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How to blog for your Silver Dreams Fund project
Produced by www.sounddelivery.org.uk
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Welcome from the Big Lottery Fund Your work will improve the lives of hundreds of older people. We think that’s something to celebrate and share. As a Silver Dreams Fund Grant holder, your project is pioneering ways of working with Older People in their communities. We are really keen that you share your ‘real time’ learning with other projects. We want to hear, and for you to share with other projects, how well your project is developing against its outcomes, personal interest stories, progress against prescribed topics, including photos and videos. Blogging is a fantastic way to do this. How well a project shares and disseminates learning will also be one of the areas that we will be looking at when we assess flagship grant applications later in the process. This booklet explains blogging and its place in social media in a clear, jargonfree and easy to understand way. We hope that it will really encourage you to bring your project’s stories to life. Good luck Jon Jon Eastwood, Head of Funding, England Directorate, Big Lottery Fund
Hello from sounddelivery Videos. Photos. Personal stories. How your project is doing against your goals. These are all stories that blogging allows you to share. I founded sounddelivery because I believe in the power of storytelling. Social media can help get your stories heard. A blog post today can lead to television coverage tomorrow, more supporters and a better life for the older people you support. It’s also vital that you share what you have learnt with the Big Lottery Fund and other Silver Dreams Fund projects. That way, others can build on your learning and all you achieve. We’re here to help you with the tools but what you do with them is up to you. Now is the time to learn from each other. Good luck with all of your projects and happy blogging. Jude Habib, Creative Director at sounddelivery
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Blogging basics Why blog? A blog is a kind of online diary that is updated frequently with commentary, descriptions of events or material such as images or video. Entries are often displayed in reverse chronological order. It’s personal. A blog communicates an enormous amount of information with real personality. People want to ‘friend’ or ‘follow’ a real human being. You can re-use blog content. Whether it’s writing, a video or an image, blog content can be re-used in other communications produced by your organisation such as an e-newsletter or on Facebook. Blogs reach diverse audiences. From local media journalists to doctors, lots of people will read your blogs depending on where you promote them. So you can target audiences you want to speak to. You can learn more about your supporters. You can use comments and feedback gathered from your blog to better understand the kind of content that your readers are interested in. You may be surprised by what your community responds to. More people will read about your work. If you update your blog regularly, it should appear high up in page results when people search on the internet through sites like Google. The Big Lottery Fund would like you to blog to share your learning. Blogging is a great way to let people know how you are progressing, to share what you have learned and to publicise any personal interest stories. It is even better if you include photos and videos in your blog posts.
What makes a good blog? You. Read other blogs and take note of their style, approach and content. Personality. People will engage with you if you are honest, upfront and write in an accessible, jargon-free way. Imagine you are talking to a friend. Authenticity. Write like a real person, not someone from PR. People want to read about real experiences and views. Frequency. Keep it fresh and regular. We’d like you to produce a bi-monthly update. Tell people what you’re up to, share your thoughts and stories from your project. Diversity. A blog can be written or voiced by anyone who has a story to tell – volunteers, chief executives, project managers, service users, frontline members of staff. So you could have a rota for different writers. Use it as an opportunity to showcase what you are doing with your project funding. Interaction. Blogs are a conversation, a two-way interaction. Ask questions, encourage comments – and reply to them. Creativity. Mix up your blog format. You could use: lists, responses to a breaking news story, photos and stories from an event, interviews with experts, donors, fundraisers and volunteers.
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Blogging basics WordPress.com is one of the most popular websites for creating a blog or website. It is free to use – although you can pay for upgrades which allow you to have extra functions, such as more space to host videos and the ability to change themes.
Header This can contain text or an image.
Content This area contains the text that you update on your blog. Your header and sidebar stays constant while the text of the content area changes.
Sidebar This area can contain other devices which allow you to add further functions to your site.
Footer (Not in the illustration) This area sits at the bottom of your blog pages. This stays constant while the text of the content area changes.
Registering with WordPress
Signing in
You can host multiple blogs or websites with one WordPress.com account. You can also contribute to other blogs hosted on WordPress.com with this account.
1 To register with WordPress, go to http://wordpress.com and click “Get free account”. 2 Fill out the boxes with your email address, username, choose a password and a blog address
1 Go to http://wordpress.com and click on “Login”. 2 Enter your username and password. 3 You will be taken to the “My blogs” page and a list of blogs that you have access to work on. 4 To make changes to your blog click on the “Dashboard” link underneath its name.
