Go Negative for Clicks: Negative Sentiment in Environmental Advocacy Emails Is Associated with Increased Public Engagement

• Published in: Environmental communication Vol. 19; no. 2; pp. 330 - 336
• Main Authors: Sol Hart, P., Soroka, Stuart N., Hiaeshutter-Rice, Dan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia Routledge 17.02.2025; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: computer-assisted content analysis; Content analysis; Electronic mail; Environmental advocacy; Messages; online communication; public engagement; Public participation; sentiment
• ISSN: 1752-4032; 1752-4040
• DOI: 10.1080/17524032.2024.2372579

In light of environmental challenges, environmental advocacy organizations are seeking optimal ways to increase public engagement. There is debate over whether positive or negative sentiment in advocacy messages is more effective. We investigate this by examining how positive and negative sentiment in advocacy messages sent by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) through email was associated with the frequency with which recipients opened the email and clicked on a link within the email. We used a computer-assisted content analysis to determine the sentiment of email campaign messages sent by the EDF between November 2011 and February 2020, and then examined how public engagement varied depending on the sentiment of the email messages. Overall, we find that negative sentiment in environmental advocacy emails was associated with increased engagement.