Knowing how much or how little to say starts with being clear about your objective. Rarely is it our job to turn readers into subject-matter experts. Mostly, we’re in the business of motivating people to action. If...

Preview text appears in most email clients in the form of a few words after or below a subject line. While it doesn’t have the same pull as a subject line, it does give you a ‘second...

The curse of knowledge is a cognitive bias that leads us to overestimate the knowledge of our audience. If you allow this curse to infect your writing, you may unwittingly leave supporters feeling confused an alienated. To...

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 supporter directly to a specific page. Let’s work with that. Make your action...

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. Sometimes there really is a lot to say. Still, there are better options than trying...

Quick read

Consider the moment before your supporter decides whether to open your email. They must sacrifice something in order to give you their attention. Either, they’ll need to delay the thing they were about to do next, or...