Hello, Changemaker!

Karen Nilsen

Hi I’m Karen. I want to share with you the tactics I’ve used to build digital power and engage a supporter base of millions. Are you ready? Let’s get started!

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. It also means that action pages are often the first meaningful touchpoint for new...

2 minute read

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...

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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? Why do you exist? The answer to all these questions is the same. And...

4 minute read

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

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Segmenting for ‘Behavior’ vs ‘Intention’

When it comes to targeting the best supporters for specific activities, many of us are using (or have used) the sub-list model. You know—the ‘list within the list’ approach. This involves recruiting supporters onto purpose-designed lists...

5 minute read

When it comes to targeting the best supporters for specific activities, many of us are using (or have used) the sub-list model...

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Should You Send Emails from Your ‘Organization’ or an Actual Person?

Here’s how the internal dialog usually goes: “We’re torn. We see other organizations sending from individual people but how do we know if that would work for us?” ... “What about our organizational ‘voice’?” .....

5 minute read

Here’s how the internal dialog usually goes: “We’re torn. We see other organizations sending from individual people but how do we know if...

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How to Combat Supporter Fatigue

Don’t wait for supporter fatigue to set in before creating a plan to mitigate it. Nice idea, right? Most of us only recognize the threat of supporter fatigue after it’s infected our list. By that time, campaign,...

3 minute read

Don’t wait for supporter fatigue to set in before creating a plan to mitigate it. Nice idea, right? Most of us only recognize...

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How to Hook Your Reader

To steal a mantra from our friends in journalism: don’t bury the lede. The idea might have started in newspaper offices but it applies anywhere we’re competing for our audience’s attention (so, the entire Internet)...

3 minute read

To steal a mantra from our friends in journalism: don’t bury the lede. The idea might have started in newspaper offices...

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Learn this