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!

Please, Abandon Your Action Lists

As changemakers, it’s our job to dream up all the ways our supporters can get involved to help our cause or win our campaign. However, we can do better than simply listing these actions. Action lists...

Quick Quick read

As changemakers, it’s our job to dream up all the ways our supporters can get involved to help our cause or win...

Learn this
Learn this
Why We Need to Stop Thinking about Email as a ‘Broadcast’ Medium

Think of a radio tower. Broadcast signals beaming far and wide. Most people think about email broadcasts this way. Please don’t think about email broadcasts this way. Broadcast communication is, by default, impersonal. Because...

2 minute read

Think of a radio tower. Broadcast signals beaming far and wide. Most people think about email broadcasts this way. Please don’t think...

Find out more
Keep reading
6 Ways to Make Page Titles Click-Worthy (Not Click-Baity)

On the surface, it looks like the purpose of a title is to introduce the content of a webpage. But of course—you know that’s not it at all! Your title or headline’s strategic function is to...

3 minute read

On the surface, it looks like the purpose of a title is to introduce the content of a webpage. But of course—you...

Find out more
Read this
Show. Don’t Tell.

Your reader trusts their own mind way more than they trust yours. No offense but it’s true. Knowing this, try to avoid ‘telling’ people what to think. That includes making assertions that some things are cruel,...

2 minute read

Your reader trusts their own mind way more than they trust yours. No offense but it’s true. Knowing this, try to avoid...

Find out more
Learn this
This Is What Happens When You Address Your Reader as a ‘Group’

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,...

4 minute read

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...

Find out more
Learn this
Why People Don’t Complete Online Actions (and What to Do about It)

There are plenty of reasons people struggle to complete online actions. Poor page layouts, confusing language, onerous forms, and too many (or too few) visual cues to name a few. Seven deadly sins of action page...

5 minute read

There are plenty of reasons people struggle to complete online actions. Poor page layouts, confusing language, onerous forms, and too many (or too...

Keep reading
Find out more