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Your reader trusts their own mind way more than they trust yours. No offense but it’s true. Knowing this, try to avoid
Here’s an important piece of digital communication that you’ve probably never read: Few of us pay attention to stuff like
You might know definitively that your call-to-action (CTA) is the single-most strategic thing your supporters can do today to help your cause.
Most email broadcast systems come packed with standard analytics. Just to be clear, here’s what we care about: Recipient volume This is the
You’ve sent your action or appeal broadcast. It went okay. But you’re not satisfied that enough supporters noticed it or recognized its urgency.
Trying something risky and new? These methodologies can save you from diving in head first when it might have been wiser to test
Imagine you’ve been asked to have an important conversation with ... ‘someone’. Chances are, you’ll be much happier to have that conversation if
It doesn’t matter if you’re writing an email, a blog post, or a tweet—the full gamut of attention-seeking and attention-keeping tactics apply. Social
I know what you’re thinking. “Subject lines”. And you’d be right. Subject lines are hailed as the ‘be all and
The education system taught many of us that long words and complex sentence structures are signs of sophistication. Un-learn this as fast
A well-placed stat will add weight to your writing—particularly when it’s referenced with a credible source. When working with numbers, all care must
We have Homer Simpson to thank for the term that perfectly describes a communication model that turbocharges action requests with urgency. Because
The curse of knowledge is a cognitive bias that leads us to overestimate the knowledge of our audience. If you allow this curse
Don’t wait for supporter fatigue to set in before creating a plan to mitigate it. Nice idea, right? Most of us only recognize
A token is a little snippet of encoded data that identifies a supporter and can be attached to links in your email broadcasts.
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 this, let’s assume it’s your job to reach the masses and challenge the status quo. Welcome to fiery opposition hitting you from both sides of the divide.
The more polarizing a topic, the more ‘common ground’ techniques will help you reach the fringes of your audience and keep your message (rather than distracting debates) at the centre of attention. Give up now if your aim is to satisfy everyone. (You can’t. But maybe, you can get close).
The idea is simple: find the intersection of what different factions care about. Frame your message around that.
Let’s put these principles to the test. Here are three scenarios where common ground theory can help make messaging more impactful and inclusive:
When it comes to sensitive topics, broadcast audiences are like tinderboxes. Segmentation can help navigate some polarized territories. But it’s no fail-safe. Common ground messaging can help maximize audience reach, minimize triggers and distracting debates, and keep your supporters focussed on effective action.
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