Here at CharityComms, we have a deep appreciation for blogs. Not only do they allow you to share your expertise and experiences with peers, but they also provide our membership and team with a wealth of inspiration, tips, and tricks to enhance our work.
As summer is all about holidays and good reads, we’ve been sharing a series of blogs that showcase interesting reading from our contributing members. For this piece, however, our team have looked beyond the blogs featured on our website to share other valuable recommendations on communications, wellbeing and more. If you want to further your knowledge or lift your spirits, here’s our top blog suggestions we think you’ll appreciate.
ShelterBox – human stories
Recommended by: Adeela Warley, CEO
ShelterBox is a brilliant charity working to support families who urgently need shelter after a disaster.
Their blogs highlight human stories from across the world which don’t often make the headlines. They are written with clarity, insight and empathy and show the practical support their supporters make possible. The same clear and positive style is evident in their five-step guide to gift aid, showing how the simple act of opting in can make your donations go further and support families working hard to get their lives back on track.
Please take a look at their stories of resilience and hope to be both informed and inspired.
Happiful – wellbeing inspiration
Recommended by: Adel Hanily, Communications and engagement officer
Spending a lot of time on social media, I understand the importance of looking after your wellbeing. Whenever I need a mood boost, I often turn to Happiful’s blog. Their posts offer insightful advice, motivational tips, and explanations for feelings of anxiety or low energy, among other topics related to health and happiness.
One particular read that resonates with me is about the power of daydreaming – a misunderstood form of escapism. Happiful share the benefits of daydreaming alongside prompts to guide your thoughts, including when you ruminate over your to-do list. One tip is to imagine your dream holiday – a concept I can get on board with!
Over on social media, I highly recommend following Positively Present for a dose of wellbeing wisdom. Their colourful and vibrant posts not only share self-care ideas but also serve as gentle reminders to treat yourself kindly.
LA Pope – setting content priorities
Recommended by: Tillie Corlett, Communications and engagement manager
I’ve been spending a lot of time reviewing our Knowledge Hub since joining the CharityComms team this month. Content is on my mind, but I don’t think I’m the only one. The LA Pope blog from Lauren is the stuff of dreams for anyone whose role involves ‘sorting out the content on the website’!
From planning and creation to ‘trimming the weeds’ through audits, Lauren’s got you covered with the latest thinking, tools and tips on content strategy and design.
While release dates may not follow a regular rhythm, they are worth the wait as they offer helpful steers on the challenges we all encounter when managing content. Moreover, blogs are punctuated with ‘weekly notes’ – a run-down of learning and musings inspired by Lauren’s latest projects. Start with ‘overcoming the everything everywhere all at once of content strategy’, which outlines a simple framework for setting priorities as a content manager.
Seth Godin – from tribes to Twitter (sorry, X!)
Recommended by: Sarah Clarke, Head of membership
Marketing and social media focus on people and our behaviour – whether that’s showing the world what and who we are or trying to influence the actions of others. Seth Godin is a marketer who contemplates the realities of enabling change, looking deeper than just selling or increasing profits as organisations, but thinking about how (and why) we act as communities or tribes.
“You don’t build a tribe about the thing you want to sell. You don’t even build a tribe about the thing you want to accomplish. You build it around the community and experience that the tribe members already want to have.”
This angle leads to insightful and inspiring blog posts such as the right marketing question and don’t waste the good days. He also produces workshops and courses, and shares free resources. It is well worth a look if you’re interested in thought-provoking and ethical marketing and social media insights and ideas.
Life of a blind girl – accessibility
Recommended by: Mandy Cheng, Events manager
When it comes to learning about accessibility, Holly Tuke’s blog is definitely worth reading. In her blog, she shares her experiences of living with a vision impairment in a predominantly sighted world.
Her informative posts tackle some of the common misconceptions about sight loss and disability. I really admire how open she is in her accounts which contribute to changing unhelpful narratives surrounding disability. I like how she shares honest thoughts and reflections of what works (and doesn’t work) in her lifestyle posts – it’s always an interesting read.
Every blog post I read makes me think differently about my work and how I approach it. More than anything, though, it has shown me how gaining a little understanding can go a long way.
British Red Cross – support in Turkey and Syria
Recommended by: Jolene Asante, Finance officer
My favourite blog has been the British Red Cross’ account on the work carried out in Turkey and Syria following the tragic earthquakes.
Upon receiving donations, they have consistently provided information on how the funds have been used, as well as highlighted the impact this has had on survivors both physically and mentally. Six months on, the story is no longer breaking news, but the stark reality is that this event is still breaking the lives of those affected and it’s important that we keep reading about their experiences.
We also asked our network for their top blogs, with many coming in from across our membership and beyond. Some suggestions include Charity Digital and Dan Slee’s blog which we encourage you to check out.
Searching for more summertime reading? Check out our Brand and Digital reading lists for insights from communication professionals across our membership.
Banner Image: Ata Ebem on Pexels
