Is your nonprofit’s blog mostly about your nonprofit organization? Then there’s a reason your audience is so small!
I know. You’re proud that you made the effort to create a blog at all. You work really hard at posting something every week. But who’s reading anything you post?
Take this advice from Jayson DeMers, a Forbes magazine contributor:
Ask yourself a few questions: What are your favorite types of blogs? Which ones do you subscribe to and look forward to reading? Which ones do you consider a good use of your valuable time?
Although I can’t guess which specific blogs are your favorites, I think I can predict, with a good deal of accuracy, which types of blogs aren’t on your list:
- Those that are exclusively about products or services
- Those that are constantly and explicitly trying to sell you something
- Those that are essentially a platform for the business or blogger to broadcast their marketing message
Let’s translate that into nonprofit.
- If you feel bound to write a blog post about each of your programs, you’re boring your readers.
- If you’re asking for money, time, or action in every post, you’re irritating your readers.
- If you sound like you’re speaking French–because every post says “We, we, we”–you’re ignoring your readers.
No one has to read your blog. Your board members may read it just to see what you’re doing. Your most loyal friends may read it because they care. But most people have too many other things competing for their time. Unless they can see right away what’s in it for them, they will go elsewhere for their fun.
Do you want their attention? Then you have to make your blog worth their while. That means finding out what they want and giving it to them. Not what you want–what they do.
If you entertain your readers, touch their emotions, make them feel smarter, or help them stay up to date with their community, they have a reason to read your blog. Loyal readers become loyal supporters. That’s what’s in it for you.
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