Why Guest Posts Can Be Good For Your Nonprofit Blog

In a recent blog post, one of our readers asked about guest posts on nonprofit blogs. Here was the question:

To that, Gisele Navarro Mendez and I responded with an emphatic “Yes!”

It’s true that many organizations—not just nonprofits—are a little hesitant to feature guest posts from people on the outside. There are many reasons for this, but I think there are good opportunities these organizations are missing out on.

Here are 4 reasons why your nonprofit blog should feature guest posts from individuals outside the organization:

Better Content

People outside your organization can offer a fresh perspective for your blog. Think about it: you have a lot on your plate already so it can be challenging to sit down and give a good draft the attention it deserves. But someone outside your organization can offer a different point of view, one that doesn’t use the same overused verbiage your organization’s communications pieces may be guilty of using. Fresh ideas + fresh perspective = better content in line with your organization’s values.

More People Meet You

Bloggers that interact and engage their community bring their networks to your blog when they guest post. Their fans will be interested to see what they wrote, so they’ll be clicking the link over to your nonprofit’s blog to read. What better way to reach out to a new group of people with the subtle recommendation of the guest blogger? And these are people you wouldn’t have been able to reach if it weren’t for word of mouth. Which brings me to my next point.

Make New Friends

Aside from casting the net wider and wider with different guest posts, you have the chance to create real relationships with people who want to support your cause beyond the guest post. The guest blogger may want to fundraise for you one day; or you may meet a new person through that blog post who has a small business and they’re interested in a cause marketing partnership with you. Making new friends is always nice.

SEO Juice

Gisele’s last post in why search engine optimization is important for nonprofits shows that guest posts can help your visibility in search rankings when more people are liking and sharing your pages. Check out her blog post for more details on SEO for nonprofits.

Allowing people outside the organization to guest post on your blog may be scary because you can’t just allow just anyone to publish on your blog. On Monday, I’ll list things to consider before asking someone to guest post for your nonprofit’s blog.

Do you think nonprofits should allow guest bloggers? What are some reasons in favor or concerns you have?