Category Archives: Editing

Get Your Nonprofit Content Read, Digested & Acted On: 6 Steps

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Flickr: Calixto Bento[Dalya’s Note: This blog post was originally published 4/24/13 by Nancy Schwartz, Strategist-Speaker-Consultant GettingAttention.org. Nancy Schwartz (nancy at nancyschwartz.com) helps nonprofits succeed through effective marketing. For more guidance like this, subscribe to her e-update at http://gettingattention.org/nonprofit-marketing/subscribe-enewsletter.html.]

It’ll take you about two minutes to read this. Do you think you’ll make it?

It’s not likely.

People usually read just 20% of any content that’s 100 words long or more. Since this post is longer than that, you’re most likely to scan it for keywords that are relevant to you, plus highlighted elements I showcase with bolding or italics.

Most of us wish, when we write, that people read every single word. But the reality is that people read far less than you think, or want.

Here are six ways to up the odds that your nonprofit’s content is read, digested and acted on: 

  1. Craft clear and compelling headlines that lead readers into the rest of your content.
  2. Structure your content with the most important elements first. The inverted pyramid is your best friend here.
  3. Use clear and accessible language that is quick and easy to understand.
  4. Edit well to keep it short. It’s always a “less is more” scenario with content creation.
  5. Emphasize keywords and phrases to make them easy to find for scanners.
  6. Use bullets and white space to chunk content for easier visual digestion.

This post is 208 words long. Did you make it until the end?

Free Webinar: 5 Facets of Indie Publishing for Nonfiction Writers With a Cause

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I am pleased to partner with Author Solutions to offer a free webinar for social changemakers who’ve ever even thought about writing a book.

A book or ebook is a great way to share your experience and insights, bring more visibility to your cause, and establish yourself as a passionate authority. With the expanding universe of independent publishing (a.k.a. self-publishing), the world is now your oyster. How do you make it work for you and your cause? In this webinar we will explore this opportunity.

Takeaways:
• What a book/ebook can do for you and your cause
• Advice on the style, structure, and voice of a book that promotes a cause
• Introduction to independent publishing
• Some initial marketing ideas
• Recommended resources

Dalya presented this well-received webinar in April. One attendee commented:

“I came away with a better sense of organizing my project. Also, the advice on graphics and illustrations helped me know what to include in a more simple fashion than I had originally intended.”

You have one more opportunity to join me live: May 16 @ 4:30pm PT. Sign up HERE.

Talk to you then!

7 content ideas for nonprofit blogs, tweets, posts and pins

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[Dalya’s Note] This guest blog originally appeared on the GiftWorks blog. It was written by Julia Campbell, President/CEO of J Campbell Social Marketing.

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Is your Facebook Page abandoned?

Have you neglected to tweet in days (or, heaven forbid, weeks)?

Does your Pinterest account have a slew of half empty boards?

Does your organization suffer from “blogger’s block”?

Shake off the cobwebs, clear off the dust and take control of your social media presence!

Try these 7 fresh content ideas out on your social media profiles.

1) Share photos of your organization in action.

  • Take photos of your office, volunteers, clients, playground/outdoor area, garden, hallway, waiting room. (With permission, of course!)
  • Make sure you use descriptive, creative captions and a link to your website
  • Photos are the most shared and most commented on content in social media (beat only by videos)
  • Pinterest is now the #3 social network. People LOVE visual, so get on it!

2) Get topical.

  • Read about trending topics in the national, regional and local news and tie the day’s hot topic to your organization and your constituents.
  • If you are a local nonprofit, make sure to monitor local news every single day for appropriate content to share. People love local and will often engage with this type of content more frequently than national or international news.

3) Ask questions.

  • People love to talk about themselves. Questions that encourage your fans and followers to share personal stories related to your organization can be effective.
  • Try posting fill-in-the-blank questions: “My favorite volunteer experience was when_______”, “I give back to the community by__________.”

4) Be funny!

  • Every single post, tweet and blog does not have to be about the seemingly insurmountable problems of hunger, homelessness, poverty and violence. It goes without saying that the issues you tackle every day are serious and do have significant implications on the world.
  • However, most people do not use social media to learn about the world’s problems. They log on to see photos of their grandchildren, to check out what’s going on with their friends and to share thoughts with others.
  • Spreading your critical message is important, but being authentic, human and having a sense of humor is also vital to engaging with your following.

5) Share others’ content, frequently and with attribution.

  • If you are at a serious loss as to what to post, look at other Facebook Pages for inspiration and for items to share.
  • Sharing content does several things. If its quality stuff, you are positioning yourself as a “thought leader” in your industry. People will then look to you for interesting, relevant and timely information on a specific topic – a time-saver for them! You also create good karma for your organization.

6) Acknowledge your donors.

  • A simple thank you post to a specific donor, or even a generalized thank you to your supporters, will always be much appreciated.

7) Repurpose content.

