How content frames turn staff into storytellers

We’ve talked in previous posts about the importance of storytelling in your newsletter - inviting subscribers behind the scenes of your organisation and allowing them to connect with the human beings doing the work.

But there’s a hitch. How do you ask your staff or volunteers to contribute when they are already so busy in their day jobs? Even when they want to be helpful or share their story, it can be challenging to get them involved.

What you need is a solution that streamlines the process of collecting their input while giving you a bank of content so you’re not starting from scratch every week. And you can do that with content frames.

What is a content frame?

It’s a simple structure that you ask staff or volunteers to complete. It could take the form of a single question, a short questionnaire or requesting a number of items.

E.g. You could ask them to send you three sentences describing a typical day or the best moment of their month.

You can use them as a regular element of your newsletter - subscribers know to look out for them and you have a bank of content ready to publish.

Some ideas for content frames

Volunteer of the month: A photo of a volunteer in action with a short "nomination" from a fellow volunteer or staff member.

What we're reading/watching this month: An article, video or book related to your mission with a 2-sentence explanation of why it’s important.

Testimonials: A powerful quote from a user, client or community member. Encourage volunteers to share “one thing someone said today that stayed with me” .

What’s in my kit?: A photo of the items a staff member uses daily (e.g. a conservationist’s tool kit) and a caption explaining why those items matter.

Before and after: What was the situation when you arrived? What did you do? What does it look like now?

Why I’m here: What was the exact moment this week that reminded you why you do this job?

Tips for putting it into practice

• Make sure you are as specific in your instructions as possible - e.g. “Write 75-100 words, with a photo of yourself doing your work as a jpg file” - so that you aren’t faced with lots of editing or having to ask for more detail.

  
  

• But also give them room for their personality to shine through so each one doesn’t sound too similar.

  
  

• Ensure your ideas fit your organisation’s mission and activity - if you’re providing healthy meals to kids you wouldn’t ask a team member about their favourite type of fast food but you might get them to recommend a healthy recipe.

  
  

• Aim for an emotional response from the reader.

  
  

• Ensure you have permission to use images.

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