Happy 40th Anniversary Earth Day!
Twenty years ago, Vanguard Communications provided communications support for Earth Day 1990, culminating with the first national Earth Day rally in Washington, D.C. With 350,000 attendees, it was an overwhelming success, and it began a tradition that continues to this day, with the Climate Rally on the National Mall, scheduled for Sunday, April 25.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/ / CC BY 2.0
Publications across the country have showcased Earth Day op-eds and editorials today, with articles written by a plethora of authors, including EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. From these examples, we’ve culled three simple tips to make your opinion writing persuasive and memorable.
- Be personal. Look for the angle within your op-ed that applies to you. In other words, find a way of making a point that connects to your voice and your experiences. Adam Gardner from rock band Guster does precisely this in his post for Care2, focusing on the environmental impacts of touring and how his nonprofit organization, Reverb, has worked to address these challenges. Focusing on an issue he’s intimately and implicitly familiar with gives him greater credibility and allows his message to connect to readers.
- Have an opinion. It seems obvious, but making a strong point with a clearly defined point of view helps your message stick. Take today’s post from Treehugger, which references a Salon op-ed from two years ago. The original piece – which advocated renaming Earth Day – had an opinion unique enough that Treehugger not only remembered it, but was able to reintroduce it to new readers years after its original publication.
- Call your supporters to action. The best op-eds ask readers to do something. Take today’s piece from Grist, which uses Earth Day to discuss how quitting smoking can impact the environment and your health. While it may be a bit of a leap, it piques reader interest and encourages further review.
