Is your organization looking at starting a blog, to help you connect more directly with your members and supporters, but you're not quite sure how to go about it? Or maybe you've started a blog, but it doesn't quite seem to be doing much yet?
There's a lot of "how to blog" information out there on the Internet, but you've probably already discovered that much of it is geared to
business or personal blogs — not to nonprofit blogs — and some of the advice can be downright confusing
if you're not all that familiar with the jargon and the technology.
We’ll be looking at nonprofit blogging quite a bit through the next few weeks, and hopefully can help you out. (Start thinking of your questions now!)
Meanwhile, here’s a great resource to help lay a foundation:
TechSoup’s free webinar, Introduction to Blogging for Nonprofits and Libraries, has Becky Wiegand in conversation with Allyson Kapin (@WomenWhoTech) of Frogloop, Care2’s nonprofit marketing blog, and Jason Griffey (@griffey) who literally “wrote the book” on blogging for libraries.
The focus is on the basics of non-profit blogging for beginners,
“from considerations like which tool to use, how much staff time to
commit, best practices, whether volunteers and interns should help, and
how to launch your blog”:
- Definitions
- Benefits of Blogging for Nonprofits
- Benefits of Blogging for Libraries
- Considerations Before Starting
- Overview of Tools
- Best Practices and Tips
- Favorite Blogs
- More Resources
- Q&A
The Introduction to Blogging for Nonprofits and Libraries webinar was actually held live online in early August, but it’s not too late for you to get almost all of the benefits — the slides, audio and full recording of the presentation are available free on ReadyTalk, with a bit of follow-up discussion on the Emerging Technologies forum at TechSoup. It's the next best thing to attending a training webinar in person!
Running time for the recording is just over 1 hour, by the way, so you can probably just squeak it into your lunch break if you plan ahead! :-)
And if you've already moved beyond the basics, or you're looking for free online training in other areas of nonprofit technology, visit the Learning Center at TechSoup.org to learn about their other free webinars for nonprofits and libraries. You'll find upcoming live webinars listed there, as well as a growing archive of recorded
presentations that you can access at any
time.
What are your most pressing questions and concerns about blogging for your nonprofit organization? Leave a note in the comments, and we'll make sure to tackle those specific issues in the next few weeks.
