New Website

• Launching in May• New website will have

issues and topic pages• Interactive content built

around actions, articles, news items, external links, blogs from staff/ groups/networks/ – and YOU (hopefully) !

• Country specialists blog space

Writing for blogs

Blogging for human rights impact

Why blog?

Expected & understood formatUp-to-dateMatches our contentEasy to use

Personal & FlexibleProvides a space for feedbackCan be more personalOpportunity to reach an audience wider than committed activists (UAs) or the media (press releases)

You’ll be joining…

You’ll be joining…

Blogging – make it current

Blogging – tell a story

Blogging – it’s OK to have a little fun!

Blogging is now a key part of our campaigns

Writing: the basics

• Short – about 500 words• Concise, active language• Personal – blogging should show a personality• A jargon-free zone• Break up text – use subheadings, bullets and use

short paragraphs• Clear title• Don’t be coy about calls to action• Images and videos are great!

Writing: make it easy to read

• DON’T WRITE TITLES OR SECTIONS IN ALL-CAPS• Copy newspapers in their approach

– A clear, simple title– Get your key points across in the top paragraphs– Go into more detail further down

• Don’t use internal jargon (Amnesty not AI)• Speak to your reader directly (hundreds of you

wrote… not Amnesty members wrote…)• Put yourself in the readers’ shoes – what inspires you

to read about subjects you’re not an expert in?

Writing: links in your blog

• Link to other sources often– Other blogs on the subject – written by you, us or others.– News items– Background on the AIUK or IS website– Actions

• Link the important phrases:– Join our call for clemency not we’re calling for clemency,

click here to take action.

• Avoid linking general phrases– Click here– Read this– Find out more

Blog titles

• Keep titles clear, concise and interesting• Make it findable – use words in your title that people

might use in Google to search:– 20,674 reasons to bring Shaker Aamer home from

Guantanamo– The secret world of Uganda’s LGBT activists– California remains on death row

• Be careful with punsSearch engines won’t understand them, and readers scan things very quickly – they might not get it.

Check your working!

• Stay credible – check your grammar and spelling– No Americanizations– It’s easy to lose flow as you edit your post, read it back and

check– Get someone else to proof-read, it’s very hard to spot your

own mistakes

• Aim to use 50% of your time to write 90% of the post, and 50% to polish it

• Check again – is it engaging?

Amnesty International

Try it yourselves

How would you use your UA or press release to create a short, interesting blog?

NEXT STEPS

• We need a few volunteers who would be able to start the blog

• Migration of content from existing website (actions, news items ect)

• Blogs user guide and video for training

Any questions?