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Are You Bored with Your Own Blog? What to Do

February 17, 2015 by Dennis Fischman 3 Comments

If you’re a nonprofit organization, blogging is the backbone of your content marketing.  You want people to seek you out–to look to you for expert knowledge and unique insights.  Your blog is where they find what they’re looking for.

 

But are you getting bored with your blog?

You can’t excite people if you’re feeling deadly dull.  If it’s a chore for you to write, it won’t be any fun for your readers to read.

Don’t stop blogging–but there are lots of other ways to do content marketing.  Joe Pulizzi of the Content Marketing Institute lists:

  1. Social media–other than blogs
  2. Articles on your website
  3. E-newsletters
  4. In-person events
  5. Case studies
  6. Videos
  7. Articles on other people’s websites
  8. White papers
  9. Online presentations
  10. Webinars/webcasts
  11. Infographics
  12. Research reports
  13. Microsites
  14. Branded content tools
  15. Mobile content
  16. Print magazines
  17. E-Books
  18. Books
  19. Mobile apps
  20. Digital magazines
  21. Podcasts
  22. Licensed/syndicated content
  23. Virtual conferences
  24. Annual reports
  25. Print newsletters
  26. Games/gamification

If you’re tired of writing short, snappy pieces, then write a white paper or report.  If you’d rather talk than write, then the in-person appearances or the podcasts might be perfect for your personality.  Maybe you’d rather shoot photos–or make videos–or design a game.

Does that get your juices flowing?  I’ll bet you can even think of other content if you try. I thought of comics and graphic novels.  What would you add to the list?

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Should Your Nonprofit Blog Speak with One Voice?

February 16, 2015 by Dennis Fischman 1 Comment

Blog!

Our Executive Director wants us to start writing all our nonprofit’s blog posts in her voice, and address them all to our donors. Do you think this is a good idea?

That’s the question Sarah asked when she attended my webinar on Blogging for Change, part of the course “Your Donor Engagement System” that Pamela Grow and I taught together.

Here’s how I answered her:

Sarah, you’ve actually asked two questions.

Should you write in one person’s voice? Probably, yes. Your readers will feel like they’re getting to know the Executive Director personally, and that will certainly make them feel closer to the organization.

But note: They’ll only feel that way if the writing is actually personal. Just signing the blog with your ED’s name and saying “I” instead of “we” won’t make any difference. You’ll need to put some of your ED’s personality into it: write in her style, tell stories from her point of view. That will take practice.

So, tell your ED you will need to spend more time together on each blog entry if you’re truly going to write in her voice. As you get more practiced at it, you will be able to do more of it on your own–but take the time right now to get it right.

All this is assuming your ED is a good spokesperson for your organization…and that she is not planning on leaving any time soon!

Should you write all your blogs to your donors?  It depends.

What’s the purpose of your blog? Have you made a strategic decision that you’re blogging to build stronger relationships with people who already support the organization? If so, I applaud you: nonprofits don’t spend enough time retaining the donors we already have!

But maybe your blog is supposed to serve a different purpose. Maybe you are trying to burnish your reputation with your funders (government agencies or foundations). Maybe your blog is a vehicle for sharing important information with your clients, or a megaphone for mobilizing advocates working on the same cause.

Have you decided what your blog is for? Do that, and then it will become clear who your audience should be. Share on X

How would you answer Sarah’s questions? What would you add?

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The ABC of Social Media

January 20, 2015 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

Are you just starting out with social media? Learn the ABC.

A is for Audience. You are not writing for the general public. There’s no such thing–and if there were, 99% of them aren’t the people you’re trying to reach. Identify the community you’re trying to reach, find out as much about them as you can, then tailor your social media messages to give them what they want.

B is for Blogging. Zuckerberg owns Facebook, but you own your blog. The rules won’t change, and you won’t have to start paying for what you used to get for free. Your blog establishes you as an expert in your field. It’s the key to your content marketing. And you can turn every blog post into ten posts on social media, or in your newsletter, or in the local papers.

C is for Content. Nobody has to read anything you write. Given the chance, they’ll watch cat videos instead. If you want people to look at your posts, and to look for your posts, and even to look forward to your posts, you have to give them content that serves them. It doesn’t always have to be original writing. It could be video. It could be curated from another site. What it does have to be is useful to your audience.

As the Jackson Five used to sing: ABC-Jackson 5

A B C it’s easy
It’s like counting up to 3
Sing a simple melody
That’s how easy love can be

Show your readers some love if you want them to love you in return. Start with the ABC.

Come and learn more about social media at the No Nonsense Social Media webinar tomorrow, January 21, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. Just click on the link to register!

 

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