  • You know all those thoughtfully crafted print newsletters, annual reports and appeal letters sitting in the back room collecting dust? How about re-purposing that content into bite size pieces to share on your social media sites?
  • Newsletter articles could be transformed and updated into blog posts.
  • Annual Report statistics can be incorporated into infographics or other small graphics to share.
  • Appeal letters will hopefully have compelling stories of your organization’s impact, and those stories never get old. Use them everywhere!

These are just a few ideas to get you started on your way to social media success. Good luck!

What are your ideas for quality content that gets posts, tweets, blogs and pins? Let me know what you think in the Comments section. Thanks for reading!

 

Three thoughts on writing, the uncomfortable art we can’t resist

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[Dalya’s Note] This guest blog post originally appeared on February 18, 2013 on nonprofit writer Katya Andresen’s LinkedIn blog.

I love and hate to write. Here are three pieces of advice based on my daily struggle with blogging, fiction and work-related writing. I share these as a student, not a master. These are lessons I re-learn every day in the creative process. Writing is that way – casting you forever in the role of novice, whether you enjoy it or not.

1. Run toward uncomfortable. If you write something that makes you want to hide or erase, keep going straight to that feeling. You’re on to something.

2. Relentlessly live in that uncomfortable place as a way of life, ignoring every excuse and criticism. This is the work of writing. You pitch a tent in that awful, uncomfortable patch of land and spend time there every day, despite the harsh conditions, the many reasons you don’t have time to be there, and that loud inner critic who keeps distracting you.

3. Go there for no other reason than your own. Write what you want to read, say what must, lay down what matters to you. Don’t edit yet; just do what compels you. This isn’t about seeking love, approval or fame. They are rarely the results of writing anyway. Remember – you’re in a tent in the wilderness, not on a stage. This is about feeding yourself.

If you do these things, you will produce a work of writing. Keep going till you feel done or are truly stuck. Show it to smart people. Listen. It will be horrible to hear anything other than it is perfect. Listen anyway. Listen some more. Take it in and turn it back into your writing. It will get better, and you’ll be ready to run back to that rocky ground where your tent awaits.

Eventually, something will emerge. It will never match what you first imagined, but it will be something you can declare good enough. If you get that far, I applaud you. It’s not easy, and yet you stayed and worked and made it so. The rest of us are clapping, because we know just how hard it is.

Six Steps to Success in Collaborative Writing Projects

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[Dalya’s note: Deborah Pruitt will be featured on Writing Wednesdays 4/3/13 and has written this guest blog post. She’s the author of “Group Alchemy: The Six Elements of Highly Successful Collaboration.” In addition to heading up Group Alchemy Consulting, she serves as a faculty adviser at the Western Institute for Social Research.]

 

Embarking on a collaborative writing project can be fun and interesting. You will be able to share the burden and get the benefits of different perspectives on your final product. And, as with all joint ventures, there are potential risks. Breakdowns can easily happen due to confusion, lack of agreement and differences in work styles. To keep that from happening and ensure a successful result I recommend the following six steps to success.

1)   Identify the unique pieces of the project.

Break the project into discrete segments and decide on their logical order for what you want to accomplish. This is your outline plus notes about what each segment is intended to accomplish and how it fits together with the others. Don’t be afraid to spend some time on this together – your time spent in front of the project will save you lots of revision later.

2)   Identify everyone’s strengths and specialties and take advantage of them.

Create unique assignments for each of the segments of the final work.The more clearly you break the project into discrete segments the better you can identify the key components and decide who can best meet them. For instance, you’ll be most successful if you assign a budget section to someone with that experience. Or a section that focuses on program content would be best written by someone on your team who is closely involved in that program.

3)   Agree on a project schedule and benchmarks for completion along the way.

Everyone needs to have a clearly defined plan so that all the pieces are ready at the right time. If one person needs information from another to complete their portion, you want to make sure that is clearly identified and a timeline agreed to.

4)   Assign a project coordinator.

You can think of this person like a general contractor on a building project. You need one central person to hold all the pieces together in the big picture and keep things moving along. She or he can collect materials, answer questions, provide updates and manage deadlines. She might also determine whether a meeting is needed to clear up questions or develop the ideas to keep the project moving.

5)   Assign a final editor.

Identify one or two people who will assemble all of the pieces and edit for voice, tense and general proofing. This could be the project coordinator but doesn’t need to be. Think about your strengths and choose the best editor among you for smoothing the final version into a unified and well-written piece.

6)   Disseminate the final draft to all involved for review and feedback.

Once you have a complete draft ready to go, get everyone on the project to read it as a whole piece and provide feedback. This is where the benefit of multiple people can really shine. Each one of you has a particular expertise and perspective so when you read the piece you can look for the continuity and coherence around your area throughout the piece.

At the heart of each of these steps are agreements that structure and support each person doing what is needed for the project. I will be discussing the art of strong agreements that create successful collaborative projects on the April 3 Writing Wednesdays call. Please join us! If you haven’t already signed up please do so at: http://writingtomakeadifference.com/community.