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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

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 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

Beat the curse of knowledge

The curse of knowledge is a cognitive bias that leads us to overestimate the knowledge of our audience. If you allow this curse

How to hook your reader

To steal a mantra from our friends in journalism: don’t bury the lede. The idea might have started in newspaper offices

7 traits of a clear writing style

The education system taught many of us that long words and complex sentence structures are signs of sophistication. Un-learn this as fast

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

A beginner’s guide to digital profiling

Who are your supporters? And what do they need from you to reach their potential as star advocates or loyal donors? You might

Anatomy of an action email

It might seem too obvious to mention. But it’s critical that you’ve defined the objective of your email. Often, it’s to lead your

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

This little trick will increase your conversion rates

Whether your call to action (CTA) is a button or a link, don’t get too clever. Speak directly to your supporter and tell

14 long-term engagement strategies that work

I’m so glad you’re here. While it’s far from the most exciting, retention is arguably the most important factor in the success of

How to combat supporter fatigue

Don’t wait for supporter fatigue to set in before creating a plan to mitigate it. Nice idea, right? Most of us only recognize

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 (and when) to build a geo-fence

If you’ve ever been annoyed by a website that stopped you from watching a video because you’re in the ‘wrong’ country ... you’re

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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