They go by a number of names, but you’ve received them before. Those emails that announce the sky will fall, pigs will fly, and puppies will whine pitifully, if you don’t drop everything to write your lawmakers. You click on the link and are swept away to a website where a pre-written letter awaits you and all you need to do to save the earth is click on send. Not all heroes wear capes, dear readers!
Advocacy alerts, calls-to-action, action alerts… whatever your organization calls them, play a fundamental role in any grassroots campaign. Unfortunately, and more often than not, government affairs professionals are left to their own devices when learning how to write them. Further, during the editing and approval process, they are subjected to issue experts who are more accustomed to a formal voice or too buried in the weeds to edit an alert that will drive action.
In the coming weeks, we’ll be doing a deep dive on advocacy alerts and offer advice on each of the alert’s components:
- The email advocates receive
- The website they land on
- The letter lawmakers receive
- The thank you page
We hope the information is useful to new professionals or give a different perspective our seasoned professionals.
Also, as we start this adventure, let us know what topics you’d like to see us cover in the comment section and subscribe to our newsletter.
Not a government affairs professional? Keep reading, dear reader! Action alerts are merely solicitations in sheep’s clothing. Ultimately, they are communications sent to your stakeholders asking them to support your efforts. Many of the rules we discuss in this series can be applied to other communications.
Sage Solutions is here to help. For a budget-friendly price, we can develop an advocacy communications plan, draft your advocacy alerts and even help you develop a grassroots program. Imagine taking an hour to bring us up to speed on your legislative goal and then having a campaign’s worth of advocacy content delivered to you worry free!