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Links: Writing for your audience

Sandra Sims — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:35:21 +0000

Yesterday I wrote about Choosing a target audience for your blog highlighting my new political blog. I found several other posts from other bloggers with great ideas for defining and appealing to your audience:

Three Ways to Define Your Target Audience A lesson in deciding who your audience is before you start blogging from Kivi Leroux Miller

3 Best Practices For Blogging by Abbi Siler; see #3 be passionate and know your audience

Blogosphere Trends + Your Blog’s Tone from Darren at Problogger

Know your sh*t. a look at why confidence and conviction are important in your writing from Olivier Blanchard

Link Roundup: Hunger in America

Sandra Sims — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:34:21 +0000

WeCanEndThis.com has a contest launched from the CauseLab virtual brainstorm at South by Southwest conference (SXSW). You can still submit your individual ideas and improve others’ ideas to qualify for the $1,000 cash prize for best original idea or $500 cash prize for best collaborator.

Too many people have to choose between healthcare, utilities, rent or other necessities and food. Take a look at the Hunger In America 2010 Key Findings from Feeding America for more shocking results.

Funding is a continual issue for food banks. The North Texas Food Bank is making an appeal to meet a big shortfall. Other organizations seem to be fairing better, Food Banks Beating the Fundraising Odds in a Tough Economy. The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports Online Giving Continues to Grow but at a Slower Pace.

This season of The Biggest Loser ended this week but the Pound for Pound Challenge benefiting Feeding America continues.

Nonprofit blog carnival for March

Sandra Sims — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:33:00 +0000

Jason Dick, who writes A Small Change blog, is hosting this month’s Nonprofit Blog Carnival. Usually everyone writes on a particular theme. This time the topic was blogger’s choice.

I submitted my last post on Step by Step Fundraising, 6 Reasons NOT to Start a New Nonprofit Organization.

Here are a few my favorites:

How Anyone Can Be a Superstar Fundraiser from Joe with The Fundraising Authority

Fundraising Through Engaged Staff with The Good Life

What’s Paula Deen Got To Do With Your Nonprofit Marketing with Pamela’s Grantwriting Blog

How To Set Up A Free Non Profit Website with Nonprofit Success

What Your Nonprofit Home Page Must Have with Kathy Widenhouse

The entire list can be viewed at Jason’s site here: March Nonprofit Blog Carnival.

Earthquake in Haiti: One Month Later

Sandra Sims — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 20:04:37 +0000

Today I’m posting a roundup of links related to the Haiti earthquake. Many bloggers and activists are now focusing on the country will rebuild. It may not be front and center news anymore, but these efforts will go on for many years to come. Bloggers can play a big role in helping keep awareness up.

How to rebuild Haiti by Robert B. Zoellick POLITICO.com

Mourners gather in Haitian capital one month after deadly quake on CNN

What if Haiti’s Earthquake Hit the U.S.? by Te-Ping Chen, Change.org

Hope for Haiti proves Telethons still work in the text era on TunedIn, a blog about television by TIME’s TV critic James Poniewozik

Haiti Earthquake: One Month Progress Report from the American Red Cross

Honoring the lost, rebuilding from the rubble by Helen Hawkings, Oxfam International blogs

To Help Haiti & Others, Companies Need to Get off Their Assets by Joe Waters, Causeshift

Haiti relief underscores deeper needs by Todd Cohen, Inside Philanthropy

Blog Posts About Haiti Relief from BloggersUnite

Sandra Sims — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:43 +0000

BloggersUnite is a periodic event where bloggers all write on one cause based topic. Today’s topic is relief for the earthquake ravaged country of Haiti. Bloggers who write on this topic can submit their post to the BloggersUnite website and get a link to their post included in the list.

Here are the two posts that I submitted:

How to Fundraise for Haiti Relief Efforts on Step by Step Fundraising

and Grace Children’s Hospital in Port-au-Prince Survived Quake here on Cause Blogger

A few other posts that I liked:

This Full House provides a badge and linking code for Doctors Without Borders

View from the Playpen shared a story about a 2 year old being reunited with his mother

and Emma’s comments about the images we’ve seen on the news resonated with me:

I don’t think these images that I have seen all over the news & internet over the last few days will ever leave my head.

