Editor’s Note: Learn more hands-on tips to make managing your blog a breeze at Marlene’s free webinar on May 27th.

Running a blog is work. It takes time. It requires dedication.

Blogging is like any other communication tactic. You have to make careful, deliberate plans, based on your strategic objectives and the constituents you are trying to reach. And blogging creates a very significant, ongoing need for content that you’ll need to keep manageable.

Blogging simply doesn’t work when you:

  • Think you can ‘wing it’
  • Leave writing to the last minute
  • Underestimate the time commitment
  • Try to go it alone

Here are seven elements that will help to make running a nonprofit blog manageable:

1. A clear purpose

Why are you blogging? Why did you start a blog for your organization in the first place? There are many benefits of blogging, but you need to have a crystal clear understanding of your blog’s specific goals.

2. A specific audience

It’s always easier – and more effective – to plan and write engaging content when you have a specific audience in mind. As a nonprofit communicator, you’re likely facing a ‘multiple audience’ challenge, but if you’re just getting started with blogging, prioritize and start with one. Give yourself the chance to keep it simple and achieve early successes before expanding to multiple blogs or to serving multiple groups with one blog.

3. A defined scope and content types

What information will you cover on your blog? First, decide on broader subject areas that will draw in readers and deliver your core messages. Next, decide on your blog’s mix of ‘content types’ (e.g. how-to posts, expert interviews, updates from the field, etc.) and then drill down to brainstorm specific topics for each content type.

4. A realistic publishing frequency

To determine how often you’ll publish content on your blog, carefully consider your capacity. Think about the volume of content you can produce, as well as the systems, people and technology required to publish each blog post. Favour predictability and consistency (vs. a difficult-to-achieve high frequency). Your decision should meet the needs of your readers, while being realistic about what you can stick with over the long term.

5. An editorial calendar

Create and schedule out an editorial calendar that lists the specific posts you will publish and when. Your editorial calendar should extend for at least a few months. Decide on a pre-determined ‘trial phase’ (at least a few weeks) during which you’ll make this calendar non-negotiable, so that you can accurately determine feasibility. Remember: blogging is a long-term approach that is going to require consistency and commitment.

6. Editorial guidelines

There is no question; you need editorial guidelines that outline your blog’s purpose and plan. It’s important to have documented, publicly available editorial guidelines to:

  • Share when approaching potential contributors; the guidelines summarize everything you’re looking for in a blog post, and why.
  • Send to potential authors who approach you to guest blog; the guidelines help ensure the right fit before you start making specific plans.
  • Serve as a reference and guide for your bloggers once writing starts and when draft copy is nearing completion.

Well-written editorial guidelines communicate so many critical points you would otherwise have to repeat on a weekly, sometimes daily basis. These guidelines also show your commitment to quality, relevant and consistent content.

7. Contingency plans

Even with the best-laid plans in place, something will fall through or change, so be prepared for it. For example, have a lineup of evergreen blog posts ready to be deployed if a submission comes in too late to publish. Have a few ideas and relationships in place to help you quickly crowdsource content in a pinch. Build enough flexibility into your calendar to delay a post if pressing news needs to be featured on your blog.

Other elements to have in place include:

  • A system for ongoing outreach to potential contributors
  • Partnerships and relationships with organizations who run blogs in the same, or complementary, subject areas
  • Documentation of the various tasks you do as blog managing editor; helpful when others need to step in for you.

Being prepared and having the right systems in place go a long way toward keeping blogging manageable. What elements do you have in place to maintain your sanity when managing a blog?

Marlene Oliveira is a copywriter and communications consultant at moflow and founder of the Nonprofit MarCommunity. Marlene specializes in helping nonprofits to produce better content and has worked in the sector since 1999. Marlene’s approach is to work with clients and community members, tapping into the knowledge and wisdom they already possess, to help their communications ‘flow’. You can also find Marlene on Twitter or Facebook.

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Photos (from top) via iStockphoto. All photos used with permission.