Found 26 topics tagged ‘Advocacy 101’

Your reader trusts their own mind way more than they trust yours. No offense but it’s true. Knowing this, try to avoid ‘telling’ people what to think. That includes making assertions that some things are cruel,...

Cognitive biases are powerful mental distortions that affect the way we think and behave. They are so powerful that they can lead people to act against their own best interests. If you understand them, you can...

SPOILER: it’s not good. Sure—you know you’re writing an email to 5,000 people. But your task is to make your reader feel like you’re writing only to them. When ‘broadcasting’ language slips into our writing,...

How can you simultaneously meet the needs of both long-term and fledgling supporters in ways that don’t patronize or confuse anyone? Let’s apply common ground messaging theory to answer this question. Triggers: Long-term supporters value long-term...

What draws people to your cause? What motivated your supporters to take their first action? What did they feel when they first donated? Why do you exist? The answer to all these questions is the same. And...

For several years, I drove a strategy at Animals Australia to send ‘thank-you’ emails to action takers that were jam-packed with followup asks. This is not an uncommon approach. And on the surface, it’s easy to...