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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?

Has social media dethroned email?

Is email dead? Here’s what the data says... Some people question the relevance of emails in 2026. They ask, “Can’t we just rely

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

9 creative ways to mix up tired email formats

Well-designed email templates are greeeat. But even the best layouts can lull readers into complacency over time. Consider mixing up your formatting occasionally

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

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

Don’t say everything all at once

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.

A beginner’s guide to digital pipelines

Think of digital pipelines as pathways that lead your supporters down progressively deeper levels of engagement. Without designing your pipelines intentionally, your supporters

A beginner’s guide to SEO (search engine optimization)

New to SEO? Here’s what works in 2026. If the currency of the Internet is web traffic, then search engine referrals are money

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.

Say more (by saying less)

Knowing how much or how little to say starts with being clear about your objective. Rarely is it our job to turn readers

This little trick will increase your conversion rates

Whether your call to action (CTA) is a button or a link, don’t get too clever. Speak directly to your supporter and tell

Why you need to stop talking about yourself

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.

Find common ground

It’s not hard to preach to the choir. Or to mount an argument so agreeable that it won’t offend or challenge anyone.

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

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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