Look what I made! It’s a handy, easy-to-use template for your post-election message about the outcome and Donald Trump. Just make a few word choices on the day after the election and you’ll be ready to go.
Now, I don’t really expect anyone to actually use this template (Heaven forbid!). But I will make you this wager: Make the word choices that fit on Wednesday, November 4th and the result will be painfully close to any number of actual messages you will find in your inbox.
Last week, I wrote about the importance of striving to send messages that only you can send. This week, I’m writing to warn that far too many issue advocacy groups are poised to do exactly the opposite in the post-election/year-end fundraising period.
Lean into the Specific.
Lean Away from the Generic.
If I asked your supporters to describe your group and its current work, what would they say? Would the answer describe in reasonable detail your mission and unique projects you have underway right now? Or would it be closer to “Like everyone else, they are doing their very best to prevent Donald Trump from doing more damage?”
That’s the dividing line you need to be alert to in your year-end and early 2027 communications. It comes down to making the same choice at every turn: Lean away from the generic and into the specific:
In the subject line to this email, I said please don’t use my template. I take it back.
You should use it. Here’s how. Read it out loud alongside the draft of the post-election message you’re planning to send. And if they sound too close to one another, rewrite.
Go back to the drawing board and create a post-election/year-end message that only you could send. Avoid anti-Trump boilerplate and, when you do talk about Trump, firmly ground your message in specifics about his negative impact on your mission, your most vital initiatives, and the lives of the people you
