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A well-placed stat will add weight to your writing—particularly when it’s referenced with a credible source. When working with numbers, all care must
Whether you’re seeking donations or actions, the formula for writing an effective CTA is pretty simple. To persuade your supporter to drop
If your action email has one job—to get your supporter to click through to a destination—then what’s the quickest way to get
Call it what you will. It’s the idea that when we work together, we’re part of something bigger than ourselves. If achieving
Have you ever visited a website only to notice that ads for that site seem to ‘follow’ you around the Internet? You’ve been
A token is a little snippet of encoded data that identifies a supporter and can be attached to links in your email broadcasts.
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.
What draws people to your cause? What motivated your supporters to take their first action? What did they feel when they first donated?
SPOILER: it’s not good. Sure—you know you’re writing an email to 5,000 people. But your task is to make your reader feel like
There are plenty of reasons people struggle to complete online actions. Poor page layouts, confusing language, onerous forms, and too many (or too
You sent 100,000 emails to the wrong list... You directed people to last year’s action... You addressed everyone as “Jane”... It happens.
The curse of knowledge is a cognitive bias that leads us to overestimate the knowledge of our audience. If you allow this curse
To steal a mantra from our friends in journalism: don’t bury the lede. The idea might have started in newspaper offices
I know what you’re thinking. “Subject lines”. And you’d be right. Subject lines are hailed as the ‘be all and
Sometimes, the purpose of an email can be simply to inform. But often, we’re trying to get someone somewhere. An action page. A
There’s more than one way to build an email list. The various types of digital assets you can use to attract people to your list are your list building entry points. Choosing the right entry points can either set you up for long term success or agonizing frustration.
The very first touchpoint that brings someone to your email list is defining. That moment is responsible for establishing the terms of the relationship they will have with you. Will the interaction position them as an action taker? Or a spectator? Consider how supporters can best help your organization achieve its mission, and then design list-building entry points to mirror that.
Active entry points include:
Passive entry points include:
Simply put, if your core list-building strategy relies on passive entry points, it’s going to be harder to mobilize your supporters into action. You’ll find plenty of digital agencies keen to push passive entry points because they’re easily applied in a commercial environment. However, we have something more valuable to work with. So play to your advantage—optimize online action pages such as petitions and advocacies to fuel your list building strategy. Prioritize your active entry points. These highly-sharable assets will build audiences faster than generic signup forms every time.
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