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Thanks
for your note to FEMINIST.COM.
Thanks, too, for taking action
in your life. Letter writing--especially
those that are mailed rather
than emailed--are such an effective
form of activism--especially
when they arrive in large numbers.
I think that there are a few
basic ingredients to every letter:
1.) Don't make them defensive
right away. For instance, don't
say "I will never buy your product
or vote for you...." A more
effective approach is to give
them the benefit of the doubt.
And ideally what you are trying
to do is to raise their consciousness.
Sometimes people know exactly
what messages they are sending,
but other times people are just
ignorant and you have to educate
them. If they fall into the
latter category, they might
be willing to change their tune,
once they have other options.
Therefore, you should begin
your letter: "I'm writing out
of concern about your recent
ad......because I know that
you are a company whose customer
base is overwhelmingly female,
I want to make sure the you
know the dangers of your ad
and how, instead, you can be
more representative of your
clients...."
2.) A letter should have three
basic parts: one--what's wrong;
two--how you propose they fix
it; and three--why it's in their
best interest to correct this.
3.) Depending on who's writing
and what your writing to, you
also might want to include why
this is of particular interest
too: i.e. "As a long-time customer
of yours....," "As the father
of three children......" "As
the president of a major company......"
Whatever it is--big or small.
You have to make them feel invested
in you.
4.) If you feel like there is
no room for dialogue, then you
might threaten to expose whatever
they are doing through the media.
Publicity--bad publicity--will
certainly scare them.
I hope that helps. Happy letter
writing.
—Amy
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