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!

Engage Your Reader’s Emotional Brain

Inboxes aren’t often exciting places. Neither are the majority of web pages, if we’re honest. This can work to your advantage. Your content will stand out when you can reach your supporter’s emotional brain. This is...

6 minute read

Inboxes aren’t often exciting places. Neither are the majority of web pages, if we’re honest. This can work to your advantage. Your...

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Don’t Let These ‘Cognitive Biases’ Hurt Your Conversion Rates

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...

2 minute read

Cognitive biases are powerful mental distortions that affect the way we think and behave. They are so powerful that they can lead...

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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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Give Your Headline ‘Consequence’

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...

2 minute read

Of all the ‘rules’ out there for writing page headlines, this is the most transformative. If your headline sits on a petition...

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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...

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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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