How do we send a truly personal message to masses of people?

An Oxymoron?

Every three or four months, I send an email letter to anyone who wants to stay in touch with me, Pybop, or the practice of content strategy in general. If you've signed up for this Letter, you know exactly what I'm talking about. I just sent one. The funny thing is, although people recognize this is a mass email, I get a very personal response. Some people (in my industry) preface this response with "I know this is a mass email, but ..." Awesome. I wanted to hear from you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have sent the email. It's not your traditional business newsletter. It's not a highlight of blog posts. It's just my way of staying in touch with the people I've met along the way. And some whom I haven't.

CEO Content Strategy for Public Communications

Now I'm getting ready to discuss content strategy for the communications of a CEO of a large organization. How will this strategy capture his personality, his voice, his mission? How will each person who receives the communication -- thousands and thousands of individuals -- feel like this is a personal letter and be compelled to respond? Here's a trick to authenticity that works for groups of 5 up to 5 thousand. Be authentic. Ok, you can kick me for the obvious. Yes, be authentic. But *how* do you do that for a large group? Try this:

1. Write the letter.
2. Choose a selection of real people that you know (or have detailed personas created for them) from the audience and send them sample letters to sample accounts (not their real accounts). If you have multiple audience types, be sure each is represented.
3. Wait 24 hours. Crucial.
4. Sit down at a computer (iPad or smart phone) somewhere other than your desk and imagine you are the individual you're sending it to. Open the email. Read it. Take notes. Call your own BS.

It's an eye-opening exercise -- every time, even for this content strategist. Something I felt was clever or necessary the day before becomes forced or simply too much. Especially when the person I'm picturing is reading it on a Blackberry screen standing up on the subway. Or is a peer. Or a friend. Or maybe has no idea who I am. I bet you have other tricks to authentic content. Do share! I need all I can get.