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A beginner’s guide to digital pipelines

Think of digital pipelines as pathways that lead your supporters down progressively deeper levels of engagement. Without designing your pipelines intentionally, your supporters

How to write CTAs like a boss

Whether you’re seeking donations or actions, the formula for writing an effective CTA is pretty simple. To persuade your supporter to drop

Should you send emails from your ‘organization’ or an actual person?

Here’s how the internal dialog usually goes: “We’re torn. We see other organizations sending from individual people but how do we know if

How ‘list health’ affects email open rates

How does the past experience of people on your list influence their interest in receiving ongoing email from you? It turns out

These testing methodologies save you time, stress, and money

Trying something risky and new? These methodologies can save you from diving in head first when it might have been wiser to test

Excite yourself

(Not in that way). Do you ever find yourself staring at your screen, wishing the thing you are trying to write was done

12 proven ways to personalize your broadcast emails

If we want to get the most out of email, we need to make it personal. If every message we send sounds

How ‘why’ is the most important question you need to answer

What draws people to your cause? What motivated your supporters to take their first action? What did they feel when they first donated?

Are you prioritizing the right list building entry points?

There’s more than one way to build an email list. The various types of digital assets you can use to attract people to

Formatting for skim readers: essential tips

Here’s an important piece of digital communication that you’ve probably never read: Few of us pay attention to stuff like

Email preview text: what you need to know

Preview text appears in most email clients in the form of a few words after or below a subject line. While it doesn’t

Avoid these 4 mistakes when embedding videos

On-page videos can be your best friend and your worst enemy. At the same time. Know the pros and cons so you

Email tokenization: what is it?

A token is a little snippet of encoded data that identifies a supporter and can be attached to links in your email broadcasts.

Avoid being an unknown sender

Most of us have a hard time keeping on top of emails from people we do know, to let alone give a second

A beginner’s guide to SEO (search engine optimization)

New to SEO? Here’s what works in 2026. If the currency of the Internet is web traffic, then search engine referrals are money

Take your time.

In the pursuit of saying more with less, I’ll admit—not every big idea can be reduced to a snappy soundbite. Sometimes there really is a lot to say. Still, there are better options than trying to say everything in one interaction. Readers will find it hard to retain dense information. And rarely do we need to place this much pressure on ourselves.

Pace yourself

Whether you’re communicating through your email list or your social media feed, remember that you’re in an ongoing relationship with your audience. You don’t just get one shot at this. When there’s a lot to say, try saying it over a series of linked emails, web pages, or social media posts. Break up your content into bite-sized ideas and deliver them over time to deepen impact. This will reach more people and give each idea its own time and space to resonate.

Think of digital communications like conversations, not lectures. Be the conversation partner that your supporter wants to come back to.

From: Say more (by saying less)

Karen Nilsen

Hi there! I’m Karen. I’m on a mission to reach my former self. Had I known 10 years ago what I know today, I could have achieved more good, made fewer mistakes, and had more weekends. Every time we share what works, we win faster. Let’s create digital experiences that move people — that grow our base and fuel our movements. Are you with me? Please share this with someone you know who wants to up their digital game!

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