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To steal a mantra from our friends in journalism: don’t bury the lede. The idea might have started in newspaper offices
Knowing how much or how little to say starts with being clear about your objective. Rarely is it our job to turn readers
Segmentation gives digital communicators the power to reach the right people with the right message. The shift from a broadcast communication model to
Not every email you send will find its way into an inbox. Optimal deliverability is needed to give your emails a fighting
So you’ve cracked the code to writing a great email. The next step is to push it out to as many people
Sometimes, the purpose of an email can be simply to inform. But often, we’re trying to get someone somewhere. An action page. A
The curse of knowledge is a cognitive bias that leads us to overestimate the knowledge of our audience. If you allow this curse
As changemakers, it’s our job to dream up all the ways our supporters can get involved to help our cause or win
Whatever you do—don’t just imagine your headline on your page itself. Consider how your headline performs without the rest of your page to
Here’s an important piece of digital communication that you’ve probably never read: Few of us pay attention to stuff like
How tempting is it to ‘bust myths’ and confront your opponent’s ridiculous claims head-on!? Hint: very. Proceed with caution—countering false claims can unintentionally
Imagine you’re at a party. There are plenty of new people you could meet and talk to. There’s a guy talking himself up.
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
For several years, I drove a strategy at Animals Australia to send ‘thank-you’ emails to action takers that were jam-packed with followup
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.
Don’t wait for supporter fatigue to set in before creating a plan to mitigate it. Nice idea, right? Most of us only recognize the threat of supporter fatigue after it’s infected our list. By that time, campaign, outreach, and fundraising potential has already taken a hit...
Shift to a proactive mindset. It should be possible to give your supporters a good experience from day one and build a rewarding, sustainable pattern of engagement. Having a solid retention strategy isn’t only good for you, it’s good for all of us. Most supporters subscribe to multiple lists—and fatigue is contagious. Poor engagement in one organization can harm the whole movement. Let’s fix this!
Why are supporters tuning out?
Your digital strategy shouldn’t only be designed to meet your needs; it needs to meet your supporters’ needs, too. If your supporters are switching off, that could be a sign that their needs are not being met. This symptom is pointing you to an underlying problem:
- Misalignment of asks to supporters’ interests
- Over-asking or under-asking
- Imbalance of action and reward
- Losing sight of what inspired them to join
- Lack of connection to the organization or to the movement
- A sense of hopelessness or poor visibility to impact or progress
The content you send, and the frequency you send it, will either mitigate or exacerbate these problems.
What it takes to fix (or prevent) an engagement problem
Engagement patterns—good or bad—take time to establish. Trying to course-correct them can feel a bit like steering a cruise ship with a kayak paddle. Be prepared for the need to make shifts in your digital communications strategy from an organization-centric mindset to a supporter-centric mindset. Less ‘take, more ‘give’. You’ll need to embed a near-obsessive level of empathy for your supporters’ experience into every digital touchpoint. A fatigued audience can be revived—but results will require consistency and a bucketload of patience.
Okay, now that I’ve sufficiently dampened your enthusiasm and calibrated your expectations, let’s get to work. Here are 14 time-tested strategies that will boost long-term engagement.
Keep learning.
Free eBookAccept that you will lose some people
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how incredible your retention strategy is, some people are just going to outgrow you. That’s okay. If all attempts to bring them back fail, let them go.
Put thought into your unsubscribe journey. Make it simple, but gracious (the quality of this interaction can increase chances that your supporter will re-join in future). Seek optional feedback from exiting subscribers to calibrate your assumptions. Pro-actively purge the ‘dead’ parts of your list to cut digital waste, safeguard deliverability, and maintain accurate engagement metrics. A solid list-building strategy will more than make up for the loss.
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How ‘why’ is the most important question you need to answer 
Show. Don’t tell. 
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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