Posts tagged blogging best practices
Turn the beat around. Let’s blog upside down
Jul 12th
I’m asked to review a ton of blogs. Some of them are pretty sorry. But with just a few little tweaks, they could be really great. Here are the three biggest beginner blogging mistakes I see every day …
1) Blogging upside down.
When most people tell a story, it’s linear. There is a beginning, a middle, and an end. Problem is, people who read blogs have ADD. They are not going to wait until the end to get to the punchline. You have to give them the punchline first and THEN tell them who, what, when, where and why. Turn your blog upside down!
In journalism school they used to call this “burying the lead” — making readers work for the main point of the story. Most blogs can be improved by wiping out the first third of the story. Have the courage to put your blog under the knife.
2) Length matters
I have a theory about building a blog community. You have to earn the right to go long. The more credibility you have, the more time people will stay on your blog. If you are just beginning, new readers are going to give you just a few moments to make your case — if you’re lucky. If you’re Malcolm Gladwell, you can write 10,000 words without a care.
Respect your readers and their precious time. Get in, make your point, get out.
3) Grab them hard
Headlines are the most important part of a blog. Without a scintillating, compelling, tweetable headline, your hard work will never see the light of day.
Here is a bad headline: “My biggest blogging challenge.”
Somebody set the alarm to wake me when it’s over. It might be a GREAT blog, but the headline is just a snoozer. Plus it can’t be easily tweeted. When you use the word “my” it will look like it is the tweeter’s biggest blogging challenge, not yours.
Headlines are among my biggest struggles too. I’ll work hard on a post and then have no idea what the headline should be. I tend to give myself a headline deadline. At some point you have to push that publish button and get on with your life.
Today is a perfect case study. I could have gone for the obvious “Three Ideas to Make Your Blog Better.” This would have been a safe bet and it would have received a lot of tweets because when you put a number in the headline, it’s usually a hit. But I just hate settling for the ordinary. If you’re going to commit to providing insanely great content, eschew the obvious. Take some risks.
I was captivated by the “blog upside down” notion. Then this little rhyme got stuck in my head, “turn the beat around” – which sounded like a disco song. So I found a disco picture to go with it. Is it insanely great? No. Honestly, it doesn’t even make sense. But at least I’m trying to push it out there just a little bit further!
Here’s something I think about. If headlines are so important … maybe we should write the headlines first? Anybody do that?
How are you working through these obstacles? If you had to add a fourth item, what do you struggle with? Join the blogging boogie in the comment section, won’t you?
Blogging and your moment of truth
Jul 3rd
You’ve probably never heard of Ernie Watts, but he is among my favorite jazz musicians. I’ve listened to his music for 20 years and I would know his distinctive sax “voice” even if I was listening to a new recording.
He has a live record called To The Point: Live at The Jazz Bakery
“When you record live music … that’s it … everything leads to this.
“All the practice, all the other gigs, everything you’ve ever done, comes down to today. This is as good as I get in this moment. Tomorrow is another matter. We’ll get up again and practice and try to get a little better … but this music is about the point of truth today.
“It’s about ‘Who are YOU?’ and ‘What do YOU do?’ You listen to Charlie Parker and you listen to John Coltrane and Theolonius Monk, and you have all that in your head and it gets down to who are YOU in relationship to all of this. Because no matter how hard I practice, I will never be John Coltrane. I’m me and I’m coming from where I’m coming from.
“So at a certain point in your life, you get to that. That’s the point of truth, that’s your point of reality. It’s who you are.”
This quote sums up my feelings about creativity and blogging so well. You may read other bloggers and admire other bloggers, but at the end of the day, it’s about “Who are YOU?” about how YOU fit in, YOUR point of truth in that moment.
Like Ernie’s sweet and unique sax tone, you have to find your own “voice” too. It is literally the only way to stand out around here. We don’t need another list of the Five Biggest Mistakes on Twitter. We need YOU.
Every time I hear Ernie play I marvel at how it all makes sense. Everything comes together to express who he is, how he is, and where he is in that moment in such a beautiful and unique way.
What do you think? Have you found your blogging “voice?” Are you trying to emulate other bloggers or are you reaching down deep to find your moment of truth?
Blogging like a Big Baby
Jun 20th
Sometimes knowing nothing about what you’re doing can be the best competitive strategy.
I recently attended an interesting seminar about integrating interactive technology into the classroom and a speaker made the point that to be successful, they had to do their best to view the classroom from the perspective of a child.
