Sometimes it feels like the approval process is where really persuasive messages go to die. 

Just crafting attention-getting, emotionally-engaging messages doesn’t do much good. Not if they end up being weighted down with unconvincing content that breaks their rhythm, watered down by excessive caution that mutes their power, or otherwise weakened before they reach our audiences.  

Every nonprofit is under incredible pressure right now to communicate about their values, mission and work as persuasively as possible. I wrote my new book, The 4 Pillars of Persuasion aiming to equip nonprofit communicators with the skills, tools and perspectives to do exactly that. 

But, in his very generous review of the book, Roger Craver reminds us there’s a vital second part to that task. We have to convince boards, CEOs, development directors and others who review and approve nonprofit messages to let genuinely persuasive messaging see the light of day.

In today’s memo, let’s look at ten Getting Great Messages Out the Door guidelines – five for creators, five for reviewers/approvers.    

#1: Don’t fall into self-censorship.  

This is the most dangerous practice of all. You’ve submitted strong copy before  and you’ve seen the reactions. Language that you know drives persuasion got picked apart and muted. Unnecessary content that breaks your message’s rhythm got added. So, slowly but surely, you yield. You stop including powerful language you know “will never get through.”  You add in content you realize is less than optimal.

I’m not suggesting you keep beating your head against the wall. You have to pick your battles, center on the choices that really count. But remember this: The best way to make sure persuasive copy never reaches your audience is to never submit it in the first place.

#2: Present your copy with clarity and context.

You apply everything you know about the words that move people to the copy you write. But your powers of persuasion may be just as important internally. Don’t just send your draft into the approval process with a “Here it is. Can I get it back by Tuesday.” message.

Write a short cover note. Explain the thinking and persuasion principles behind what you did. Center on the ones you know might meet with resistance. Don’t argue defensively, just clearly and thoughtfully.

#3: Know your audience.

In my book, I devote several chapters to the importance of developing a deep, visceral feel for your audience. It applies here as well. Get to know the people reviewing your copy — what they care about, which arguments for your copy will hit home with them, which ones will land with a thud. Not so you can appease them, but so you can convince them.

#4: Bring the receipts.

Strong evidence is one of the keys to persuasion. So, don’t just assert that you know what works best. Back it up. When a strongly-worded email outperforms a mealy-mouthed one, share the data. Do the same when the approach they prefer (say, focusing only on the organization and its work) loses out to a different take (like zeroing in on how your audience can bring that work to life.) 

#5: Invoke outside expertise.

CEOs and board members live in a world where they routinely draw on consultants and subject matter experts. So, using them to back up and buttress your case for persuasive messages makes sense. The frustrating part is that the same advice received with indifference when coming from the group’s staff can be treated as pearls of wisdom when voiced by a consultant.

I’ve been on both sides of that equation. So, I get it. But I come down in favor of doing what it takes to get really persuasive messages out the door.  

#1: Educate yourself in big picture terms.

The approval process works a lot better if two things are true. First, the reviewers and approvers have a healthy respect for nonprofit communicators’ expertise. And second if they understand, in big picture terms, the framework for what drives nonprofit persuasion.

You don’t have to be a messaging expert to play an effective role as a reviewer and approver. But you must have a reasonable context for your review.

#2: Don’t stay stuck in yesterday’s methods.

I just wrote a book about persuasion for nonprofits in today’s climate. If I wrote it five years ago, it would have been a very different book. And I suspect the current one will require a significant rewrite two or three years from now. That’s how swiftly the landscape is shifting.

So board members and others who draw on their past personal experience to judge today’s communications methods should proceed with great caution.

#3: Remember you’re not the audience.   

If I could get reviewers to live by one rule, this would be it. Nothing drives the review/approval process further off track than reviewers far removed from the profile of an actual audience applying the “this doesn’t work for me” rule.

It’s not supposed to work for you. Because it has to work for those it aims to reach, engage, and motivate.

#4: Avoid review by committee at all costs.

Structurally, review by committee is the kiss of death. The more people involved, the higher the chance that the end product will be a confusing mess. Whoever makes the call (be it the CEO, the development director, or someone else) must set up a review and approval process involving a small number of people with clearly defined roles and one person as the clear driver of the process.

#5: Intervene because you have to,
not just because you can.

In an ideal world (yes, I know we don’t live in one), this would be the golden rule for reviewers and approvers: trust the skill and expertise of those who crafted the message and limit your interventions to those you consider essential to the integrity and persuasiveness of the message.

I don’t believe there is a bigger barrier to more persuasive nonprofit communications than the process dynamics discussed in this memo. It’s an enduring problem, not a new one. And I surely don’t pretend to have solved it in a single memo. That’s going to take decision makers like CEOs and development directors recognizing the problem and stepping in to address it.

PS Earlier I mentioned Roger Craver’s in-depth review of my new book. Just click on the image below if you want to check it out.