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Every time you email your supporter, you’re doing much more than delivering a message. You’re cultivating a relationship. If
Technology moves at light-speed. Every day, smart people are pushing the boundaries of digital design, user experience, and communication. If we hope
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.
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
Sometimes, the purpose of an email can be simply to inform. But often, we’re trying to get someone somewhere. An action page. A
On the surface, it looks like the purpose of a title is to introduce the content of a webpage. But of course—you
To steal a mantra from our friends in journalism: don’t bury the lede. The idea might have started in newspaper offices
Consider the moment before your supporter decides whether to open your email. They must sacrifice something in order to give you their attention.
Trying something risky and new? These methodologies can save you from diving in head first when it might have been wiser to test
It can feel intuitive to place your action form elements at the end of your page—after your theory of change. However, your supporter
Inboxes aren’t often exciting places. Neither are the majority of web pages, if we’re honest. This can work to your advantage. Your
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.
The curse of knowledge is a cognitive bias that leads us to overestimate the knowledge of our audience. If you allow this curse
Don’t undercut a great email by hiding it behind a poor subject line. These few words have the power to make or
Serious question. Success is more than a number. It’s an outcome. An increase in list size isn’t an end-goal; 1,000
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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14 long-term engagement strategies that work 
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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