Cognitive biases are powerful mental distortions that affect the way we think and behave. They are so powerful that they can lead people to act against their own best interests. If you understand them, you can...

Of all the ‘rules’ out there for writing page headlines, this is the most transformative. If your headline sits on a petition or advocacy page, use it to communicate the ‘pain or consequence’ that follows from...

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 you’re writing only to them. When ‘broadcasting’ language slips into our writing,...

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. But don’t expect anyone to take your word for it. Make the effort to...

For several years, I drove a strategy at Animals Australia to send ‘thank-you’ emails to action takers that were jam-packed with followup asks. This is not an uncommon approach. And on the surface, it’s easy to...

Every time you email your supporter, you’re doing much more than delivering a message. You’re cultivating a relationship. If your organization relies on—or hopes to rely on—a digital audience to sustain its work,...