[Dalya’s Note: This is an excerpt from my award-winning book Writing to Make a Difference: 25 Powerful Techniques to Boost Your Community Impact.]

When you are writing to make a difference, your two-fold goal is both to promote your organization as a part of a socially responsible solution AND to educate your readers about key things they need to know in your issue area.

Constituent education is often the first step in marketing, especially if you are tackling a complex, often misunderstood problem that involves many variables, processes, or actors. Most of your readers are not specialists in your area, but their interests make them want to know more. You would be wise, then, to build an educational component into your organization’s branding.

In this world of information overload, we all could use a guide to the most critical aspects of the issues important to us. We also want to hear about how we can personally get involved, presented in a way that we can relate to.

And that information is precisely what you and your organization excel at providing! Give it to your readers—repeatedly and consistently. The more value you can deliver, the more they will see your organization as worthy of their support, investment, or patronage.

Promoting your brand and appropriately educating your community go hand-in-glove.

BONUS TIP:

Just remember that you can never be 100% objective, no matter how hard you try. While your readers know you have a perspective, they also expect you to be clear and honest with your facts and opinions, and to explain your frame-of-reference.

[Dalya’s Note: This is an excerpt from my award-winning book Writing to Make a Difference: 25 Powerful Techniques to Boost Your Community Impact.]

As a writer, your intention is to create ongoing relationships with your readers. And all solid relationships begin with trust. One way to build trust is to demonstrate your familiarity with the problems your readers face. Show that you are “in the know” by citing what other experts in your field are saying. And back up your official, academic, or professional claims with on-the-ground testimonials from people who have used your service or product and are similar to your readers.

You can also reassure your readers with ways to lower the risk of working with you. For example, offer a satisfaction guarantee. Or tell them about an evaluation or feedback process (e.g., an online rating system) that will let them exchange their views about your effectiveness with other customers or clients.

Another idea is to describe your product or service by comparing it favorably with an easily recognized brand that your readers know, trust, and value.  Or, use a colorful analogy or metaphor that they can quickly grasp. Reduce their unfamiliarity with your brand and encourage their interest in you and your work.

EXAMPLES

• You may have seen this technique used in phrases such as, “If you liked X you will love Y” and the “Alternative Nobel Prize” (the popular name for the somewhat obscurely named “Right Livelihood Award”). Saying something is the Mercedes of solar heating systems (vs. the Ford or Honda) is another great example.

• You may have bought a less expensive store-brand drug or food product that is marketed as equivalent to a well-known brand  because it features the same active ingredients. Emerging musicians are often marketed by comparing their styles with those of more established stars.

• Some marketers use the phrase “Disneyland for grownups” to describe Las Vegas, New Orleans, or Amsterdam. Such a comparison leaves no question as to its meaning.

In addition, your readers want to know that others they respect (often called  “thought leaders”) agree that your work is important and worthy of support. Highlight awards, great media coverage, and endorsements.

And, of course, when a few bad apples produce scandals, scrutiny of all public interest organizations goes up. So it behooves your organization to always be as transparent as possible: show that your community can trust you to be open, honest, and accountable for what you do and say. Being a consistently visible and reliable presence is one important way to do this. And your documents can play a vital role in sending that message.

[Dalya’s Note: This is an excerpt from my award-winning book Writing to Make a Difference: 25 Powerful Techniques to Boost Your Community Impact.]

People are reading your material because they feel that your organization’s core beliefs and aims are aligned with theirs. Your job is to consistently show them that they are right. Connecting with your readers on this plane—appealing to both their hearts and their heads—gets the best results.

Ask yourself: What is the very soul of your message?

Your organization’s mission embodies its passion, sincerity and spirit. It energizes your brand and should shine through in every piece of writing you create. You are conveying not only literal subject matter, but also your organization’s attitude and stance. By the words and methods you choose, you are saying a lot about who you are and why you do what you do.

EXAMPLE:

Say you are writing a brochure that explains the importance of a specific aspect of your work. Your organization promotes child health and safety, and your brochure will explain why and how lead paint should be removed from homes with young children. You understand the urgency, you are clear on what needs to be done, and you want to motivate parents to protect their children from the toxin.

The brochure you write will advance your organization’s brand in that it will reflect:

(1)   Your knowledge about the issue and how to handle it

(2)   Your caring attitude about the pressing nature of the issue

(3)   Your interest in making homes safer for youngsters

(4)   Your unique ability to help parents in your community take positive action

People who read your brochure and can identify with your basic messages will then want to engage with you. And you’re ready to partner with them.