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The dashboard The dashboard is the main administration area of your blog. From here you can add content and maintain your blog.
To see your blog as it appears to the public. Click on the name of your blog on the top left of the screen on the dark bar. To return to the dashboard. Click on the name of your blog and choose “Dashboard”. To update different sections of your blog. The dashboard has a navigation menu on the left which allows you to control the different parts of your blog. When you click on one of the options in this navigation menu (such as “Appearance”), its own sub menu appears in the main screen window.
Changing your blog’s appearance using themes Themes are designs for your blog. They control the fonts, layout, colour schemes and position of sidebars for your blog. On WordPress.com, you cannot change themes unless you pay for an upgrade, although you can usually change the headers on the free ones. To select a new theme. Go to “Appearance” and then “Themes”.
Posts and pages There are two types of blog content – posts or pages. Pages are content that does not change very often. For example, an “About us” page. Posts are content that appear on your main blog page which are regularly added to.
You add posts and pages in the same way. 1
Go to “Posts”, then “Add new” or “Pages” and “Add new”.
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Add a title, which will be the headline for your blog and your content. Use the formatting bar to change the appearance of your content. This generally works in the same way as Microsoft Word.
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When you are happy with your content, click “Publish”.
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Managing your WordPress blog Categories and tags Categories are a way of grouping your posts together under one theme. Most blogs have up to eight main categories. To add a category. Go to “Posts” then “Categories”. To add a post to a Category. Click on the name of the category when you are in the “Add new post” screen. Tags also group your posts into themes but are more specific. You might only have a few categories but can have as many tags as you like. For example, if you were running a cookery blog, you might have categories for “breakfast”, “lunch” and “dinner”, but your tags could be individual ingredients. To add tags. Add words you want to use in the “Add new post” screen.
Adding images to your blog Images give your blog added impact and can be added to pages or posts. 1
When you create a post or page, click on the “Add media” button above the formatting tools.
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Click “Select files” to choose the image you want to upload from your computer.
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When the image has uploaded, fill in the fields for “Title”, “Alternative text”, “Caption” and “Description”.
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Click “Insert into post” where you want it to appear.
Accessibility Some people may have visual impairments or other accessibility issues. To help these users when you add images to your blog, fill in the “Title”, “Alternate text”, “Caption” and “Description” fields.
Link to other multimedia content 1
You can also add images, video and audio that you find on hosting sites such as Flickr, YouTube or Audioboo.
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On the web page there is a link to get the ‘Embed code’ for the multimedia.
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Copy and paste this code into the html section of your post. If you are uploading your own content from media hosting sites, you may be able to add extra information about them on your blog such as “Commentary text”, “Keywords”, “Descriptions” and “Captions”. This makes your content more accessible.
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Adding extra features to your blog using widgets Widgets are programmes that come with your theme that allow you to add extra features to your blog. For example, you can add a widget that connects your blog to your Twitter feed, showing your last few tweets on your blog page. Usually you can add widgets to the sidebar and footer areas of your blog. These are called “widget areas” and where they go depends on what theme your WordPress blog uses. 1 Go to “Appearance” and then “Widgets”. 2 Open the widget area you want your widget to go into by clicking the down arrow by its name. 3 Drag the widget from the main screen into the widget area you have chosen. 4 Complete any settings as required.
Adding the Big Lottery Fund logo to your blog One of the conditions of your Big Lottery Fund (BIG) grant is that you acknowledge your awards publicly. The BIG beneficiary logo should appear at least on the home page of your blog. The easiest way to do this is via the images widget which can be placed in your sidebar or footer. 1 Go to “Media” then “Add new.” 2 If you do not have this file, please email the branding team at branding@biglotteryfund.org.uk) 3 When the image is uploaded, fill in the accessibility fields. See page six. 4 Highlight and copy the “File URL”. 5 Close this box. 6 Go to “Appearance” and then “Widgets”. 7 Drag the “Image” widget to the widget area you would like it to go to. 8 Paste the URL into the “Image URL’ field and fill in the other fields as appropriate.
