Strategies for Creating a Compelling Blog

Some examples of compelling blogs by nonprofit organizations and/or their constituents are:

* Interplast (http://interplast.blogs.com). An international organization that provides free reconstructive surgery in developing countries, Interplast features surgeons in the field blogging about the work they’ve done, what they’ve seen, etc., including photographs.

* Greenpeace (http://members.greenpeace.org/gpblog). Greenpeace’s Web site features a number of blogs by constituents/activists sharing comments, ideas, etc., concerning global environmental issues.

* Share Your Story by March of Dimes (http://www.shareyourstory.org). Share Your Story, as described on its Web site, “is an online community for parents of babies born prematurely or who have spent time in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).” It offers parents a place where they can participate in discussions, create their own blog and connect with one another. “It’s a very sophisticated implementation of blogs,” Quinn says, “but it’s a really compelling way essentially to get their constituency in to tell their own stories and share.”

Blogs can be an additional means for an organization to cultivate constituent relationships, which can result in increased support.

“You’re going to have a lot more effectiveness with an appeal if your constituents feel connected and feel like they know what you’re doing and there’s actual humans who are working hard at your organization,” Quinn says.

It’s important to define your organization’s intentions for creating a blog. Determine what type of information you’re going to include, why you’ll include it and who it’ll be targeted to.

“Think it through as you would any other content source,” she says. “You certainly wouldn’t decide ‘I’m going to do an e-newsletter’ just for the sake of doing an e-newsletter. A blog is basically the same thing. You should define who it’s for, what it’s for, who’s updating it, how long it’s going to take and all those organizational thoughts.”