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A beginner’s guide to web page optimization

You are not your audience. Five humbling words that explain why so many messages fall flat, emails flop, and web pages

A beginner’s guide to remarketing & custom audiences

Have you ever visited a website only to notice that ads for that site seem to ‘follow’ you around the Internet? You’ve been

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.

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.

When to send an email ‘chaser’

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.

Do you know why you’re building an email list?

Serious question. Success is more than a number. It’s an outcome. An increase in list size isn’t an end-goal; 1,000

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?

Can you name your headline’s ‘value proposition’?

Okay, back up—what’s a ‘value proposition’? Think of your value proposition as the reason your reader should care about investing

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.

Anatomy of an action email

It might seem too obvious to mention. But it’s critical that you’ve defined the objective of your email. Often, it’s to lead your

Don’t let these ‘cognitive biases’ hurt your conversion rates

Cognitive biases are powerful mental distortions that affect the way we think and behave. They are so powerful that they can lead

Avoid these 4 mistakes when embedding videos

On-page videos can be your best friend and your worst enemy. At the same time. Know the pros and cons so you

Write your own communications guide

Your organization and its communication style is unique. Defining it will consolidate expertise, build confidence, and help you and your co-communicators hone an

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?

Email preview text: what you need to know

Preview text appears in most email clients in the form of a few words after or below a subject line. While it doesn’t

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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