One of the first questions that nonprofits have about setting up a blog for their supporters is: "What do we write about?"
It's a good question, and many nonprofits never get the answer right. Their blogs turn into self-referencing organizational messages that most people, even their supporters, tune out.
After initially thinking the whole idea of "curation" on the web was pretty pretentious (after all isn't that what experts do in museums, libraries, and academic journals?), I've realized that it is a great concept for what we do on our blogs. After all we are researching, making choices, highlighting, summarizing, and displaying information so that our readers can easily consume it.
We all have an expertise. Nonprofits especially have expertise. You are an expert on education, civil rights or disaster response. Your supporters must be interested in your topic, or they wouldn't bother with you at all. But they don't have time to research it or find the latest news about it.
Considering yourself a curator of your own nonprofit topic and expertise can be a powerful way to build content that attracts your supporters to your website again and again.
I looked at a fair number of nonprofit blogs in preparation for this blog post. Many were really good, but some were simply full of information about the next event, the current fundraising campaign, or where the executive director was speaking next. They were inwardly focused rather than audience focused.
Some blogs seemed to be abandoned, with material that was as old as one to 18 months, even when the organization appeared to still be in business. Were they abandoned because the pressure to continually produce content was too much? Probably.
Curation is the cure. Provide information about what you know best...your field. Share your expertise, knowledge, advice, even the news about whatever corner of the world in which you exist. You will be focused, never run out of topics, and will be performing a huge service for your readers. Those blog posts, if well optimized, will be indexed by search engines, drawing in even more people.
Some nonprofits are very good curators. Here are some examples:
- FirstBook includes How to Build Self-Esteem in Your Child on its blog, Bookmark.
- Room to Read keeps the focus on the cause through a fascinating interview with a South African author of children's books.
- The ASPCA Blog dropped this informative article into its array of adoptable pet posts: Swine Flu Infects Housecat--Are Your Pets Safe?..
- The National Wildlife Federation has several blogs. One is Green Hour that provides how-to articles for parents on introducing the great outdoors to their children.
- The Nature Conservancy, on its blog Cool Green Science, is curating the news about Copenhagen and climate change right now. Camfed also provides news with many positive stories and links to articles about girls and education.
Are you curating content for your readers on your blog? Think about your audience and what they are interested in. Consider your nonprofit a storage locker of information about your topic. Then edit and present that knowledge in an attractive way on your blog. You can do this and still convey your message and underscore your mission.
