Rally the Community in Support of Your Cause

Reach a broader audience by writing editorials or letters to the editor for local and national newspapers and Web sites. You can express your views in a brief letter if you’re responding to a recently published article, or you can write a longer op-ed if you’re delivering fresh perspectives based on your expertise or experience with an issue.

"The op-ed pages of major newspapers and Web sites are read by diplomats, businesspeople, scholars, and those in the highest levels of government. They can sway public opinion and change the world," said Catherine Orenstein, who has written for and inspired articles in The New York Times, Ms. Magazine, and The Washington Post about helping women have a voice on the nation’s op-ed pages. Orenstein travels the country teaching seminars for women on writing editorials and getting them published. Although she does not keep a tally, she said that more than 20 of her former students have sent her published essays to let her know of their success.

To get an editorial published, Carolyn Lumsden, editor of the editorial page at the Hartford Courant and a former president of the Association of Opinion Page Editors, advises making your argument pithy. "Keep it to 700 words or less, and don't expect the editor to cut it for you," she said. She counsels making your point clear right at the beginning and asserting why you are uniquely suited to write about the subject. "Use lots of evidence," she continued, "reports, statistics, expert quotes. And then acknowledge the argument of the other side and answer it."

Lumsden urges prospective editorialists to respond to the news quickly. "If something happens, try to get your op-ed in that same day, or the next morning," she said. Finally, emphasize your own take on the issue. Don’t just repeat what other columnists on your side of the fence are saying. Use your story, and end the editorial with forceful statements.

Finally, she advises, "Make sure you copy edit and fact-check your op-ed before you send it. If an editor finds a mistake, that can seriously lessen the chances of the piece being published. You start to question whether the author has done their homework."

Tap into the broadest of audiences by using social-networking Web sites, such as Facebook.com, MySpace.com, Change.org, and AARP.org, where you can create profiles and find groups and individuals who share your interest in certain issues. Setting up a new group on any of these sites is a free, simple way to establish an initial Web presence for your cause, so that you can post event notices, contact information, and more.