Blogging for business is an essential online marketing idea for nonprofit organizations, charities and fundraising groups. After all, blog creation and blog marketing is a relatively inexpensive and extremely interactive way to build a brand’s presence online. Unlike building completely new websites, blogs can be created quickly and without breaking the bank. That doesn’t mean the blog for your nonprofit has to look cheap, be filled with out-of-date content or live out its existence with no readership and zero comments. Great-looking and dynamic blogs published by worthy nonprofits do exist and we found a handful that might help inspire your blog, too.
The American Red Cross blogs manage to do something many nonprofits have a problem with: produce informative content without being dry and boring. Red Cross wisely keeps the blog posts short, smart and light. Clearly, they know that the Red Cross has a better chance of getting volunteers and donations and spreading awareness if the blog is something people want to read, tweet and forward. This doesn’t mean the Red Cross skimps on useful information, either. A recent post had quick tips on how to be ready in case of a disaster. The post had great ideas while being a calm and empowered call to action.
Nonprofits don’t always have the easiest time keeping their names in the press, so blogs are a terrific avenue to publish stories generated by your organization. Americans for the Arts fights to keep the arts and arts in education alive, so its blog, simply entitled ARTSblog, is an online newspaper which publishes the latest news from that battle. From posts about public art to stories covering arts marketing, ARTSblog has a wealth of information about a cause that doesn’t always garner traditional headlines.
Finally, explaining what a nonprofit does and how the programs work can be a wordy and uninteresting task. But doing it in a blog suddenly makes it readable. The Boys and Girls Club uses its blog to cover its current events and longstanding mission statements alike. Posts that discuss fundraising galas, feature videos about new programs or contain interviews with volunteers make for a more enthralling read than bland, old press releases or information packets.
Being memorable and easy to find is what all brands — nonprofit or otherwise — struggle with online. Well-crafted and smartly-written blogs are one effective way for nonprofits to get noticed, get press and hopefully get donations and community involvement.
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