This struck a chord in me relating to blogging. I think one of the reasons I have had some success as a blogger is because I had a child-like approach, perhaps even a naive approach, to starting my blog. This was not a mindful act. I took that approach because I literally didn’t know what I was doing. I learned to swim by getting thrown into the lake!
I didn’t study blogging before I jumped in. I did not read Copyblogger or study the other blogging deities. Didn’t even know who they were. I wasn’t worried about SEO, affiliate links, or being politically correct. I had no expectations about community or page rankings. I blogged for fun and the pure learning experience.
So, like a child, my posts were honest, blind to politics, and playful. It was just a pure expression of what was on my mind. I didn’t know it at the time, but this was a rare commodity on the social web.
As momentum on my blog picked up, I thought I should get more acquainted with the culture of social media blogging and for awhile got swept up in trying to replicate the formulaic patterns that seemed to be bringing everybody else so much success.
But many of the blogging best practices actively work AGAINST originality. The heart of content marketing strategy, for example, is a focus on popular keywords, so by definition you are gearing your content toward the same topics everybody is writing about, right? Wouldn’t you agree there is a chronic sameness to the social web?
It is the blogger’s constant battle to be original but I think adopting this child-view of the world — filled with curiosity, raw creativity, and honesty – is a powerful catalyst for innovation. I’ve been challenging myself to maintain that perspective and find ways to use my crayons to color outside of the lines a little more.
What would happen if you became more child-like in your approach to blogging? Children don’t avoid risks, focus on “best practices,” or become slaves to search engines. They see beauty in the small and simple wonders most tend to overlook. They say what needs to be said without knowingly hurting anybody.
How are you trying to be original in your writing, in your business and on the social web? What would happen if you viewed content creation through the eyes of a child?
The World’s Best Non-Profit Blogs
May 8th
Blogs and social media are critical communication tools for non-profits. In fact, according to research by the University of Massachusetts, a higher percentage of non-profits have active blogs than any other category. And it makes sense. Blogs are a cost-effective way to tell stories and build a consistent emotional connection with constituents. But how are they doing? What are the best in the world?
So I embarked on an ambitious project in partnership with Helen Brown, founder and president of The Helen Brown Group. Helen knows non-profits and has devoted her career to teaching some of the biggest organizations in the world how to raise funds more effectively.
We examined more than 250 blogs from some of the largest and most important charities anywhere. We looked for the blogs that were engaging an audience, offering superb content, and aligning with the organization’s strategies. Last year, when I compiled a list of The Best Company Blogs in the World, I noted that it was a depressing experience. Most company blogs aren’t that good and I’m a little sad to say we had a similar experience with the non-profits. Helen summed up our experience in one word: “DRECK.”
But we did find inspiring blogs out there. Here, in no particular order, are the best non-profit blogs in the world.
This is simply one of the best blogs you will find anywhere, profit or non-profit. It has it all:
- Superior content
- Non-intrusive yet effective calls to action
- Good use of multi-media such as photography and video
- Superb use of story-telling to align with objectives
- Attractive and functional design
- Convenient social sharing
- Features that involve key stakeholders
This blog is a role model for any organization.
This is a wonderful, interesting blog. Of course it serves as the place to go in the event of a disaster, but it is also an entertaining read. As a good example, read this post about the historical role of The Salvation Army in the devastating 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Another post features a “fashionista” getting her clothes from a Salvation Army Thrift Shop. Not only is this type of post great story-telling, it connects readers with the history and rock-solid foundation of the organization in an entertaining way that cuts through the noise.
While a good-looking and well-organized blog, inexplicably, it seems to stand alone from the primary Salvation Army site. There is no easy way to connect directly to the organization or donate money right from the blog. Missed opportunity.
Holland Bloorview Childrens Rehabilitation Hospital
This blog brought tears to my eyes. If you’re a parent, it will probably have the same affect on you.
Bloom is about parenting special needs kids. It isn’t fancy. In fact it’s just on Blogger. But what it lacks in sophistication it more than makes up in courage and heart. Writer Louise Kinross has something unique and personal going on here. She has nurtured an active, loyal community and with good reason … this is blogging at its best.
Check out this gutsy, effective blog. With My Own Eyes is a firsthand, photo-journalism account offering users the opportunity to see some of the most devastated, disaster-ravaged and previously inaccessible places in the world, as well as a look at Operation Blessing’s efforts to help people that live there.
This multimedia site features video footage, photos and the personal diary entries of some of the team leaders from more than 25 countries including China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru and the U.S. Each blog post provides concrete ideas on how to connect and help.
This blog just began in 2011 so we’ll have to check in later to see if they can sustain what is starting out to be an excellent blog. World Vision works with impoverished children and their families throughout the world and is also effectively using eyewitness accounts to connect to constituents.
