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Does this sound familiar? Back up your position with facts; the more reasons you can offer, the more persuasive your argument. Right?
The General Data Protection Regulation (commonly, GDPR) came into effect in May 2018. It impacts all businesses and organizations, everywhere in the world,
Knowing how much or how little to say starts with being clear about your objective. Rarely is it our job to turn readers
Every time you email your supporter, you’re doing much more than delivering a message. You’re cultivating a relationship. If
Imagine you’ve been asked to have an important conversation with ... ‘someone’. Chances are, you’ll be much happier to have that conversation if
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
The needs of supporters at opposite ends of the engagement spectrum are very different. So are the opportunities. If you are tracking your
Segmentation gives digital communicators the power to reach the right people with the right message. The shift from a broadcast communication model to
Most organizations want to grow their online audience. Some of us rely entirely on our supporters to fuel actions and fundraising—the organizational
What if you could say the right thing, to the right person, at the right time (while you sleep)? The future of communications
On the surface, it looks like the purpose of a title is to introduce the content of a webpage. But of course—you
Great communication is not just about what you say but how you say it. Who says it also matters. You won’t always
As changemakers, it’s our job to dream up all the ways our supporters can get involved to help our cause or win
You’ve sent your action or appeal broadcast. It went okay. But you’re not satisfied that enough supporters noticed it or recognized its urgency.
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
Don’t undercut a great email by hiding it behind a poor subject line. These few words have the power to make or break your broadcast.
Inboxes are generally cluttered, un-fun places. You can either contribute to that un-fun clutter, or use it to your competitive advantage. Let’s assume you’re keen to do the latter.
Shorter than you think. Shorter. There are compelling reasons why three, two, and even one-word subject lines draw our attention. At the very least, if you want your subject line to be read, keep it under 40 characters. Here’s why.
This rule applies equally to web page headlines: use your subject line to offer your reader a reason to pay attention. What do they stand to lose if they ignore your message? Using tactics like urgency and secrecy can give your subject line an edge. There are plenty of other ways you can give your subject line consequence, too.
Don’t think that an emoji will make your subject line great—it won’t. But it will draw attention to a great subject line. Just be aware that some old email clients don’t support emojis, so make sure your subject also makes sense without them.
Online marketers often report that numbers have an uncanny knack of boosting open rates when included in subject lines. Give it a try!
We don’t have the luxury of using ‘bold’ or ‘italic’ to emphasize words in a subject line. Occasionally writing a single word in all-caps can be effective, but try not to capitalize the whole thing. SHOUTING AT YOUR READER ISN’T POLITE. (Also, it’s spammy).
There’s no better way to arrest someone’s attention than by making them feel something. Surprise, shock, sadness, joy... These feelings can silence the digital noise for a moment and allow our emotion-based decision-making functions to take over. Try to avoid overly-distressing messaging—alarm can work in your favor, but don’t fill your reader with dread for what they might see if they open your email.
If you think the game is all about wit and trickery, it’s really not. Steer clear of cryptic clues and in-jokes. If your content is topical and something you know your audience cares about, don’t obscure it. Sometimes being direct is the best option.
Rarely will the first idea you think up turn out to be the best. It pays to give your brain space to think laterally. Increase your chances of striking gold by brainstorming 10 (or 20) lines before short-listing the strongest.
It’s one thing to imagine what a subject will look like on the receiving end. It’s another to actually see it. Sometimes context allows us to see things our imagination can’t. It’s not hard to send yourself some blank emails with different subjects. The key to this test is not to think too hard. What jumps out among the noise in your inbox? What would you click on?
If you can, always split test your subject lines. This will minimize guesswork, maximize impact, and reveal valuable insights about what gets your supporters’ attention.
Our friends in the corporate sector are trying to crack the code to attention-grabbing subject lines, too. Check out some of the interesting ideas they’ve come up with.
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