- Can’t put your finger on what’s wrong with your charity’s blog?
- Know there’s lots you could improve on, but not sure where to start?
- Worried your hard work isn’t making a difference for your charity?
If your charity’s blog is leaving you feeling a bit lost and overwhelmed, let me help.
I’ll review a handful of your most recent blog posts, along with related social media posts and emails. I’ll give you my opinion on what’s working well for you, and what could be improved. And then I’ll give you my recommendations for where to start.
What went wrong?
Your charity’s blog is a great way to keep your supporters and the wider public updated on what you do. But while once upon a time you might have had a clear strategy, maybe now things are a little more woolly.
Many charity blogs are making the same mistakes. Some common problems I see are:
- Blogs that seem to flail about at random – every post is a different topic, different format, different length, or for a different audience.
- Great blog posts that are let down by lacklustre titles or boring introductions
- Inconsistent publishing – one post a week for a while, and then nothing for months
- Repetitive, formulaic articles, that all seem the same
- Blogs without a readership because people aren’t clicking through from social media or email newsletters
But what sticks in my mind most when I speak to people is how they feel about their charity’s blog:
- Feeling lost or overwhelmed with all the stuff they’ve got to do
- Frustrated that their hard work isn’t having the impact they’d like
- Unmotivated, and feeling like blogging is a chore.
If you recognise any of the above and want to make a change, let me help you.
What is the Blog Check-Up?
My Blog Check-Up is a ‘mini-audit’ of your charity’s blog – giving you my ‘outsiders’ perspective, backed by over a decade of experience writing blogs.
I go through a handful of your most recent posts and give you my opinions on a range of factors, including:
- Does your blog have a clear purpose?
- Is it clear who the audience is?
- How consistently are you writing posts?
- What do you want readers to do?
- What topics do you talk about, and what angles do you take?
- How do the blog posts get in front of people?
- Are the blog posts as enticing as possible?
- What is the quality of the writing?
I tell you what is working well for you, giving you reassurance and taking things off your list of Things To Do. I also give you my honest opinion on what I think you need to improve.
But as well as my thoughts, I give you my key recommendations for how to improve your charity’s blog. Some will be quick wins you can implement straightaway. Others may take a bit more time, but will be worth the effort.
I put together my recommendations in a short document and we go through the highlights in a video call.
And I don’t run for the hills after I’ve given your blog a check-up. I’m available to answer any more questions or check any improvements you’ve made.
The whole process is designed to save you time and take work off your hands. To do the check-up, I need minimal input from you, but you’ll get maximal impact for your blog – and your charity.
What other charities have said about my Blog Check-Up:
“I’m really proud of having started the Research Blog at CCLG. However, I was feeling a little unfocused and unsure whether I was on the right track.
“Richard’s Blog Check-Up helped me feel a lot more focused on the purpose for the blog, and keeping that purpose in mind whilst I’m writing. The Blog Check-Up also helped kill some of my bad habits before they got too engrained!
“It’s helped me plan further ahead, because I feel more in control and prepared about the content for our charity’s blog.
“Richard was great to work with, very friendly and approachable, but clear in his opinions and guidance.”
Children’s Cancer & Leukaemia Group (CCLG)
“Before I spoke to Richard, I was concerned that I wasn’t giving our research blog the attention it deserved. I was worried that we might be missing out on donations because new followers weren’t aware of the work we are doing.
“After the Blog Check-Up that Richard did for us, I felt reassured that there are elements of our content which are already working well, which made the task of improving our research blog feel less overwhelming.
“I came away with a wide variety of ideas for extra content that I never would have otherwise thought of, especially blogs commenting on updates in the wider field, which will hopefully help us to keep our charity in the forefront of supporters’ minds.
“It was great working with Richard – he is very encouraging, explains things in a straightforward way and is very generous with his time and ideas.”
Yorkshire’s Brain Tumour Charity
“We had already been planning to develop our research blog content, so Richard’s Blog Check-Up came at a really good time. I really appreciated the time taken to look at examples of our work in detail, and the useful recommendations and report that followed the meeting.
“We will definitely be taking some of the suggestions forward to develop our future blog content.
“It was great to work with Richard and I would definitely recommend him to other people.“
Leukaemia UK
Why me?
Over more than 10 years, I’ve gathered a range of experience of writing and thinking about charity blogs, including:
- Being one of the main contributors towards the blog of a major cancer charity
- Writing a personal blog nominated for a prestigious science writing award
- Writing blogs for a range of charity clients as a freelancer
- Sharing my knowledge about blogging for free on my own blog
I believe that an external perspective is useful to your charity. Just like you might walk past pot plants in your home without noticing they need watering, you can also become blind to some of the weaknesses of your content when you’re producing it day in, day out.
But being an ‘outsider’, I can spot things that you don’t notice – and what’s more, I share the same viewpoint as your audiences.
| What I’ll need from you: All I need is for you to provide me with a link to your blog, answer a few short questions, and away we go. You won’t be spending hours gathering things for me. |
| What you’ll get from me: An organised document with my opinions and recommendations on a range of factors that affect the success of your charity’s blog, summarised for you in a video call. PLUS time afterwards to answer any further questions you have, or check over any changes you’ve made, for no additional cost. |
| Investment: £300 |