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ARTICLE

It's Time For Nonprofits To Become Expert Publishers

Typewriter

Most nonprofits have no shortage of things to talk about online: their mission, their activities, their needs. While it’s true that supporters want to be kept up to date on what the organization they support is up to (particularly how their donations are being spent), they also want to stay informed on the topic at large. Those nonprofit marketers and fundraisers who seek to educate and empower their constituents, rather than simply soliciting, may reap benefits in the form of increased donor loyalty and retention. So how do you get started?

TypewriterDon’t Just Talk About Yourself

It’s fine to blog about your recent fundraising event or to send an email about a new volunteer, but if your communications start and end with what’s only going on in your world it’s unlikely that you’ll create real engagement. What would happen, instead, if you published expert content that your community could view as a resource?

Find Out What People Want To Know… and Answer Their Questions!

If your organization supports a specific cause, there are likely a lot questions about that cause or issue that you can answer. For example, a quick search on Quora for “alzheimer’s caregiving” returns dozens of questions. These are potential blog, seminar, webinar and newsletter topics that you can tackle in order to create value for not just your current constituents, but prospective ones as well.

Harness Your Internal Experts

If you’re worried about who will write all of this expert content, look no further than those within your organization. Your employees, volunteers and board members likely have some expertise around the cause you support – harness this knowledge! The more authors you have contributing, the more expert content you can publish.

As you start to create expert content, your nonprofit organization can evolve from just a cause to support to being a true resource in the community. Give it a try and see what happens!

img via: rahego

Steven Shattuck
Steven Shattuck served as the chief Engagement Officer at Bloomerang for 10 years. A prolific writer and speaker, Steven contributed to “Fundraising Principles and Practice: Second Edition.” He also supports the Association of Fundraising Professional's Fundraising Effectiveness Project, serves as an AFP Center for Fundraising Innovation (CFI) committee member, and sits on the faculty of the Institute for Charitable Giving. He is the author of Robots Make Bad Fundraisers - How Nonprofits Can Maintain the Heart in the Digital Age, published by Bold and Bright Media (2020). You can find Steven Shattuck on LinkedIn

Comments

  • 3 Common Nonprofit Website Mistakes and How To Avoid Them

    […] that readers want to share and search engines want to put in their results. A blog allows you to show off the expertise of your staff and the victories of your organization. If you can’t add a blog to your existing website, […]

  • 7 Reasons Why NPOs Should Shift Focus From Earned Media to Owned Media

    […] Imagine if those resources were spent on promoting the event or campaign through other means, or by creating content that your community is […]

  • 3 Ways to Attract Cause Marketing Partners

    […] marketers because of the additional promotional power you can bring to the table. Creating high-quality content (blog posts, videos, etc.) and being active on social media can improve your search engine […]

  • Steven Shattuck

    Too true!

  • Laura Neidig

    Well said! What you advocate is sometimes difficult to do when an organization also has so many 'call-to-action' items, but it is definitely something to strive for and try to strike a balance with!
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