It’s widely recognized that businesses benefit from blogs. In fact, companies are often leaving money on the table if they don’t blog. But what about nonprofit organizations and charities? If their goal isn’t to make a profit, does having a blog advance their goals in the same way it does for a for-profit business? The answer is yes! Below we will outline why these types of organizations also benefit from having an active blog.
Free Publicity for Your Cause
Although charities don’t operate to make a profit, they must bring in money. Nonprofits rely on donors and regular contributions to stay alive and serve their mission. Blogs are an excellent way to bring awareness to your organization and inform people about the goals and mission of your nonprofit. The more people you reach, the more potential donors you will find.
Publishing good content also increases your credibility and helps position your organization as an expert in the field. Readers will see that you are educated about your cause and trust you with their time and money. Other organizations may also see what you’re doing for the community and want to help promote your mission, especially if they consider your blog as an opportunity to gain visibility for their own work.
Share Events
Unlike newsletters, information on a blog isn’t limited to your existing audience. Events shared on a blog can be found by anyone, which expands your reach and opens the door for more fundraising opportunities, a larger volunteer pool and more attention in general.
Without a blog, you may find yourself waiting for others to write about your organization, and you are often forced to rely on local journalists to share news about your events. With a blog, you control the narrative. Relying on press releases to promote your events takes away from your voice and personal touch. You know your charity better than any outsider could, and as a result, your words are more likely to share the heart of your organization in a meaningful and impactful way.
Interact With Your Audience
If you rely on others, e.g., donors and volunteers, for your organization’s success, the more forums that you have to connect with your audience, the better. Blogs give you the opportunity to engage in two-way conversations with your audience and make it easy for those who are interested in your nonprofit to connect with you through comments on your posts. They also provide a place for you to receive timely feedback and give you an easy way to keep your donors and supporters regularly informed.
Have a Place to Share News
As part of a charity or nonprofit organization, you can leverage your blog to educate donors about your progress and any goals that you’re trying to reach. You get to choose what’s important and unique about your organization and what’s worthy of highlighting and sharing.
An active blog gives you content for all your other platforms, as well. News and information that you highlight in your blog can easily be shared across emails, newsletters, and social media. Not only does having multiple mediums through which people can find you benefit your organization, but people are more likely to share blog posts than information on a static website, further increasing your visibility.
Drive Traffic to Your Website Through Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
As a nonprofit, two of the most important goals of your organization are getting new donors and making an impact in your community. Having a blog positively impacts both of these goals. Each article you post serves as an additional page on your site, increasing the chances of your website being seen and promoted, even without considering the added benefit of readers sharing your content.
Blog posts naturally increase the number of keywords on your site and provide opportunities for others to share information about your organization, giving you backlinks and helping improve your Google ranking.
The Takeaway
Just because your organization’s goal isn’t to make a profit, your fundraising and marketing goals are no different than they are in a for-profit business. Just as a for-profit business benefits from having a blog, it can also advance the goals of any nonprofit. By providing free publicity, a place to share events and news, and driving traffic to your website through SEO, a blog is a valuable tool for facilitating nonprofit success.
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