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Can you name your headline’s ‘value proposition’?

Okay, back up—what’s a ‘value proposition’? Think of your value proposition as the reason your reader should care about investing

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.

Say more (by saying less)

Knowing how much or how little to say starts with being clear about your objective. Rarely is it our job to turn readers

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

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

6 ways to make page titles click-worthy (not click-baity)

On the surface, it looks like the purpose of a title is to introduce the content of a webpage. But of course—you

Please, abandon your action lists

As changemakers, it’s our job to dream up all the ways our supporters can get involved to help our cause or win

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.

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.

Never stop learning

These folks are some of the most innovative and transformative communicators in (and beyond) our movement. And they’re on a mission to help

Engage your reader’s emotional brain

Inboxes aren’t often exciting places. Neither are the majority of web pages, if we’re honest. This can work to your advantage. Your

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

Give your headline ‘consequence’

Of all the ‘rules’ out there for writing page headlines, this is the most transformative. If your headline sits on a petition

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 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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