Found 26 topics tagged ‘Advocacy 101’

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...

The curse of knowledge is a cognitive bias that leads us to overestimate the knowledge of our audience. If you allow this curse to infect your writing, you may unwittingly leave supporters feeling confused an alienated. To...

To steal a mantra from our friends in journalism: don’t bury the lede. The idea might have started in newspaper offices but it applies anywhere we’re competing for our audience’s attention (so, the entire Internet)...

Whether your call to action (CTA) is a button or a link, don’t get too clever. Speak directly to your supporter and tell them exactly what you want them to do. In our tests, this always increases...

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...

It’s not hard to preach to the choir. Or to mount an argument so agreeable that it won’t offend or challenge anyone. The business of wide-scale change-making affords us neither of these luxuries. Since you’re reading...