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Emotion vs facts: what’s more persuasive?

Does this sound familiar? Back up your position with facts; the more reasons you can offer, the more persuasive your argument. Right?

Dominate Social Media

It doesn’t matter if you’re writing an email, a blog post, or a tweet—the full gamut of attention-seeking and attention-keeping tactics apply. Social

How and when to ‘hide’ content

One of the hardest lessons to learn as a communicator is knowing what not to say. In a medium that forces us

How NOT to write a thank-you email...

For several years, I drove a strategy at Animals Australia to send ‘thank-you’ emails to action takers that were jam-packed with followup

Do you know why you’re building an email list?

Serious question. Success is more than a number. It’s an outcome. An increase in list size isn’t an end-goal; 1,000

Don’t let these ‘cognitive biases’ hurt your conversion rates

Cognitive biases are powerful mental distortions that affect the way we think and behave. They are so powerful that they can lead

Articulate your ‘Theory of Change’

You might know definitively that your call-to-action (CTA) is the single-most strategic thing your supporters can do today to help your cause.

9 creative ways to mix up tired email formats

Well-designed email templates are greeeat. But even the best layouts can lull readers into complacency over time. Consider mixing up your formatting occasionally

Don’t be a hero (make your supporter the hero!)

I’m not saying don’t do heroic things. Keep that up! But when you’re telling your supporters a story of injustice, there’s only

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

You botched an email broadcast. Now what!?

You sent 100,000 emails to the wrong list... You directed people to last year’s action... You addressed everyone as “Jane”... It happens.

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

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

Segmenting for high and low engagement

The needs of supporters at opposite ends of the engagement spectrum are very different. So are the opportunities. If you are tracking your

How much data do you really need to make segmentation work?

Imagine you’ve been asked to have an important conversation with ... ‘someone’. Chances are, you’ll be much happier to have that conversation if

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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