Too many organizations say they can’t have a blog because they’d never have enough bloggers or content. At DelCor’s Progress U. – Blogger Summit we heard plenty of solutions to those problems.
The hunt for writers
You already have writers on staff – they just don’t know it! They’re the ones who create handouts, informational emails, newsletter items, talking points, and reports. If they like to write, they’re good candidates for blogging.
Look for colleagues who communicate well in meetings and conferences. If writing isn’t their forte, perhaps they’re potential blog video stars. Or maybe they’ll make a great interview subject.
Who has stories to share about members, programs, and issues? Who knows what’s going on in your members’ worlds? The resources are right at your fingertips.
A year ago, the National Wildlife Federation had only 4 bloggers. Now, after searching for staff from headquarters and regional offices who had stories to share, they have 179 bloggers.
Young staffers are good prospects because they’ve grown up accustomed to online expression. Ray van Hilst encourages them to blog as a way to find their professional voices and stand out at work. Lisa Junker told her Acronym recruits that blogging will help build their careers, as well as their Google presence.
What if the CEO wants a blog presence but doesn’t want to write? Is ghostwriting a bad idea? Speeches are written for CEOs – why not posts?
Many CEOs don’t yet understand the value of developing relationships and building trust with readers, so blogging isn’t a priority. A PUBS attendee found a compromise: she ghostwrites for her CEO and the CEO replies to comments.
The blogger voice and mind
Bloggers express themselves on behalf of an organization; they don’t just post information. They write with a conversational, personal voice, not an institutional, press release voice. Acronym asks their bloggers to be human and opinionated, share stories from their professional lives, and respond to comments. Be a real person – be interesting!
Bloggers develop habits to generate ideas: they keep ears and eyes open for new ideas, capture ideas as they occur, repurpose content, and keep on the look-out for new sources and voices.
There’s no single way to collect ideas and inspirations. Maybe your best ideas come to you while you’re singing in the shower! Do what works for you.
Boosting blogger morale
When asked to contribute blog posts, the usual response is “I don’t have time.” People are afraid to commit. Who can blame them?
Ask for a small commitment, one post a month. Or two paragraphs – people can be intimidated if they don’t have a way to gauge your expectations. Suggest some ideas or show them how to find ideas. Talk up the benefits of blogging – both the personal and professional variety.
When you don’t already have a public online presence, it’s scary to put your work out into the blogosphere where others can judge and criticize you. Pair up bloggers to review each other’s work, provide support, help moderate comments, and rally the troops if things get ugly.
Be our guest! Be our guest! Put your writing to the test!
To create more engagement between members, supplement staff bloggers with member bloggers. Joe Rominiecki from ASAE’s Acronym blog says a pool of regular guest bloggers saves time because you don’t have to solicit each individual post.
Recruiting guest bloggers is more difficult now than when Acronym launched in 2006. Many members now have their own blogs or are “scratching that itch” with Twitter. Plus, commitment is difficult when associations are short-staffed due to the recession.
PUBS participants suggested 4 ways to recruit guest bloggers.
- Ask members who already have blogs. Consider cross-posting where appropriate.
- As a “gateway” to regular blogging, ask members to live-blog a conference session or to contribute a post during a theme week or month.
- Find new voices on listservs, in online communities, at conferences, or in niche groups.
- “Speaker stalking is a good way to find guest bloggers,” adds Ray.
Filling the content pipeline
Even if you have enough writers, “blogs go through content cycles, sometimes you’ll struggle with content,” says Lisa, “don’t despair.”
Maddie Grant publishes daily at Socialfish but doesn’t write a post every day. She also publishes guest posts, curated posts, videos, and links to good finds. At the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association blog, Maggie McGary publishes mostly posts from member blogs: promotion for them and a constant stream of content for ASHA.
Here are some more great tips for finding content.
- Set aside time to read and think.
- Find inspiration in industry reports or from the blogs of other industries.
- Turn a PowerPoint into a post.
- Imagine what new professionals would ask.
- Repurpose content.
- Recap conference sessions and share conference photos.
- Share a selection of posts by other community bloggers, as in Acronym’s Quick Clicks. Curated posts help readers find good content amidst all the noise. Acronym also uses Quick Clicks to highlight and encourage new bloggers.
In our next (and last) post to come out of Progress U. – Blogger Summit, we’ll discuss ideas for attracting and engaging readers. In the meantime, how do you keep your blogs and bloggers active? Where do you find your “electricity”?
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