9 Click “Save”.
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Adding links to your blog Creating a link to another website or piece of content is an important aspect of blogging. For example, you may have funders to credit or other organisations you want to recommend. You can either link to them in your post or page content or you can have a list of links in your sidebar. This is known as a “Blogroll”.
To create a link in your content 1 2 3 4
Highlight the text you want to be a link. Click on the “Link” button which looks like a chain. Insert the address in the box that pops up. Click “Add link”.
To create a Blogroll
Sharing the workload
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Go to “Links” and “Add new”.
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Add your links.
Give permission for other people to access your blog so they can add content or take care of admin tasks for you.
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Go to “Appearance” and then “Widgets”.
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Go to “Users” and “Invite new”.
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Drag the links widget to your widget area.
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Add in the person’s username, e-mail, and a password People you invite must have a WordPress.com account but they do not have to have their own blog.
Discussion settings When you create a post, there will be a section where people can add comments. This is a great way to get people to engage with your blog. You can also respond to their comments and join in the conversation. You may want to make sure the comments on your blog are appropriate and can decide if posts go straight up or if you want to approve them before they appear on your site.
To set the security for your blog 1
Go to “Settings” and then “Discussion”.
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Choose what settings you think are appropriate for your blog.
Moderating comments When you log in to your dashboard, you will see an alert if anyone has commented on your posts.
To approve or delete comments 1 Click on “Comments” in the main menu on the left. This will give you a list of comments that have been made. 2 Approve or delete comments by checking the boxes and applying an action from the drop down menu at the top (Unapprove, Approve, Mark as spam, Move to trash).
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Making your blog stand out Good blog writing • Use a catchy headline. This entices people to read your post. • Stay focused. Think of a theme you want to write about. Keep posts simple and brief – around 300-500 words with short paragraphs. Occasionally the Big Lottery Fund Silver Dreams team might suggest a topic for you to focus on in a blog which will help to guide your writing. • Picture your reader. Who are you writing for? What do you want them to do/think/feel when they have read it? Bear these two things in mind when you write each sentence. • Use bullets and lists. These break up the text and make it easier to read. • Ask questions. Prompt responses and remind people of the comments box. • Be topical. Respond to something in the news. It will help cement your place as an expert in your field. • Don’t be too formal. Writing a blog is different to writing a report for your colleagues. You are the human face of your organisation, so write like yourself and avoid jargon.
Make your blog your social media hub Use social media to direct people to your blog. To help ensure more people read your blog, within WordPress you can: • Use words that people would search for on the internet to find content like yours (keywords) in your blog title and main text. • Use social media sharing buttons in your blog. In your “Dashboard” go to “Settings” and then “Sharing” in the sub menu You can add buttons for Twitter, Facebook and more. •
Have a Real Simple Syndication (RSS) feed on your blog and make it obvious. This is a system which automatically finds articles, information and content about topics which you choose from any site and brings it to you if you subscribe to receive it.
• Add the “Follow blog” widget to allow people to subscribe to your blog by email. • Announce your content to internet search engines and directories by using a service such as http://pingomatic.com. • Contribute to conversations on other blogs in your field to gain attention and visitors. Add a link back to your blog. You may be asked to contribute to another blog – which may generate a lot of visitors for your own blog.
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Getting people to read your blog Do you tweet your blog posts and post links to it on Facebook? Or put it in your e-newsletter? Remember sounddelivery’s “10 channel rule”: “If you’re not using your content in 10 ways then it’s not working hard enough for you.” And don’t forget: • The media needs your content. Don’t wait for journalists to comment on the latest issue. You are the expert in your field and journalists need your content. Try offering your blog first to journalists before posting it on your site. • You are in control of your stories. Soon a smartphone will be the only thing you need to report on an event. It allows you to take pictures and record audio on the frontline which makes great blog content. • Your supporters are your best media ambassadors and fundraisers. No one can tell your story better than the people you interact with. Don’t be afraid to ask them to write for you or provide audio content such as an interview. • Show you share. Supporters want to see organisations working together. Learn from other organisations that support older people by keeping up with their blogs. You could even guest post for each other. Sharing learning is a key aspect of the Silver Dreams Fund.