I cried as I searched for images to include in this post , But why am I crying? I have not lost family, I’ve not lost my son who is the important thing to me .. My tears will never compare to the tears falling from the faces of those Mothers/Fathers who have lost their children.

Earth Day 2009 in Video

Sandra Sims — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:01:28 +0000

Online videos are really big this Earth Day. Here are some bloggers and environmental groups who have created some great videos…

Greenpeace has an inspring video, Inspiring Action on Earth Day.

The EPA has had many home produced videos submitted to it’s Earth Day Video Project.

Here’s the Earthday Video Mashup from CTN Green.

Practical tips for saving money with your car and preventing CO2 emissions from Ideal Bite: Under Pressure

Treehuger posts New Definition of Waste Explored in a Webseries (Video).

Mashable posts 5 Inspirational Earth Day Videos.

This one I just think is cool… she makes cheeseboards out of old bottles. I have a kiln that was given to me, by a really nice lady. How long has it been sitting in my garage, not fired once? I actually was excited about accepting it for the express purpose of learning how to work with fused glass, not ceramics. This would be a great project for me to start with!

Warchild Exclusive Concert with the Killers and Coldplay

Sandra Sims — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:33:59 +0000

I’m crossing my fingers on this one: @warchild announced that the ticket lottery for an exclusive Killers/Coldplay gig is open. The concert will be for only 2,000 people and you have to be in the lottery to even get a chance to buy the tickets. Oh, did I mention it’s in London?

The exclusive concert will be at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire on February 18. The event will follow both bands’ attendance at that evening’s Brit Awards. The night celebrates War Child’s 15th Anniversary all proceeds from the event will go to War Child.

The concert is a kickoff for what they are calling the “ultimate cover album.” Here are the tracks with the new artist, with the original artist and song title in parenthesis.

Beck (Bob Dylan: Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat) :: info ::
Scissor Sisters (Roxy Music: Do The Strand) :: info ::
Lily Allen (The Clash: Straight To Hell) :: info ::
Duffy (Paul McCartney: Live And Let Die) :: info ::
Elbow (U2: Running To Stand Still) :: info ::
TV On The Radio (David Bowie: Heroes) :: info ::
Hot Chip (Joy Division: Transmission) :: info ::
The Kooks (The Kinks: Victoria) :: info ::
Estelle (Stevie Wonder: Superstition) :: info ::
Rufus Wainwright (Brian Wilson: Wonderful/ Song For Children) :: info ::
Peaches (Iggy Pop: Search And Destroy) :: info ::
The Hold Steady (Bruce Springsteen: Atlantic City) :: info ::
The Like (Elvis Costello: You Belong To Me) :: info ::
Yeah Yeah Yeahs (The Ramones: Sheena Is A Punk Rocker) :: info ::
Franz Ferdinand (Blondie: Call Me) :: info ::

Thanks to James at WarChild Canada for letting me know about this widget. You can preview a few of the tracks that will be on the album here:

PS. You can follow me on Twitter @sandrasims

America’s Week Blog Roundup: MLK Day and Inauguration Week

Sandra Sims — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 22:33:52 +0000

This has been an amazing week for America… first with special MLK Day celebrations and then with Inauguration and the new administration’s first week.

Over on Step by Step Fundraising I posted a couple of articles with videos (from YouTube/news sources) In Honor of Martin Luther King, We Must Work and Inauguration Day Celebration for Everyone

Here’s how some other bloggers reflected on the week’s events:

ONE Campaign bloggers Virginia Simmons and Josh Peck were in in the heart of the action on Inauguration Day and reflected on President Obama’s First Address

Suzanne Perry of The Chronicle of Philanthropy News reviews the Economic-Stimulus Package to Help Nonprofit Groups Meet Social Needs

In ‘A New Era’ Michael Seltzer of Philantopic offers his viewpoint on the inauguration

Michael Gibbons from Behind the Button blog posted two great videos. In addition to the “I Have a Dream” Speech video, he also posted U2’s performance in DC on Monday at the MLK Day Celebration.

Seth Godin offers 18 Ideas for MLK National Day of Service (or any volunteer day!)