Rachel Lawton on the Power of Effective Sustainability Messaging

Hey there,

I'm thrilled to share that I've just released a brand-new episode of the Sustainability Skill Set podcast that I know you're going to love.

Episode 9. Rachel Lawton on the Power of Effective Messaging and How to Succeed as a Freelance Sustainability Copywriter

In this episode, I had the pleasure of sitting down with the incredible Rachel Lawton, a freelance sustainability copywriter, to dive deep into the power of effective messaging in the world of sustainability. Rachel shared some great insights that really got me thinking about the way I communicate every day.

Here’s what I found most interesting:

#1 - Messaging goes beyond simply ‘writing’ to evoke emotions from your audience.

Messaging involves using language that can evoke feelings and emotions from your audience. Therefore, to create effective messaging, you must understand your audience!

For each group, you must understand what they care about and the challenges they face so you can frame your message in a way that directly addresses those concerns.

Messaging is about conveying your brand and values in a way that resonates with people (or not, which is also beneficial!). It holds power as it enables you to engage others with your ideas and establish yourself as an authority.

Rachel described this topic in terms of copywriting and marketing, but it got me thinking about how this all applies to communication within a company or supply chains as well.

If you are trying to communicate a message within your company, you cannot just send out a ‘mass email’ and expect it to resonate with everyone. The best approach is to understand the different audiences you are trying to reach and the best way to package your message for them.

#2 - Good writing is simple writing. Drop your ego.

Rachel reminded us that good writing should not use complicated sentence structures, big words, or foreign concepts. Good writing is easy to understand for someone who has never encountered the topic you are writing about.

I appreciated this reminder because, as we go deeper with our sustainability knowledge, it becomes harder to speak about sustainability in a way that is accessible to all audiences. Remember, most people don’t immediately know what GHG or CDP means!

Rachel shared a fantastic tip: try practicing by writing to a friend. Begin with "Dear Mom..." as it will help you identify what your audience will understand and what they may not.

Remember to set aside your ego. The goal is not to sound fancy or intelligent, but to communicate clearly. Write like you would speak.

#3 - Audit your skills against job listings to understand where to focus your learning.

As we discussed how someone would get into a sustainability career, Rachel recommended auditing your skills to understand where you are strong and where you can focus on developing.

I love this tip because there are SO many great educational resources online for learning what you need to get a job in sustainability. The hardest part is knowing where to start!

A skills ‘audit’ might look like this:

1. Pull up a handful of sustainability job listings that you are interested in.

2. Note which skills they are asking for, which of those you can demonstrate experience with, and which you currently lack.

3. Look for opportunities to develop the skills you lack, whether it’s through assignments in your current job, online resources, or personal projects.

If you want to get into sustainability copywriting specifically, Rachel recommends starting by building a portfolio. You don’t need to have published work to do this. You just need to provide evidence that you can write.

I enjoyed hearing about Rachel’s day-to-day work life. As a sustainability communications specialist and brand strategist, she spends most of her time collecting and synthesizing information.

Her favorite part about the job is meeting interesting people and learning about all the amazing sustainability solutions that exist. She says that it’s really encouraging to see that there are so many smart people working on sustainability and it’s inspiring to help them get their message out.

The most difficult thing about the job is self-promotion and making time for business development as a freelancer. Rachel spends time deliberately managing her energy and ‘filling her cup’ with activities that give her space from her work so that she can maintain enthusiasm for what she’s doing.

Read or listen to the full episode to learn more.

Wishing you the best,

Louis DeMaso

P.S. Feel free to hit that reply button anytime. I would love to hear from you.