensed photos
(wait for it…) by intended use!

38. Search 101
• Google pays more attention to blogs
because the content is (usually)
updated more often than static sites.
Use this to your advantage.
• Learn about basic Search Engine
Optimization (SEO)
• Then use your blogging platform's
SEO tools to optimize each post

39. Search 101
Each posts should include:
• Meta page title & description
• Relevant keywords in copy
• alt tags for images
• proper link text etiquette (be
descriptive, avoid “link here”)
• Always choose an appropriate post
category

40. “Blog with passion.
Passion spreads.”
Scott Stratten
unmarketing.com
Author of The Book Of Business (Un)Awesome
& UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging

41. Make Sharing Easy
sharethis.com

42. RSS Serves Your
Content for You
• RSS feeds automatically
push updates to visitors
• They can choose
between a feed reader
or email delivery
• Keeps them connected
without having to visit
site.
• This is a good thing 

43. Google Reader
google.com/reader

44. Measure Smartly
google.com/analytics

45. “Do NOT get hung up on the tech.
Get hung up on passion.”
Chris Brogan
chrisbrogan.com
CEO & President of Human Business Works
Author of The Impact Equation & Trust Agents

46. Who’s Doing
It Right?

47. Success Stories
charitywater.org/blog

48. Success Stories
blog.2harvest.org

49. Success Stories
blog.amnestyusa.org

50. Success Stories
unitedwaytwincities.org/blog

51. Success Stories
blog.redcross.org

52. Tools &
Resources

53. Tools & Resources
razoo.com

54. Tools & Resources
blogactionday.org

55. Tools & Resources
nptalk.co

56. Tools & Resources
chrisbrogan.com/my-best-advice-about-blogging

57. “Blogging gives us the opportunity to
engage with our communities at a very
deep level… if we are willing to be deep.”
Missy Berggren
marketingmama.com
Co-founder Minnesota Blogger Conference

58. Your turn.
Questions? Comments?
Let’s chat.

59. Thank
you!
Mykl Roventine
myklroventine.com
@myklroventine
Headshot: Glimpses of Soul Photography