Tips for Effective Letter Writing

Writing letters to newspapers, politicians and businesses is an easy and effective way to help animals with nothing more than a pen and paper or access to a computer.

For suggestions of people or media outlets to write to check out Advocate.

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor are one of the most widely read sections of the newspaper and reach a large audience.

They allow community members to comment on the way issues are being addressed in the media and to influence what topics the local paper covers. Politicians also often monitor this section of the newspaper and take notice of constituents' opinions.

Due to strict space limitations in newspapers, not all letters will be published, but the more letters the newspaper receives on a certain topic, the more likely they are to run at least one letter on the topic. Check the letter guidelines in your local paper and use these tips to write an effective letter to the editor:

• Include contact information: Include your full name, city, state, phone number (newspapers will verify authorship before printing a letter. You can ask for your details to be withheld from printing if you wish to remain anonymous).
• Make specific references: While some newspapers will print general commentary letters, most prefer letters that respond to a specific article they have recently published or a current event that is receiving widespread media attention.
• Be timely: Write your letter within a day of the article’s date or event that you wish to comment on.
• Be brief: 1-3 paragraphs, 3-8 lines, 40-100 words. Many newspapers have strict length limits and edit letters for space. Short letters show confidence in your position and are more likely to be published.
• Be clear: Make one or two main points. A concise, single-issue letter has a better chance of retaining its salient points and keeping the reader's interest.
• Be accurate: Letters that are factually inaccurate are not printed. Also highlight aspects of an issue that have not been addressed.
• Be interesting: Get your reader’s attention and keep it to the end of your letter. Open with an interesting fact or strong statement. Use humour or personal anecdotes where appropriate.
• Increase your credibility: Mention anything that makes you especially qualified on the topic. For instance “As a long term resident of Fremantle...”
• Avoid personal attacks: Show respect for the opposite opinion. Being rude may cause people to disagree with you on principle. Avoid name-calling as this can hurt your credibility.
• Proofread: Re-read your letter. Check it for grammar and spelling mistakes. If possible, ask another person to read your letter for accuracy and clarity.
• Send letters to community newspapers: Community and other small newspapers are more likely to print your letter and the letter can then spark local community action.
• Write on good news, as well as bad: Thank the paper for its coverage of an animal rights protest or for exposing animal cruelty. You can also write (or call) television and radio stations to protest glorification of animal abuse or to compliment them on a program well done.
• Look for opportunities to write op-ed pieces for local papers: These are longer articles of about 500 - 800 words that summarise an issue, develop an argument, and propose a solution. Send the article to the Editorial Page editor.

Check your language

The language you use in your letter can entice or put off readers so here are some things to keep in mind.

Don't give lip service to anti-animal arguments. Speak affirmatively:

"Vegetarians are healthier and slimmer and live years longer than flesh-eaters." is better than "It"s not true vegetarians are weaklings."

Avoid self-righteous language and exaggeration. Readers may dismiss arguments if they feel preached to or if the author sounds hysterical:

"Most compassionate people would stop eating meat if they saw how miserable the animals are." is better than "Only a heartless sadist could continue to eat animals when any fool knows their lives are snuffed out in screaming agony for the satisfaction of people who can't be bothered to take a moral stand."

Don't assume your audience knows the issues:

"Calves factory-farmed for veal are tethered in small stalls and kept in complete darkness. Their mothers also endure sad fates, starting with the loss of their infants a few days after birth." is better than "Don't support the cruel veal industry."

Inclusive language helps your audience identify with you:

"We know eating meat is bad for our health." is better than "Eating meat is bad for your health."

Use positive suggestions rather than negative commands:

"Let's take our families to non-animal circuses." is better than "Don't go to the circus."

Personalise your writing with anecdotes and visual images.

"Have you ever seen a fox with her face caught in a leghold trap? I have, which is how I know traps tear into an animal's face, leg, or stomach." is better than "Leghold traps can trap an animal by the face, leg, or stomach."

Avoid speciesist language. Instead of referring to an animal with an inanimate pronoun ("it"or "which"), use "she" or "he."

Avoid euphemisms ("negative reinforcement," "culling the herd"); say what you really mean ("painful electric shocks," "slaughtering cows").

Criticise the cruelty, not the newspaper:

"There is no excuse for the abuse that goes on in the circus." is better than "There is no excuse for your article promoting the circus."

Letters to Politicians

While emails, postcards and petitions can are an easy way to write to politicians, none of these are as effective and persuasive as communicating through a personalised letter or fax as these require greater effort on your part and show more commitment to the issue.

Politicians are meant to represent those who voted for them and if you didn’t they need to know why. Use the following tips to write a persuasive letter to your local member of parliament:

• Keep it short: Limit your letter to one page and one issue.
• Identify yourself and the issue: In the first paragraph of your letter state who you are and what issue you are writing about. If you're writing about a specific piece of legislation, mention it by name and number, if you know it, and whether you support or oppose it in the first paragraph too. Include reasons and supporting data in the next paragraph or two. Conclude by asking for a response.
• Focus on your main points: Choose the three strongest points to support your argument and develop them clearly. Too much information can distract from your position.
• Make it personal: Tell the politician why the issue matters to you and how it affects you, your family, and your community. Make a connection to the politician. Are you in their electorate? Did you vote for her/him? Are you a member of their political party?
• Be polite and concise: Keep everything relevant to the bill or issue in question. Never be threatening or insulting.
• Ask for a reply: Include your name and address on both your letter and envelope.
• Trust your voice: Be polite but take a firm position in your letter. Be confident in your understanding of the issue and remember that the politician may know less than you. Thank elected representatives when they vote the way you want.

Letters to Businesses

Use your clout as a consumer to protest companies that exploit animals.

Tell cosmetics manufacturers you will purchase other brands until they stop testing on animals, or tell a store you won't shop there until it stops carrying clothes made from animals – and explain why. If a company is sponsoring an event that involves animal exploitation (such as a circus, rodeo or horse/greyhound racing) tell them why you object to the event and that you and your friends will not be supporting them whilst they continue to sponsor it