HelpGram Overview: Definition, Purpose, Tone, & Style

HelpGrams are modest and epic at the same time. How can this be? Well, on the one hand, we hope to contain facts about a given topic within the scope of an index card. On the other, we have an immodest mission: to inform users about key issues in their lives. When users send HelpGrams, we want them to feel that they have been good friends. The cherry on top is that they will have also helped a worthy organization in the process. To achieve our mission, we need to offer our users timely, expert-reviewed information that's written in a conversational style.

HelpGrams are therefore positive in tone, empowering the sender and the recipient with information that they can use to improve their lives, rather than informing them that they are lacking in some respect. HelpGrams are insightful e-cards, illuminating issues without preaching or prescribing. We want HelpGrams to be accessible without being condescending, and factual without being jargon-filled. Think of a situation where a mentor or a teacher made something complex clear. This is what we aim to do with HelpGrams.

We use an e-card format to ensure that HelpGrams will be read. Although people rarely read the books or the articles that their friends recommend, they almost always read cards. Since HelpGrams contain easily-digestible information on issues that are relevant to our users, they make a positive difference in their lives.

While we intend for HelpGrams to serve as information e-cards that users can send to their friends, family, or co-workers, we also want our site to be a place where users can find expert-approved and reader-friendly information on a vast range of topics. Keep our purposes and intended uses in mind when you begin to write HelpGrams. They will help you determine what type of information will best serve our users and will best fulfill our company mission.