A GUIDE TO NPC’S BLOG
Writing for NPC’s blog gives you a chance to think about some of the issues you encounter in your daily work at a
broader level, engage with what’s going on in the world outside NPC, be creative, contemplate new ideas and
share your opinions. For NPC, the blog provides a window on what we do and on the people who work here. It
showcases our thinking and experience, and underlines our unique position as an independent organisation.
This guide sets out some principles to bear in mind when writing for NPC’s blog, to help you write clear,
compelling posts that people want to read. Blogs are written in your own voice, by and from you, so you can write
more informally and colloquially than you would in a research report or proposal.
Above all, blogging should be rewarding and fun.
Content
There isn’t a secret ingredient that ensures a blog is picked up and read a lot. Being outspoken and expressing
opinions helps. Where you can, write from personal experience, or use a personal story as a way into a topic.
Our most popular blogs are a real mix, but there are a few subjects which consistently do well:

Lists (eg, ten questions to ask your board, ten ways to boost giving)
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How tos (eg, how to analyse a charity in two hours, how to write an impact report)
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Controversial opinions (eg, why I don’t support animal charities, the problems with payment by results)

Rapid responses to breaking news (eg, what a royal yacht could buy your charity, what the budget means for
philanthropy)
Writing blogs to promote a particular report, event or service is part of what we do, but the blog
should still work as a standalone piece of writing. Blogs about events should pick up on one
interesting point from the event and develop it. Blogs about our services should draw on
examples and case studies. Blogs launching reports should dig down into particularly
interesting findings. If you just want to announce something, use a press release, or tweet.
Structure
Blogs are short, so keep them simple. Think through what you want to say before you start writing.

Only include one idea per post. If you have more, put it in a follow up post and make it into a series.

Make sure you have a point. If you don’t have a point, either find one or don’t write a blog post.

Share opinion or advice and generate debate, don’t just make pronouncements.

Be topical and prompt. Old news is old news.

Don’t worry about being totally comprehensive. It’s a blog, not an essay. 400 words or so is a long post.

Make it interactive. Ask for comments, and ask people questions.
NPC – Transforming the charity sector
A guide to NPC’s blog
Style
Blogs should reflect your own voice—but like all NPC’s written work, they need to be clear, engaging, and jargonfree. Length is a constraint: blogs are short, so be concise. If your blog is looking much longer than 500 words,
split it up into several blogs. Blogs should also be accessible: often the first thing people read by NPC is a blog,
so avoid alienating them with jargon.
George Orwell's six elementary rules for writing are useful to bear in mind:

Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.

Never use a long word where a short one will do.

If it is possible to cut out a word, always cut it out.

Never use the passive where you can use the active (‘NPC published a report’ is better than ‘a report was
published by NPC’).

Never use a foreign phrase, scientific word or jargon if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
Posting a blog
Everyone is encouraged to post their own blog on NPC’s website. When you join NPC you will be given a
Wordpress login and shown how to use the blog, but feel free to ask Matilda or Jessie for a refresher. You will
need to work with comms to plan when to post blogs—you can talk to us or add yourself to the blog planner.
To keep the sign-off process simple and allow us to post blogs quickly we only have two rules:
1.
In your first six months, you should run your blogs past your line manager or Matilda or Jessie before posting.
Among other things, this helps to make sure content is consistent with NPC’s position on various topics.
2.
If you’re writing something particularly controversial please check it with the comms team before you post.
Use your judgement here—it is particularly important if you are criticising another organisation.
If you want help or advice with style or structure, Jessie and Matilda are always around to help.
Posting is straightforward: Wordpress works like word, so you can copy and paste your post and format it as you
would a word document. Each blog must have:

A good title! This is VERY important, especially on the new website. Titles should ideally be not more than six
short words. If you have an abstract title, write a more literal homepage summary.

Two summaries: A ‘homepage summary’ which appears on the homepage (about three-five words); and an
‘excerpt’ which appears on the blog landing page (about 50 words)

A featured image to illustrate it—Jessie can help if you’re stuck.

Categorisation—both by topic (eg, mental health, measurement) and audience (eg, charity, corporate)

Related content—if the blog mentions a particular report or event, add it to the page.
Getting people to read your blog
Comment on other blogs across the sector and engage in debates between blogs. If you have a lot to say write
a blog yourself and leave a comment to say you’ve written it.
Comment on each other’s blogs within NPC. If people see someone’s already commented, especially if they
disagree with the comment, they’re more likely to write something, and start a debate.
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A guide to NPC’s blog
Reply to comments on your own blogs. This is polite, and it doesn’t take long. If you don’t have anything to
add, just thank people for taking the time to comment. The blog is a place for conversations; be willing to engage.
Tweet it, or get comms to tweet it. Twitter is consistently one of the highest referring sites to the blog.
Finding inspiration
Charity sector
Third Sector
Civil Society
Society Guardian
Philanthropy
Alliance (European/global)
Philanthropy impact (UK)
Chronicle of Philanthropy (US)
Tactical philanthropy
Inside philanthropy
Individuals
Ken’s commentary (CEO of Charity Navigator)
Matthew Taylor's blog (RSA)
Bubb’s blog (CEO of ACEVO)
Philanthrocapitalism (Matthew Bishop of The Economist)
Extras
King's Fund (health)
NCVO
IPPR
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