|
Hello readers! As you know, Entirely Possible! focuses on clients who are committed to social justice, so I’m excited to introduce you to one such client: Twin Cities Diversity in Practice (TCDIP).  TCDIP is a nonprofit association of more than 60 law firms and corporate legal departments who share a vision to create a vibrant and inclusive legal community and a mission to strengthen the efforts of Member Organizations to attract, recruit, advance, and retain attorneys of color. Last summer I worked with Executive Director and President, Summra Shariff, and Programs and Communications Coordinator, Liz Niemer to do a complete content overhaul of the TCDIP website. Since then we’ve worked together on two annual reports and a few other writing projects. About one year after we completed the website project, I decided to check in with Summra and Liz to ask about their experience.
 Shannon Puechner, Writing Consultant, Entirely Possible! Catching UpShannon: Hello! I’m so glad to be chatting with you two again! Before we start talking about your experience with Entirely Possible! tell me what TCDIP has been up to lately. Liz: The first season of TCDIP Connect, a reimagined group mentorship program, had a successful rollout and completion! And now we’re looking forward to another summer of hosting the TCDIP 1L Clerkship program, helping to launch the careers of law students of color. Summra: And we have been hard at work formalizing the Wanton Injustice Legal Detail (WILD), our 501(c)3 foundation with a mission to harness the collective power of TCDIP’s membership to remedy systemic anti-Black racism and all forms of racism in the Twin Cities by partnering with and amplifying the work of existing community organizations. Shannon: Fantastic! It was really exciting to learn about WILD when we were working together on the annual report this year and I can’t wait to see what happens with WILD in the future. Getting Started Shannon: Ok, so looking back, tell me about the TCDIP website refresh project. What were your goals? Liz: TCDIP hired Entirely Possible! to re-develop and re-organize our website. Our goal was to streamline and more effectively communicate our organization's mission and work through our website. Summra: We needed someone capable of not only helping us communicate our goals and mission but also someone with the capacity to see the "big picture" and organize the material so that our audience can access it. Phase 1: Research Shannon: I remember the first phase of our work together was all about getting to know TCDIP. I really didn’t know anything about TCDIP in the beginning, so I started by reviewing the website and other content and surfing the web to see what other folks had to say about the organization. I was asking myself, what does TCDIP do? Who is it for? What am I being asked to do as a person visiting the website? What words were used most often? What did these terms mean to me as an outsider? What language was confusing? Once I’d learned all I could, I sent you two a report laying out all my findings and we met together to discuss what I had learned and what questions I had. Summra: Yes! And we’re glad you did! When you reflected back to us our messaging, we knew we had some work to do to refine our communications. And as our conversations continued, we realized that we needed to clarify a few things. Who are our stakeholders? What are our key messages? Your questions really helped us get focused and clearly communicate with our audience. Liz: Shannon, your interest in fully understanding TCDIP's mission wasn't necessarily a surprise, but nonetheless I truly appreciated the depth of your dedication. You spent time joining our meetings and getting to know our Membership so that you could deliver writing that truly connected with our audience. Phase 2: Collaborative Writing Shannon: The next phase was my favorite part. For each section of the website, I got to interview you two and learn more about the organization. I used those interviews along with old copy to draft new content for your website. Summra: And those interviews didn’t just help you learn about our organization, they really helped us to get clear about our stakeholders and what we offer them. We hired Entirely Possible! to do a refresh of our website but in the process, we were given the opportunity to be reflective about our organization more broadly. Shannon: Absolutely. The process of creating great writing is so connected to knowing what you want to say, who you are as an organization, and what work you want to actually be doing in the world. Maybe that’s why it was my favorite part! I wasn’t just writing, I really was coaching and collaborating with you to help you focus on your own values and goals. Liz: And it wasn’t just content, you went above and beyond, helping TCDIP organize our content in a way that would be easy to navigate by our audience, including first-time visitors. You helped us to develop a plan for organizing the content in a way that met the needs of our audience and this content map was sent to our web designers to set up the website. Phase 3: The Website Goes Live Shannon: So, when the website went live, how were you feeling about the product? Summra: With your help, we were able to untangle our previous messaging and clearly communicate our mission and programs to our audience. At the end of the project, we refreshed or created over 10,000 words for dozens of pages of content! And most of that was copy that we could reuse for our annual report and other collateral. After the website went live, we kept working with Entirely Possible! for two annual reviews, several reports, and public statements - the work is ongoing. Liz: Not only did Entirely Possible! provide great copy that reflected our goals and values, but you also helped us develop a distinct “voice” for TCDIP. We are now writing and speaking about our mission and programs in a consistent way, and Entirely Possible! created a style guide to help us keep consistent with our voice in all our future writing. Shannon: Now that you’re a year in, have you noticed any differences in your work or in your relationships with your stakeholders? What were we able to “make possible” together? Liz: Our website has helped us engage with more potential members interested in our work. We’ve onboarded five new Member Organizations since our website launched, and requests to meet with our Executive Director keep coming in. Entirely Possible! helped us showcase that TCDIP is committed to our mission to attract, recruit, advance, and retain attorneys of color. Before, we as staff members knew that TCDIP was doing the work, but it wasn’t clear on our website. Summra: Entirely Possible! helped shine a light on the wealth that TCDIP has to offer to the legal community. Our Members also have a greater understanding of TCDIP from pages that clearly explain our committees, ongoing programs, and ways they can get involved with our work. As we launch WILD, we’re looking forward to showing our Members even more of what TCDIP can do. Final thoughts?Shannon: When you think about all the work that we have done together so far, what has been the best part about working with Entirely Possible!? Liz: Shannon is a consummate professional writer and editor. We really appreciated the transparent and accurate estimates and billing. Her work was delivered on time and it was easy to communicate with her about project deadlines and needs. And when deadlines approached and unexpected changes or challenges emerged, Shannon didn’t get flustered or overwhelmed. She helps her clients feel at ease and helps us to figure out solutions. Summra: I really valued that Shannon was competent and passionate about racial justice, antiracism, and the intricacies of how to talk about these issues both from within active justice-oriented audiences and reaching out to interested but not yet immersed audiences. Liz: Her academic background also clearly informed how she thought about and coached us as we created our messages - but she could translate all that theory into web copy for a general audience. Summra: Entirely Possible! helped TCDIP realize our dream of a website with clear, organized writing that communicates our mission and the details of our programming to our members. We're so glad that Shannon was available to take the time needed to work with us to revitalize our website. Shannon: I just have to thank you both so much for the opportunity to be a coach and copywriter with TCDIP! And thanks so much for your time and for sharing your experience with Entirely Possible! What Can Entirely Possible Do For You?
|
