It's about the wants of your reader

I love Copyblogger, and I especially love thinking of ways to adapt their advice for the nonprofit world.

They discuss the importance of determining if your copy truly contains a benefit to the reader.  The example they use is that "Balance your blood sugar levels naturally!" isn't good copy because no one thinks "Gee, I need to balance my blood sugar levels naturally!"  But what people do want is to avoid the things like blindness, numb limbs, and premature death that go along with diabetes.  Therefore, better copy would focus on how to naturally avoid diabetes and its bad effects.

So how can you apply this to your own work?  Don't ask people to "save the park," ask them to save the place where they relax, kids and dogs get exercise, and neighbors meet and chat.  Don't ask your readers to donate money for food, ask them to donate money to stop folks in need being hungry.

Marketing is like gift giving—too often we give people what we think they should want, or what we want them to want.  To be effective, you have to get inside the head of your reader, figure out what they desire, and then give them that, or appeal to that.