Stop Using Acronyms in Advocacy

This morning, I received an advocacy email with three acronyms in the subject line. Three. Before I even opened it, I had to stop and decode what the sender was trying to tell me. That’s a problem.

If your advocacy or policy email requires a decoder ring, people aren’t going to take action. They’re going to delete it.

We work in complex policy spaces. Health care, education, environmental policy, and countless other issue areas are full of specialized terminology. But if we want people—especially new supporters—to engage, we need to stop speaking in a language only insiders understand.

Here’s why acronyms don’t work in advocacy and what to do instead.

1. Acronyms Create a Barrier to Engagement

When someone sees a string of unfamiliar letters, they immediately have to decide:

Do I already know what this means?
Do I care enough to figure it out?

If the answer is “no” to either question, they’re gone. Using acronyms makes people feel like they aren’t “in the club,” and no one wants to feel excluded.

2. Acronyms Kill Urgency

Advocacy emails, social media posts, and action alerts need to be clear and compelling. If people have to pause and translate an acronym, you’ve lost precious seconds—and possibly their attention.

Compare these two subject lines:

✅ Tell Congress: Protect LGBTQ+ Iowans from Discrimination

❌ Urge Your Senator to Oppose HF 123 and Support SJR 45

The first tells you exactly what’s at stake. The second? Who knows.

3. Acronyms Are Impersonal

Your audience isn’t a group of policy wonks sitting around a committee table. They’re real people who care about the issues but don’t live and breathe legislation every day. They need messages that speak to them in human terms, not government-speak.

What to Do Instead

Say what you mean. If you’re talking about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, say “food assistance” first, then add the acronym (SNAP) if necessary.
Write for a non-expert. If someone unfamiliar with your issue can’t understand your subject line, rewrite it.
Make it about the people, not the process. Legislation, rulemaking, and funding streams matter, but what matters most is how policies impact people’s lives. Focus on that.