At the start of each month, we send at least 10 writing prompts to the subscribers of our Monthly Nonprofit Writing Prompts E-Newsletter to get them thinking about articles, stories, press releases, blog posts, Facebook updates, letters, and other content for the following month.
We send them a month ahead so you’ll have time to think about the ideas and incorporate them into your editorial calendar.
The emails are usually broken down into these headers:
- On the Calendar – important dates, holidays, cause awareness days, etc
- Metaphor of the Month – how you can relate your cause to something else
- Pop Culture, Events, and News – what’s happening that month that people will be talking about
- Source of the Month – other places to find writing inspiration
Tomorrow we will send our writing prompts for April to the 9,700+ subscribers, and here is a sampling of what will be in that email:
On the Calendar
4/1: April Fool’s Day. This is a great opportunity to do something a little light-hearted or humorous, even if that’s not usually your style. Try to pull these little stunts in the morning, so you can follow up in the late afternoon with a “retraction” or “gotcha!”
4/2: International Children’s Book Day. Find a good kid’s book related to your cause and use that as a springboard to talk about your work. This works really well if you have lots of parents with small children on your mailing list.
4/4: Tell a Lie Day. Use this day to dispel any myths or rumors about your cause.
4/7: World Health Day. The focus this year is on food safety.
4/15: Income Tax Day in the U.S. How do tax dollars support your cause? Make your supporters feel a little better about paying up by knowing how it helps you. Or maybe you can point out that you don’t use any tax dollars at all!
4/22: Earth Day. How can you connect what you do with protecting the environment, even if your core mission isn’t environmental?
4/23: Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. Get some of your staff to bring their kids to work and share what the kids learned about your cause.
Metaphor of the Month
The metaphor for this month is gardens and landscapes. Think about growth, blooms, weeds, mulch, annuals, perennials, insects, fertilizer, harvest, planting, plow, grasslands, ecosystems, mountain peaks, horizon.
How is your work like these things?
Pop Culture, Events, and News
Local festivals will start popping up on everyone’s calendar, especially with the weather warming up. Google “(your state) festivals” and you’ll see what’s coming up nearby.
Social Media will be abuzz when HBO show Game of Thrones starts back April 12th.
The final season of AMC’s Mad Men will also begin in April.
The Boston Marathon will take place April 15th.
Source of the Month
To keep up with popular stories on the Net, see Mashable’s Watercooler section.
Want the full list of prompts for April and the upcoming months?
Just fill out the form below and you’ll be added to the Writing Prompts mailing list and will receive tomorrow’s email. (If you sign up later, then you will be all set to receive the newsletter next month.)
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