Contributing to the Greater Good
By Les Conklin
This article is the second of a series introducing GPPABlog.org. If you missed the first post, you’ll find it here: Blogging for the Greater Good.
From across cyberspace, the blogosphere beckons, benefits await!
Please, don’t faint or SOL. Something in our world of human communications IS NOT changing!
Since the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association’s (GPPA) A Peek at the Peak (The Peak) magazine was introduced 31 years ago, it has featured content donated by local nonprofits, writers, and photographers. This win-win tradition continues with GPPA’s blog.
The Opportunity
GPPA is a 501 c(3) nonprofit dedicated to the preservation of the natural environment and the enhancement of quality of life in the north Scottsdale Sonoran Desert. We support desert preservation, wildlife conservation, the arts, education, and community service through our publications, student grants, and BY ASSISTING LOCAL NONPROFITS.
Partnering with local nonprofits, writers, and graphic contributors is a way GPPA can support them, while building a valuable community resource.
GPPABlog can provide at least these five benefits to local editorial contributors.
Exposure. “Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.” ~ Mark Twain
More readers are getting their news and information online. Authors with articles and posts published on a variety of places get more exposure and opportunities to promote their mission or brand. Simply publishing great content in your print publication, website, newsletter, or blog, is not going to maximize your online presence.
A contributor’s post not only appears on GPPABlog.org, it gains additional exposure from links and information published on GPPA’s websites, A Peek at the Peak magazine, e-Peak Newsletter, and social media outlets.
Credibility. “To be persuasive, we must be believable; to be believable, we must be credible; to be credible, we must be truthful.” ~ Edward R. Murrow
Ultimately, the integrity and quality of blog posts will determine the level of a contributor’s credibility. GPPA is a trusted source of community information; a positive relationship strengthens the contributor’s credibility.
Networking. “Social networking helps reach people easier and quicker.” ~ Bill Cosby
A blog lives in cyberspace where information rockets across the Internet. Networking that results from blogging can produce valuable contacts with less time, less effort, and lower costs that older forms of marketing communications, such as on-site sales calls, direct mail, telesales, and fax campaigns. Blogs are used to support conversation on social media, the comment section of the post, and via email, speedy communication vehicles that can lead to networking opportunities and important relationships.
Website Traffic. “The Internet is the world’s largest library. It’s just that all the books are on the floor. ~ John Allen Paulos
A blog can focus the reader’s attention on selected “books” in this “largest library,” in addition to adding “books” of its own to the library. Contributor posts on GPPABlog can contain links to the contributor’s website. GPPABlog also allows writers to submit a bio and/or their social media profile URLs to be published at the end of the post. GPPA’s website also link to the contributor’s site. All these links can increase traffic to the contributor’s website and boost search engine rankings. The result is better search engine visibility for the contributor’s website; i.e. , increasing the odds that people find and read the contributor’s “book.”
Social Media Presence. “In the long history of humankind those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” ~ Charles Darwin
Contributors can also include links to their social media profiles in their GPPABlog posts. If a reader likes the post, there is a good chance they will follow the author on Twitter and Google+ to find the contributor’s website. In addition, a link to the contributor’s post, will be sent to our social media Friends.
The Origin of Success
Darwin was right about evolution and he’s right about publishing. We’ve enjoyed mutually beneficial relationships with our magazine’s editorial contributors for three decades due to effective collaboration and improvisation. We expect most of our magazine contributors will also be online contributors and we hope to welcome some new online-only contributors as well. Cyberspace is gigantic and surely there are like-minded writers out there who can help us preserve our local natural environment and protect our area’s quality of life.
In the third article in this series, I’ll provide information about the nuts and bolts of the online editorial partnership. The post will include the outline of policies that will enable us and our contributors to achieve a greater good for our community.
Does your blog have multiple author’s? How about guest authors? What’s been your experience?
Note. This post is the second post of a series.
Related Articles
Recent Comments