As 2022 incredibly draws to a close—wasn’t it just February?—I am taking some time to reflect on my writing and literary work. (My consulting practice is too busy to allow for much time to think about it!)
One aspect of this pertains to my 3 books, including one—Small Loans, Big Dreams (2022 edition)—that came out in September. (Updating it took much more time than I imagined it would, but it was worth it.) Another relates to my articles published by others, such as this one. A final part of the equation is my blog.
I monitor the traffic to my blog on a regular basis (perhaps too often!). The top three posts (by far) for the year to date are:
1. Demystifying the Need for Nonprofits to Register in all 50 States in Order to Fundraise Nationally (with Gabrielle Trippe): 1908 pageviews. This post which was published in 2021 clearly filled a void in the online literature.
2. How to Pass a Resolution at a Nonprofit Board Meeting: 1,124 pageviews. I was surprised that such a basic, nuts and bolts how-to guide became so popular. I wrote this when I heard a nonprofit board chair struggle with this in a meeting.
3. A Case Study in Nonprofit Board Dysfunction: 1,024 pageviews. This was published in 2020 and seems to get a lot of traffic from a link to it in the most widely read article I have ever written: Spotting and Fixing Nonprofit Board Dysfunction in the Stanford Social Innovation Review. The latter article has racked up more than 600 pageviews in just the last 30 days alone (and has been being viewed at that rate for several years).
After these 3, there is a big drop-off.
1. How to Prepare for a Meeting with a Major Donor (or Potential Major Donor): 385 pageviews. I often discuss this topic with my consulting clients, and finally got around to putting my best thinking down in writing and putting it in the public domain.
2. The Ethics of Paying Fundraisers on Commission: 336 pageviews. This issue often comes up with my clients whose work focuses on India, since paying people on commission is more common there than it is in the United States.
3. The Case Against Bonuses in Nonprofit and Mission-Driven Organizations: 289 pageviews. This also came as the result of many clients asking me for my views on this aspect of nonprofit compensation. In this post, I shared the views of influential organizations who serve as standard setters more than my own opinion, though I am in fact skeptical of the practice.
In terms of my YouTube channel, the short instructional video that towers over all the rest is one that addresses how to conduct a first meeting with a potential major donor. It has been viewed 1,399 times, including 64 in the last 28 days. (For comparison, the next most watched video over the same period, about the topic of major donor cultivation, has been viewed just 6 times.)
I am wondering what these responses should tell me about the directions I should take the blog in 2023. On the one hand, I want to write about things that interest me. On the other, I also want to cover topics of interest to nonprofit and mission-driven professionals and active volunteers.
I’d welcome comments and suggestions from readers as I plan for the future. Send me your thoughts about what topics I should cover, and how I could promote the blog more effectively. Please know that any time I get a message about one of my blog posts from a reader, it thrills me.