Solicitations for Participation: OVERLOAD!

Revised with new information as of January 11, 2011

A free resource for nonprofit organizations, NGOs, civil society organizations,
charities, schools, public sector agencies & other mission-based agencies
by Jayne Cravens
More resources at coyotecommunications.com & coyoteboard.com (same web site)

Solicitations for Participation: OVERLOAD!

I wrote this back in 2005. And I'm sorry to say that nothing has changed:

The proliferation of various online publications, portals, databases, blogs and conferences relating to nonprofits and technology or volunteerism seems endless. So does the proliferation of solicitations for stories and presentations.

I am a strong advocate for staff at nonprofits, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community organizations, government agencies focused on community services, and other mission-based organizations, to submit articles and information for publications outside their own organizations, as well as for their participation as presenters at conferences both on and offline. These activities create credibility for the individual and the organization or initiative he or she represents, help get the word out to a broader audience about good things the organization is up to, add to the organization's reputation as a collaborator, and so forth.

That said... many of us are on submit a story or please present at our conference or please write a blog for usoverload. I get a solicitation at least TWICE a week (in 2005, it was only once a week) from a representative of a portal, publication, blog or conference to submit a story or create a presentation, and many of my colleagues have reported the same.

If your online publication or portal or blog solicits stories or other information from others outside of your organization, or, if you are going to hold an online event and need people from outside your organization to participate as presenters, consider people's shrinking availability, their own on-the-job priorities, and the increasing number of competitive offers they receive. You should consider what incentives you can offer to make it worth a person's time to contribute to your online publication, portal or workshop, including:

Detailing in your solicitation how many people visit your web site, subscribe to your email-based newsletter, or will be attending the conference.
Noting in your solicitation how you will publicize the person's contribution outside of publishing their information or hosting their presentation. For instance, will you send an email to your subscriber-base? Post announcements to online discussion groups? If so, approximately how many people do you expect to reach?
Covering all expenses for travel and accommodation for a person to participate onsite in your conference or event. To ask someone to pay their own expenses, particularly if they are self-employed, is really the height of
Providing payment of some kind. The reality is that money is a big incentive for people to contribute as presenters or content providers for your organization. Consider putting a line item in next year's budget specifically for this type of payment. Even a token amount can make a big impact on a person's willingness to provide content for your online publication or to create a presentation for your conference.
Using something the person has already written -- asking their permission first, of course -- to repost as a blog on your web site.
Linking to the person's web site and blog, prominently, on the posting of whatever online material the person provides your organization.
Thanking each and every contributor, personally, not only at the time of submission, but also days or weeks after the information is posted or the conference is over. A personal note -- particularly something snail mailed can make a big difference regarding whether or not the person will respond to future requests for stories or participation.
In addition to an email or postcard of gratitude, consider providing a gift of thanks (a t-shirt? a printed certificate? a coffee mug? a pin? a bumper sticker?).

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