Why Your Nonprofit Needs a Blog
At this point, it seems like every organization has a blog. Does your nonprofit need a blog, or is this one less digital trend to tackle?
Short drum roll … yes! Your website would absolutely benefit from keeping up with a blog. Here are a few reasons why:
Blogs improve search engine optimization
A blog is instrumental when it comes to SEO. It signifies to search engines that your website is current, and has fresh info to share with the world. It also gives you the opportunity for a few more SEO tricks, like linking to internal pages, opportunities for other sites to link to your website, and keeping your readers on your site longer.
Take time to look into how the proper blog titles, keywords, and headers help put your organization in front of potential donors and clients.
For example, Google's search engine will sort out content by its title, header, and the first 60 words in a given post. It's important to have your keywords prevalent in this section of your blog. Remember to pick your keywords wisely. Try to think like your potential client or donor. What keywords would you search for?
Showcase your nonprofit's impact
A blog can be one of the most cost-effective and direct ways to showcase to donors (and potential donors!) that funds are being put to good use. A Money For Good study from a few years back found that 49% of donors don't know how nonprofits use their money, and 20% are unsure who benefits from the work they're funding.
Establishing trust with your audience is increasingly important. (Take a look at our 2019 social media trends on why brand trust will be tough this year.) While some devoted donors may be digging for financial reports, many just want to know about a life or family that was changed through their giving. Humanize your impact, and share personal client and staff stories regularly.
Sharing consistent updates on project and program progress will reassure your partners that their donations are making an impact.
Become an authority and influencer
A blog is a great platform to establish a rapport with your audiences and show that your people are leaders in your field. Make your website a go-to space for trends and resources in your industry.
Have your CEO and other senior leadership staff write a monthly blog post on essential information that they are privy to based on their expertise, experience, and mission-related interests.
Make your email process so much easier
Email continues to be one of the most effective ways to engage with your audience, and for calls of action. Is compiling a monthly newsletter taking up too much time? Round up your monthly blog posts for an easy newsletter, while also directing people back to your website. Better yet, set up an RSS-to-email, so your subscribers receive an email every time you publish a new post.
Keeping up with a blog will have a big payoff for your communications goals. Should I write a post on how to engage nonprofit staff to contribute to your blog? Let me know in the comments.
Sources: Donorbox, HostGator, HubSpot, Network for Good, and Nonprofit Source