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Message Matters: Succeeding at the Crossroads of Mission and Market
Binding Information: Softcover Product Code: 069636 ISBN: 978-0-940069-63-3 Publisher: Fieldstone Alliance Pages: 160 Size: 6" X 9" X .3836" Price: $26.95 www.MessageMatters.org Click here to download the FREE Message Matrix interactive PDF How to communicate so that people will listen—and act! It's a common nonprofit complaint, "When we're dealing with such important issues…why aren't more people listening?" It may be true that everyone should care about your mission, but virtue alone won’t catch the attention of your target audiences or prompt their action. Message Matters: Succeeding at the Crossroads of Mission and Market helps you do both. It shows you how to develop messages that resonate with your audiences’ desires so they take the action you want. Message Matters gives you a simple framework for making strategic decisions and guides you through five steps to produce a powerful, activating message. You'll learn how to: 1. Clarify the action you want 2. Pinpoint who you want to take action 3. Discover what your audience wants, hopes for, and desires 4. Find the shared desires between your organization and your audience 5. Convey your message effectively The ideas and approach in Message Matters build on the author’s years of work across the spectrum of professional communications and management and address the everyday challenges facing today’s organizations. Examples and a case study bring key points to life Examples from more than a dozen associations, nonprofit organizations, foundations, and government agencies show how they have advanced their causes by using the framework in this book. A special chapter brings the theory and process to life in a case study showing how an organization used strategic messages to build a nationwide movement to change the paradigm for preventing child abuse. Whether you want people to fund you, participate in your programs, vote your way, quote you, collaborate with you, or volunteer for you, moving people to action is essential to achieving your mission. Compelling communications is the starting point. Use Message Matters and start connecting to people in a way that moves them to action. For more about the author, Rebecca K. Leet, visit: www.leetassociates.com. Quotes: What others are saying about Message Matters... “You start Message Matters thinking it relates to the communications function and quickly realize that the principles and process outlined relate to defining and articulating the very core of your business.” —Suzanne Bliss, Executive Director, Lymphoma Research Foundation “Guides us in making sure there is an intersection between what our target markets want and what we provide, and that's essential to success for every organization.” —Liz Heath, Executive Director, The Nonprofit Center, Tacoma WA “Shows associations and nonprofits how to capture their audiences' attention and drive the conversation to get results. Message Matters is for every organizational leader serious about mission success.” —Gary J. Stern, President, Stern Consulting International and author of Marketing Workbook for Nonprofit Organizations “Message Matters details how to put down your 'mission megaphone' and strike up a compelling conversation with your supporters. In an era of compassion fatigue, that is something every wise nonprofit must do.” —Katya Andresen, VP of Marketing, Network for Good and author of Robin Hood Marketing: Stealing Corporate Savvy to Sell Just Causes “An essential read for anyone wishing to take prompt and effective action to advance their cause.” —Kathleen Enright, Executive Director, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations “A provocative, sophisticated guide to successful strategic communications in today's competitive, fast paced information environment. Every organization will benefit from the brilliantly simple framework and step by step approach.” —Judy Langford, Senior Fellow, Center for the Study of Social Policy “Cuts through the noise surrounding marketing, mission, and elevator speeches to prescribe a way of thinking that is clarifying and helpful. I will use it frequently with clients who need to stand out and be heard!” —Peggy Morrison Outon, Robert Morris University, Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management “Insightful, practical and fast-paced.” —Rebecca R. Wodder, President, American Rivers, Washington, DC “A step-by-step process for drafting strategic messages to help you persuade people to join your cause.” —Jon Funabiki, Professor of Journalism, San Francisco State University and former Deputy Director, Media, Arts & Culture, Ford Foundation Table Of Contents: Introduction 1. The Power of the Message 2. What Is a Strategic Message? 3. The Core Principles of Strategic Messages 4. Step One:Identify the Action Desired 5. Step Two:Identify the Target Audiences 6. Step Three:Identify Audience Desires 7. Step Four:Find the Mutuality 8. Step Five:Express the Message 9. Putting the Steps Together:The Process of Message Development 10. A Case Study:The Power of Strategic Messages 11. Other Applications of the Strategic Message Framework Conclusion Appendix Organizational Needs Assessment Organizational Readiness Assessment Endnotes Index
Article By:
The Communications Network - December 5, 2007
See feature article "Creating Strategic Messages that Work" www.comnetwork.org Article By:
By: Andy Goodman, a goodman - March 1, 2008
See feature article at agoodmanonline.com. (Please note, this link goes to a PDF.) Article By:
By: Rebecca Leet, The Nonprofit Times - February 15, 2008
Article in Vol. 22, No. 4, www.nptimes.com, "Message Matters: Succeeding at the crossroads of mission and market." Article By:
By: Alice Garrard, Foundation Center - March 28, 2008
See review in Philanthropy News Digest. Article By:
American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) - February 1, 2008
Article in Associations Now, "Creating Messages that Produce Action." Article By:
By: Rebecca Leet, The Nonprofit Times - March 15, 2008
Article in Vol. 22, No. 6, www.nptimes.com, "Message Matters: 5 steps to message development." Article By:
By: Rebecca Leet, Chronicle of Philanthropy - May 1, 2008
See article in Chronicle of Philanthropy. (Requires a subscription to view full article.) |
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