Jason Fried’s mantra while testing was: We need to test radically different things. We don’t know what works. Destroy all assumptions. We need to find what works and keep iterating—keep learning. (I’m paraphrasing here…) We tried out a radically different design with these results:

The Person Page was far shorter. There was less information about Highrise. However it had a 47% percent increase in paid signups than the Long Form design.

This insightful post from 37 Signals shows the evolution of A/B testing pages for one of their landmark products, Highrise (a customer relation management system). It shows how good design and clear objectives can see significant improvements to calls to action.

While you may have many needs, it's important to meet one need at a time. Here are some tips on how to get the best results from every email:

• Limit each email to just one action. You don't want to confuse people about what they need to do, or overwhelm them with a bunch of options. If you provide multiple choices, you're also splitting the returns of your actions. By having only one ask, you ensure that you're converting on your most important action.

• Create daisy chains. A daisy chain is a sequence of actions that follow each other. First, decide what's most important. Maybe the order for this email is: Donate --> Make a call to Congress --> Volunteer. When you send the "Thank you" email and/or redirect from the action page, send supporters along to the next action. This way, as many people as possible will take the first action, and you'll also convert on subsequent actions. You'll also be able to see who your super-activists are by the results of the follow-up actions.

• Segment your emails: If you want to promote different actions in a single campaign, consider what smart segmentation you can do with your list to ensure that the audience reading your emails receives an action they're most likely to take. Past donors, people who like writing letters, people who have hosted events, etc. Customize the ask for those few key segments.

It's important to focus your emails so that there's one clear, direct ask.

The New Organising Institute has a great collection of online and offline campaign techniques and tips. This one is especially good.

I often see emails and web landing pages that list "5 things you can do" or a long series of dot points listing actions. This simply creates choice paralysis. What is the most important thing to do?

With only one choice, it becomes simple and easy for supporters to take that action, then get directed to subsequent, follow up actions.

Today, National Journal released a poll suggesting that we could be on our way to the fourth change election in a row.  When asked whether “most members of Congress have done a good enough job to deserve reelection or do you think it’s time to give new people a chance,” just ten percent said that most members deserved reelection.  A whopping 79% said it was time for new blood.

Typically Americans hate Congress, but love their representative, and thus these stark feelings of animosity are usually academic.  But the National Journal poll suggests that this trend may be slipping.  While Americans felt a little better about their own representative, only 31% said that their member deserves reelection.  59% said they wanted someone new.  Tellingly, these trends cut across party lines. 

I said the 2010 mid-terms were anti-incumbent. Looks like the 2012 residential election will be one too.

On this page we want to share with you some resources that will help you understand the fundamental concepts and techniques of community and online organizing.

There are some great resources here - including links to top-notch sites like the New Organising Institute and Wellstone Action.

The results showed that a small amount of social pressure to reverse an opinion was far more effective in getting people to change their minds than if the pressure was much greater. When an overwhelming number of people were shown as having made a different choice, people tended to stick with their original selections.

There are two conflicting theories of social influence at work here. Psychological reactance theory says that when we’re exposed to opposition to our beliefs, our self-preservation instincts kick in to make us stick to them. Social influence and conformity theory, however, suggests that being socially connected with others is important to humans, and we’ll reverse an opinion if we feel like it’ll let us “belong” to a group — the “peer pressure” effect.

This is an interesting report, as it has potentially enormous ramifications for progressive activists seeking to influence community attitudes.

Is it better to try to change the attitudes of relative strangers rather than friends and social peers?

"What you need to do is get rid of the name Work Choices but actually lay out what the policy is," Mr McKibbin said. "And then give it another name."

Liberal supporter and former Howard-Govt appointment to the Reserve Bank board, McKibbin lets the cat out of the bag. Unfair dismissal protection, "deregulation" and individual contracts (AWAs) are all on McKibbin's agenda.

Unions haven't had the best luck lately, but on this Labor Day, we give you 10 things we wouldn't have without them:

1. The Fair Labor Standards Act, which protected minors against child labor.

2. The concept, if not the total reality, of an eight-hour work day.

3. Time and a half for working overtime.

4. THE WEEKEND.

5. Health insurance and other fringe benefits given by employers.

6. Sick days.

7. Minimum wage and living wage laws (and any increases to either).

8. Worker safety laws (and workers' compensation when you do get hurt on the job).

9. Social Security and Medicare (which unions both pushed for and spend their time defending).

10. The benefit for which unions get criticized the most: Protection from being fired for no good reason.

In Australia, we can also add superannuation, paid parental leave and the PBS.