1. A guide to Email writing for Actionby Ben Brandzel
2. Anatomy of an Email 3. The Moment Story
This is the first part of the email
Draws the reader in:
Whats happening right now?
Why does it matter?
What should we do about it?
Almost always what makes or breaks an action email
There are 3 basic parts to a Moment Story
4.
Crisitunity is real world situation that is either a crisis about to unfold ( bad thing possible ) or the opportunity potentially to be achieved ( good thing possible )
Its the hook for any compelling
action email
If it doesnt matter to you,it doesnt matter.
Moment pt. 1: The Crisitunity 5. Crisitunity Examples
Bush has vetoed childrens health care.< crisis >Congress can override him, but it must act quickly. < opportunity >
Monks are being killed in Burma < crises > and China has the power to stop it. < opportunity >
The Bali summit may produce a binding climate plan to dramatically slow global warming. < opportunity > But if polluter nations scuttle the negotiations we may never get another chance < crisis >
6. Crisitunity Non-Examples
Were working day and night to protect the earth.
Global warming threatens our very way of life.
Parliament doesnt think that you care!
7. Moment pt 2: Reader Focused Theory of Change (RFTC)
The Reader Focused Theory of Change (RFTC) is the:
cause-and-effect sequencethat
begins with something the reader can tangibly do , and
ends with the resolution of the cristitunity.
8. RFTC Examples
Congress must understand that their constituents will not allow childrens health care to disappear. We have to show them this is about more than election year politics this is about our families lives, and we will not rest until Congress overrides Bushs veto and stands up for our kids.
China is Burmas only real ally, and if they pressure the junta, Than Shwe will have to back down. Its up to us to call on China and make sure that they do. So were launching a petition today and broadcasting your signatures through an ad in the Financial Times with a huge circulation among the power brokers of Bejing.
The United States, Canada and Japan are dragging their heels in Bali. But they dont realize that millions of their own citizens back home are watching, and ready to demand better. Together, we can remind them who they serve, and push them back onto the right course.
9. RFTC Non-Examples
Missing : Global poverty is terrible, and weve launched a petition to stop it.
Impossible: George Bush has staked his presidency on privatizing social security. So weve launched a petition asking him to stop.
Obscure: Climate change threatens us all, and were working night and day to stop it. Please contribute to keep our campaign going.
10. Moment pt. 3: The Ask
The ask is the actual thing you want your reader to do.
It should clearly trigger the RFTC and help resolve the Crisitunity.
It should be clear, vivid, and basic.
11. Ask Examples
Please take a few minutes write your member of Congress to tell your personal story about how public healthcare has effected your family. Maybe its a story from your own childhood, or a niece, nephew or cousin. Maybe its your own child. Whatever your story, if you share it now you can help save childrens health care. You can write and submit your story online right here:
Please sign our petition right now to ensure your initials shows up in our FT ad. And then forward this note to friends and family who also want to help the Burmese . You can sign by entering your information online at the link below:
Please click below to find the phone number for your head of state and primary representative to the Bali summit. Then just call em up, and say that as a constituent you demand that your nation stop blocking progress towards a binding climate treaty in Bali. Heres all the info you need:
12. Moment Extras
Tactical goals:( We need 1000 letters to the editor! )
Timeframe/Deadline:( We're going to deliver these petitions next Saturday !)
Protaganist development( Senator Wellstone is a rare progressive champion who needs our help )
Antagonist development( Chevron has stomped all over human rights for years -- they are a poster child for corporate greed that must be stopped)
13. The Strength Test
Analyze your Crisitunity, RFTC, and Ask
Are they each inherently plausible?
Is the connection between them sound?
Does any significant portion of your base disagree?
If any element of the Moment Story needs strengthening, addSupportunder the link.
14. Examples of Support
Crisitunity:Canada is attempting to scuttle the Bali Climate negotiations!
Support:The environmental community has just given Canada its third straight Fossil of the Day award for being the biggest road block to progress.
RFTC:If China tells Burma to stand down, Burma will comply, and China will respond to our pressure.
Support:Burma depends on China for 90% of its cash flow, military support, and agricultural support. And China is desperate to keep Burma from tarnish the upcoming Olympics if its clear that this weeks crackdown is turning the public against China, Chinese authorities will feel great pressure to act.
15. The Movement Story
The bigger picture
Not necessary all the time, but an important component to thread through
Why? Because the Moment story wont always work out. The Movement story is key to transforming your list into something more binding, resilient, and powerful
16. Movement Story components
Often Less structured than the Moment Story. Core components include:
What's Going On--the deeper descriptive, value based story about what's happening here, or what dynamics are at play in this situation.
Example:This health care fight is about ordinary people standing up for families versus the power and greed of the insurance industry. Bush has already made his choice, and we have made ours now its up to Congress to decide what side theyre really on.
17. Movement Story components
Who We Are:A deeper, descriptive, value based story about who we are as a community in this situation.
ExampleBy standing up for democracy in Burma, were declaring that as citizens of the world, the fate ofeveryperson is our concern. Were not policy experts, were not diplomats, and were not soldiers at war. Were human beings who are committed to stand up for one another -- and thats all we need to win.
18. Movement Story components
The Road Were On:A look back at where weve come and/or a look ahead at where this is headed, towards a victory image or end state projection. Particularly focused on theparticipationstory.
Example: A year ago, we could only hope that wed be so close to a binding climate treaty. It took millions of calls and letters, thousands of individual meetings and some of the largest rallies the world has yet seen to get us here. Were not done yet, but if we can keep these negotiations on track we can really start to see the outlines of history -- the story we can tell our grand children about how we fought for, and how we won, a planet they can still enjoy.
19. The P.S.
One of the most read items in the email
Use it to continue a story that doesnt fit with the overall narrative, or
Use it to repeat and emphasize the basic ask, or
Use it to add a twist to the ask, like please forward this note on to others who may be interested.
20. King Scanability
Most readers Scan, they dont Read.
That means the best content in the world is useless if it cannot be scanned. Hence, Scanability is King.
Three major factors contribute to Scanabality:
Word count
Paragraph density
Bolding/formatting
21. King Scanability Example
Exhibit A: perfectly good text, pretty tough to scan.
Theglobal struggle against climate change has come a long way -- but we can't succeeduntil the US joins us.The Bush presidency continues to block real progress,but there's hope for the future: from the grassroots to Congress, the USA is finally waking up to global warming.This Monday, more than 5000 young Americans will gather to lobby their members of Congress for action on climate change. They've asked Avaaz members to write messages to US leaders, and havepromised to hand-deliverour messagesto theirrepresentatives in the US Capitol. It's a huge opportunity: in less than a week, our voices can finally reach the lawmakers of the most-polluting country i
