When advocating for change within your local government, fact sheets and one pagers can be a great thing to have on hand. Many people working in your local government won’t know about the issues your community is facing, and it’s important to be able to share visually engaging information with them to inform their work and decision-making.
A few best practices for fact sheets and one pagers
- Have a few compelling data points at the top—these are very helpful for politicians.
- But don’t overload the fact sheet with numbers. For one page, include no more than 3-5 data points.
- Data presented in a visually engaging way, like on a pie chart, is different. This way of presenting data draws your reader in.
- Keep your text short, sweet, and LARGE. You don’t need to have your fact sheet in 12 pt font.
- Have a header image and a concise title at the top
- Include a summary box that tells the reader what the page is about
- You should be able to understand the key message of the document in the first 30 seconds of looking at it
- Quote a community member affected by the issue if you can. Even better, include a photo of that community member, or a photo that represents them. This means a lot particularly to elected officials.
- Write simply—avoid jargon. Assume your reader has no idea what you’re talking about!
- You can print out a few copies and bring them around to the offices of your elected officials and drop them off. Make sure your one pager is colorful and visually engaging, so anyone walking by is compelled to pick it up!
