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This is what happens when you address your reader as a ‘group’

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

Never assume anyone knows what you’re talking about

Imagine you’re seeing a 25% open rate on your emails. That means whenever you send a broadcast, 3 in every 4 recipients will

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

Picture this when writing your next headline...

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

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.

Are you prioritizing the right list building entry points?

There’s more than one way to build an email list. The various types of digital assets you can use to attract people to

12 ways to maximize your list building strategy

When you hear of organizations that have amassed millions of online supporters, the first question that often comes to mind is: where

Dominate Social Media

It doesn’t matter if you’re writing an email, a blog post, or a tweet—the full gamut of attention-seeking and attention-keeping tactics apply. Social

Why we need to stop thinking about email as a ‘broadcast’ medium

Think of a radio tower. Broadcast signals beaming far and wide. Most people think about email broadcasts this way. Please don’t think

Say thanks (and mean it)

Great action pages will attract people via social media, search, traditional media, and even word of mouth. This means they’re ideal for list-building.

These testing methodologies save you time, stress, and money

Trying something risky and new? These methodologies can save you from diving in head first when it might have been wiser to test

11 tips that will help you write better subject lines

Don’t undercut a great email by hiding it behind a poor subject line. These few words have the power to make or

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

6 things that stop people opening emails

I know what you’re thinking. “Subject lines”. And you’d be right. Subject lines are hailed as the ‘be all and

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

Pro Tips

Email Tokenization: What Is It?

2
Minute read
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. When someone clicks on a tokenized link from an email to your website, your website can re-discover who that supporter is and continue to deliver a seamless, personalized experience. Your email broadcast system, website, and CRM will need the ability to ‘talk’ to each other to pull this off.

Email tokenization processThe tokenization process

Tokenized links let you do all sorts of neat stuff

  • Pre-fill any form fields using known contact details, enhancing data integrity and completion rates.
  • Personalize landing pages (e.g. address your supporter by their first name).
  • Match the content of an appeal to your supporter’s contribution level (e.g. if your supporter is a monthly donor you can personalize any fundraising asks to reflect their ongoing gift and offer them an upgrade form with tailored dollar handles; a non-donor hitting the same page might see a monthly pledge form and a different ask).
  • Literally anything you know about your supporter can be used to enhance personalization on your website.
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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