Some of the hallmarks of this journal are fantastic, colorful articles that pull you in to the organization and its mission. This blog seems to have jumped out of the starter’s gate quickly — some of its daily posts are already getting more than 1,000 shares. While the design of the blog is quite busy, check out the beautiful and effective design of the main website while you’re visiting.
Simply put, The Broad Institute is creating methods, tools and massive data sets and makes them available to the general scientific community to rapidly accelerate biomedical advancement.
The charming thing about their blog — Broad Minded — is that it frames complicated subjects in accessible terms. I’m partial to science literature any way so this blog was a delight. I mean how can you miss with a blog post titled “Lifestyles of the Fungal and Famous” or another that explains unraveling mysteries of DNA as a Julia Childs recipe.
This is a lively, stratight-forward blog that is exceedingly well-aligned with the mission of the organization.
Refugees International advocates for lifesaving assistance and protection for displaced people and promotes solutions to displacement crises. This blog achieves story-telling excellence through extraordinary writing, compelling videos and dramatic photography. If you want an example, check out this video on how refugees struggle to find an education. The almost daily blog is unafraid to confront difficult political issues and take a stand as it boldly raises awareness for its cause. A smart, superb blog.
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) explores the region’s media (both print and television), websites, religious sermons and school books. This blog stands out in a special way because essentially, the blog IS the organization.
This respected non-profit scans the Middle East for important news and trends and provides timely translations of Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, Pashtu, Dari, Hindi, and Turkish media in separate blogs. Other sections provide original analysis of political, ideological, intellectual, social, cultural, and religious trends in the Middle East. This series of blogs is the centerpiece of this important effort. Pretty cool.
This blog provides consistently good content mixed with compelling multi-media. It has several nice features like a list of all local Red Cross Chapter blogs, weekly round-ups of disaster relief efforts around the world, and connections to many disaster-response related resources. Just all-around helpful and targeted to support the needs of its constituents. I don’t know why this blog is detached from the main Red Cross website. A missed opportunity. Also, it is strange that the blog gets no comments when it is such a vital community-focused organization. And in the “maybe I’m picky category” — seems like they could have come up with a better title for their showcase than “Blog.” : )
BONUS CONTENT!
If you’re interested in non-profit best practices, Helen Brown has provided this list of some of her favorite blogs ABOUT charities and fund-raising:
Stanford Social Innovation Review Blog
The SSIR is part of the Stanford University Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (PACS). Highlighting thought leaders, practitioners and innovative funders and “striking a balance between the pragmatic and the intellectual,” this blog keeps you up-to-date on the issues at the forefront of the third sector. Contributors include Sean Stannard-Stockton, Amy Sample Ward and Peter Sims.
Chronicle of Philanthropy’s Blogs
The Chronicle of Philanthropy site plays host to a number of blogs including those on prospecting, candid conversations about nonprofit boards, international philanthropy and social media for nonprofits. Contributors include staff writers as well as experts and thought leaders on their given topic.
Queer Ideas; a bloody good fundraising blog
Sometimes irreverent, usually cutting-edge, always intelligent and interesting, this blog is written by Mark Phillips, founder and CEO of bluefrog, a fundraising consulting firm in the UK. His observations and links to helpful research and resources make this a good one to expand your mind.
Beth Kantor is seen by many (us included) as the go-to blog for nonprofit fitness checks, great ideas, subtle nudges toward excellence and good advice on social media, networking and organizational management you’d do well to take. Beth’s writing style is accessible and friendly, yet the blog is packed with resources, links to scholarly studies and other references that you need to know about.
Written by the co-author (with Beth Kanter) of The Networked Nonprofit, Allison Fine’s blog is a combination of acute observation and commentary on articles, videos, campaigns and collateral on fundraising, networking and social media. An extra bonus on her site is links to Allison’s monthly podcast interviews for the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Philanthropy 2173; The Business of Giving
Authored by Lucy Bernholz, founder and president of Blueprint Research & Design, Inc., Bernholz is to nonprofits what Rachel Maddow is to liberal politics – intelligent and incisive yet accessible, wonky, and (respectfully) pulling no punches. The blog approaches nonprofits and their arena as a third business sector, and Bernholz isn’t sitting behind a desk; very often she’s interviewing some game-changing sector leader and sharing their conversations and her insights.
So there you have it! The best non-profit blogs you’ll find anywhere. Of course there are some good ones out there that we missed. Do you have a favorite? What blogging ideas did you pick up from this list of great blogs?
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