Get a free digital strategy tip of the week:

Name Email
privacy policy.

We respect your data. View the privacy policy.

Unsubscribe any time. We respect your data. View the privacy policy.

Emotion vs facts: what’s more persuasive?

Does this sound familiar? Back up your position with facts; the more reasons you can offer, the more persuasive your argument. Right?

How and when to ‘hide’ content

One of the hardest lessons to learn as a communicator is knowing what not to say. In a medium that forces us

Why people don’t complete online actions (and what to do about it)

There are plenty of reasons people struggle to complete online actions. Poor page layouts, confusing language, onerous forms, and too many (or too

How ‘why’ is the most important question you need to answer

What draws people to your cause? What motivated your supporters to take their first action? What did they feel when they first donated?

How NOT to use bold type...

Bolding the odd word or phrase can help skim readers catch key ideas you don’t want them to miss. It’s also great for

Show. Don’t tell.

Your reader trusts their own mind way more than they trust yours. No offense but it’s true. Knowing this, try to avoid

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

Here’s why you should be a rule breaker

Technology moves at light-speed. Every day, smart people are pushing the boundaries of digital design, user experience, and communication. If we hope

14 long-term engagement strategies that work

I’m so glad you’re here. While it’s far from the most exciting, retention is arguably the most important factor in the success of

What’s a “Crisitunity”?

We have Homer Simpson to thank for the term that perfectly describes a communication model that turbocharges action requests with urgency. Because

Why ‘busting myths’ often backfires

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

What’s the perfect subject line length?

In 2025, more emails are being viewed on iPhones than any other device. The average iPhone affords us a measly 41 characters

Top 10 ways to turbocharge your digital comms

Let’s be honest, this stuff is hard. Never in human history has there been a communication medium more competitive than the Internet.

You botched an email broadcast. Now what!?

You sent 100,000 emails to the wrong list... You directed people to last year’s action... You addressed everyone as “Jane”... It happens.

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!

Like this tip? Share it!