Capturing your audience’s attention is one thing, but keeping it is another.

In a world where we are bombarded with an endless stream of media, such as magazines, newsletters, websites, social media, advertisements and e-newsletters, it can sometimes be easy to forget that the message you are disseminating is just as important as the medium. While the medium may be important, it will not be effective if the message it carries is not researched, well-written, interesting and useful to your target audience.

The following tips will ensure that your not-for-profit organisation receives the best results when communicating with its members, donors or the public.

1. Know your audience
It’s impossible to make your message relevant if you don’t know your reader. Conduct market research and keep the results in mind as you write. Things to consider include your readers’ needs, interests, media consumption and use of language, and how you can use this information to your advantage.

2. Tailor your content
Reading is a journey and in order for your target market to keep reading there has to be an interesting narrative for them to follow. Simply relaying information about your organisation is not sufficient enough to engage your audience and is unlikely to achieve your organisation’s goal.

3. Polish your content
Losing the respect or attention of a reader due to a small grammatical error is an easily avoided mistake – but it is all too often a reality.

Errors can have a large impact on how a reader regards your organisation and one such mistake, no matter how small, can cause them to switch off or for your message to be miscommunicated.

Diligent proofreading and subediting are extremely important in the communication process. A fresh pair of eyes (or several) is an invaluable resource to an organisation wishing to effectively engage an audience.

4. Seek expert help
Outsourcing the market research, copywriting, editing and proofreading process places your organisation at a great advantage. Expert staff with specialist knowledge will benefit your organisation by aligning it with a professional and polished product that engages an audience for the best possible results.