Writing to help others

Yesterday I published “Give back Tuesday,” a call to action to help a charity grow their email subscription list to 5,000 subscribers. I wasn’t asking you for money but nonetheless I was asking for your help. I know only a small percentage of you were able to help and that’s okay. I also know another small percentage of you were annoyed or even pissed off because here was yet another blog post begging you to do something. That’s okay too. I’ll never please all of you on any given day.

Follow your heart when asking for help

Several times a year I turn this blog over to charitable causes I care about. I’m careful and selective about these posts for two reasons. First, if that’s all you ever read here (just like affiliate posts), you’ll stop coming back. Second, the charities I choose to help are a reflection of me. I’m skeptical of some charities. I’ve reached a point where I really do like to know the people involved in running the organization.

During the SOBCon event earlier this month in Chicago, I was able to meet the United States director of the charity I chose to support yesterday. He’s a great guy and the way they are going about trying to change life in small poor villages around the world is the way I’d do it. They teach the villages to be sustainable over a three- to five-year period. It’s not cheap or easy but it seems to be working.

How often to help others

I have no firm answer for how many posts like yesterday’s are the right number. If another charity crosses my path this week and I feel moved to share their work with you, I will. Everywhere I go I look for disruptive innovators. A charity that is doing things differently is far more likely to grab my attention. So I’ll help whenever the cause in question catches my attention for trying to solve an old problem a new way.

What’s your blog post worth to the charity?

I’m not deluding myself. This blog is not read by thousands of people a day. On a good day, it’s several hundred. But if even one of those folks signed up for the list as I asked them to yesterday it was a success. I helped that charity move one baby step closer to their goal. If a few signed up and a couple of them tell their friends … See how this works, you just don’t know.

When the opportunity presents itself to use your blog as a platform to promote a cause you care about, follow your heart and do it. Don’t worry about the whiners who don’t like the posts that ask to help. Worry about the people who need the help and help them by writing and publishing the blog post.

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