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What draws people to your cause? What motivated your supporters to take their first action? What did they feel when they first donated?
You sent 100,000 emails to the wrong list... You directed people to last year’s action... You addressed everyone as “Jane”... It happens.
Your organization and its communication style is unique. Defining it will consolidate expertise, build confidence, and help you and your co-communicators hone an
How does the past experience of people on your list influence their interest in receiving ongoing email from you? It turns out
If we want to get the most out of email, we need to make it personal. If every message we send sounds
There’s more than one way to build an email list. The various types of digital assets you can use to attract people to
Segmentation gives digital communicators the power to reach the right people with the right message. The shift from a broadcast communication model to
Call it what you will. It’s the idea that when we work together, we’re part of something bigger than ourselves. If achieving
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
Let’s be honest, this stuff is hard. Never in human history has there been a communication medium more competitive than the Internet.
Consider the moment before your supporter decides whether to open your email. They must sacrifice something in order to give you their attention.
Imagine you’ve been asked to have an important conversation with ... ‘someone’. Chances are, you’ll be much happier to have that conversation if
Imagine you’re seeing a 25% open rate on your emails. That means whenever you send a broadcast, 3 in every 4 recipients will
We have Homer Simpson to thank for the term that perfectly describes a communication model that turbocharges action requests with urgency. Because
As changemakers, it’s our job to dream up all the ways our supporters can get involved to help our cause or win
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.
The 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.
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What makes a good ‘hero image’? 
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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