Start with your expertise. You know things about your cause that most people don’t. That knowledge is your content. A homelessness organisation understands the pathways into and out of rough sleeping. An arts organisation knows how community arts programs change lives. Write about what you know — not what you think sounds impressive.
Blog posts still work — if they’re good. A well-written, specific blog post will attract search traffic for years. The key is specificity: “How to write an accessibility statement for your Australian nonprofit website” will rank and get cited. “The importance of accessibility” will be less likely to. Write to answer the questions your audience actually asks, and provide helpful tips and information.
SEO has changed. Google’s helpful content updates reward content written for people, not search engines. E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) means your organisation’s real-world experience matters for rankings. And increasingly, AI systems like ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity are where people get answers — if your content is well-structured and authoritative, these systems will cite you. Write for humans first, but structure for machines too: clear headings, direct answers early in each section, specific Australian context.
Storytelling is your superpower. Nonprofits have something most organisations would kill for: real stories about real impact on real people. Use them (ethically, with consent). A 200-word story about one person your program helped will always outperform a page of statistics. Lead with the story, support with the data.
Content calendars keep you sane. Plan a month ahead at minimum. Map your content to key dates, campaigns, and audience needs. This prevents the “we haven’t posted in three weeks” panic and helps you balance different content types, topics and audiences.