Blogging checklist Think about your audience. Who do you want to talk to and what do you want them to do? This will be the aim of your blog. Make sure your posts include some of the prescribed topic areas set out by the Big Lottery Fund. Set up a WordPress account. Select your theme and modify it so you have your blogging platform. Make sure you have included the Silver Dreams Fund beneficiary logo on your blog. Make it personal. Tell the story of your organisation in easy to understand language. Let other people know you are keeping a blog. Promote it on your website and social media channels and to journalists who write about your particular area of expertise. Share with other Silver Dreams Fund recipients and the Big Lottery Fund. Bring your Silver Dreams Fund project to life. Showcase the voices of people who make up your organisation in your blogs and try using different images, video and audio content.
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Blogging case study Bath-Knight Older people have the right to be independent. That’s the view Annette Greenwood inherited from her father along with Bath-Knight, a company which manufactures walk-in baths for older people. Annette blogs daily about issues affecting older people and things that catch her eye in the news. The managing director shares lessons she has learnt from blogging. “Our aim was to create a space where customers, and potential customers, could find out more about Bath-Knight. We wanted to build the brand online and inspire sales – things which we have successfully achieved through the blog. “We get 4,000 and 5,000 views per week and have received lots of positive feedback. The BBC have linked to numerous Bath-Knight blog posts (such as http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01gnsvx), creating valuable traffic to our site.
Annette’s top five blogging tips 1
Know your audience. Before you start writing a blog, know who you want to read it. At Bath-Knight we want to attract readers who will potentially enquire about our bathing products. Our target audience is aged 72 plus so we feature age-appropriate news, charity campaigns and hobbies which older people may enjoy.
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Plan and be consistent. We update the Bath-Knight blog daily. For this to work, we have to plan in advance. Keeping a schedule of upcoming news, events or promotions is a great way to ensure you’re frequently updating.
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Use visuals. Remember that blog posts don’t have to be written. Use photographs, video and audio to make your posts more creative and visually exciting. Try to use images and videos which correspond with topics you discuss.
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Research. Ensure information is accurate. Keep a note of where you’ve found figures, statistics and quotes just in case your need to refer back or amend at a later date.
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Try new things. Don’t be afraid to try out different approaches. If appropriate, incorporate guest bloggers or include a weekly feature that your readers can look forward to reading.
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Useful links Blogging advice Case study: blog campaign against knife crime. Combining blogging, social media and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): http://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-platforms/business-blogging/combining-blogging-seo-and-social-mediafor-non-profits-and-charities/
General top tops for a successful blog: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture-professionals-network/culture-professionals-blog/2011/nov/17/top-tips-successful-blog
How to create a blog for your charity: http://knowhownonprofit.org/how-to/how-to-create-a-blog-for-your-charity Writing a good ‘About Me’ page: http://www.theamericanresident.com/2012/01/10-tips-to-creating-an-about-page/ Nine blogging tips learnt from NeverSeconds: http://www.nickykriel.com/blog/social-media/9-blogging-tips-you-can-learn-from-a-9-yr-old/
10 top tips for creating a successful charity blog: http://worldofdifference.vodafone.co.uk/news/archives/7769 11 blog content ideas for non-profits: http://nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/11-blog-content-ideas-for-nonprofits/
The Big Lottery Fund Blog uses a Wordpress blog featuring regular content from both BIG and funded organisations: http://bigblog.org.uk/
Interesting charity blogs about older people Adult Care: www.communitycare.co.uk/blogs/adult-care-blog/ Age UK: www.ageukblog.org.uk Bath-Knight: www.bathknightblog.com Best Care: www.bestcareblog.co.uk Carewatch: www.carewatch.co.uk/blog Diary of a benefit scrounger: www.diaryofabenefitscrounger.blogspot.co.uk Family policy from the frontline: www.familyvcs.wordpress.com HelpAge International: www.helpage.org/blogs Inside Aging Parent Care: www.desperatecaregivers.com Joseph Rowntree Foundation: www.jrf.org.uk/search/site/blog%20older%20people My ageing parent: www.myageingparent.com/category/blog Wellburn Care: www.blog.wellburncare.co.uk Whose shoes?: www.whoseshoes.wordpress.com
WordPress resources Step-by-step guide to using the basic features of WordPress.com: http://www.lib.umich.edu/files/services/exploratory/pdfs/wordpress.pdf
Official WordPress instruction guide. Clearly written and up-to-date: http://learn.wordpress.com WordPress forum. Go here for advice on specific topics. It can get technical, but is a great place to ask questions: http://en.forums.wordpress.com