Shaun Groves is awesome.
It’s true.
He’s a singer/songwriter turned speaker/blogger. He is a communication craftsman.
Shaun Groves blogs as a Compassion blogger, a voice for children around the world who desperately need to be saved from poverty in Jesus name. Here is some of what he recommends to do the most good when blogging for a good cause:
Stop with the Stats
This is my favorite. Paint a picture with your words that easy to identify with. Shaun’s example:
Instead of saying 24,000 children under the age of five die from poverty related causes everyday, say that the number would fill about 120 airplanes like the one you rode to Africa on.
This will leave a deeper imprint on your reader.
Tell Stories
Tell a story. Pointing about a problem and identifying a solution is often done in a very broad or sterile way. You may feel the need to tell the story of masses, but really, you only need to share one story about one person. While you’re at it, try to use pictures. Not artificially posed pictures, but pictures of the real people you’re cause is helping. Use your photos to add to the story you’re telling.
Use Your Own Persuasion
What persuaded you to the cause? Think about it, retrace your steps, figure out what the chemistry was that persuaded you. Once you’ve got it figured out, do it!
Emotion vs. Manipulation
I love that Shaun defined this. When you advocate a good cause, two things often happen: 1) You exaggerate to make your case. 2) You hold back emotions because you want to present a rational case.
Here’s what Shaun had to say about the matter:
You know you’re being manipulative when you’re exaggerating or changing the truth to get what you want. Just tell me your stories the way they happened without leaving out how they made you feel.
Remember this rule of thumb, measure when needed.
Keep It Simple
When you’re involved in a cause for very long, you may feel tempted to use acronyms and assume your readers know what you’re talking about. Stop the using acronyms and always assume your reader is new to your cause. As Shaun said,
Do not write like the organization website.
Be human.
Be Nice
No matter how good your cause is, you’re going to get your share of critics. Personally, I can’t stand most of these people. It’s not that I’m against criticism, it’s that many people are critics by nature and exercise this regularly for no good purpose. Usually at the cost of missing the entire point of what you’re trying to say or do. Since you’re passionate about the cause, you may take this personal. Take a deep breath and respond as nice and sweet as possible.
Call to Action
So, you’ve told a story, you’ve captured your readers heart, don’t forget to tell them what to do! Make it perfectly clear and straightforward what your cause needs and make it entirely easy and simple to do. Think of the Office Depot “Easy” button. If you fail to communicate your call to action, you’re severely limiting your impact.
This is what I’ve gleamed from Shaun Groves, what would you add to this list?
[via Shaun Groves]
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